Assignment 06, Characters Pass 02, Iesha Butler

This weekend I did something unusual. I was sick, angry, and ready to give up on school (6 years of someone telling you, you suck tends to do that). Not wanting to do anything related to school I started watching Howl's Moving Castle. During which these questions popped into my head - why are you doing this school thing? Why continue when you have to teach yourself? Why should anyone care about your dream or characters?



I kept watching the movie and asked myself why am I watching this? Because it makes me feel differently then I am right now. Then a strange peace came over me as I remembered my childhood of watching Disney cartoons and films. Growing up I wanted to be like him. Not in his drawing style but how he loved people and created characters that moved the people watching them. Disney could take your depression away, teach you a moral, and make you think that anything was possible as long as you believed - all by watching living characters not drawings on a piece of paper.

I looked at my characters on the pages scattered on the floor and they seemed to ask why do we exist? Because I was sick I couldn't get to my supplies so I picked up a blue bic pen and answered the pages with because I care but I don't know how. A sudden peace came over me remembering the love I once had of the arts, Disney, and how awesome Howl's Moving Castle is. I gripped the pen and I told myself I can do this. All the while what I have learned in school told me no you can't, you can't draw with that, your anatomy is horrible, your style is wrong, you should find another profession because you'll never make it in animation.

I remembered the story Professor Ellis told us on Wed. and I told myself I'm not perfect, I never was, but life is something I know and I can do this because its what I love. While drawing with the pen I couldn't take the lines back and like clay I formed my characters. I asked them who are you? What part of me are you? How do you feel when this happens? and what abilities do you have?
Stromboli's facial expressions got easier and more expressive, Geppetto I kept the same over time but his poses will show who he is, and Chio is the result of who I am, my angry, and determination.

I'm going to try my hardest to keep the peaceful feeling I have about drawing again because I like where this is going.