“The practice of sharing, not studying, kept me drawing.”
That’s fairly profound that the act of sharing, having the space to share itself, and inviting others into your world like that can act as fuel to keep going.
What do you think it was about sharing specifically that propelled you to keep drawing, though?
“I like to think that in certain moments when I’m giggling at a funny nose I doodled, he’s giggling too.”
That’s so sentimental. Lil Salman is probably amazed at what you’re doing!
Great question! I think there was an element of permission there. For example I put out other things (writing or otherwise) that were more "serious," or at least more clear in terms of their value. Silly animations, though? Not so clear. I often wondered if including them was annoying.
So even though I took the initiative to make them without purpose (that in and of itself is a big deal—we have to give ourselves the time and space to play, which I am proud to say I did)...when ppl actually responded and resonated with them, that gave me a green light to keep going.
Also—some of the feedback described them as kind of a breath of fresh air from all the serious stuff we read. So that gave me the idea that I can include other random stuff in the letter to serve this purpose (such as art that inspires me)
That's a beautiful way to frame it, Matt! As you say that, I'm realizing that doubling down on it has both helped me keep the drawing process playful + become a leveraged skillset that helps me stand out.
Your experience really resonated with me! My mom encouraged my art, but my dad thought I was “too smart” to pursue it seriously, and wanted me to have a successful, stable career. He put a lot of pressure on me to succeed.
Now I’m an adult, and I do the same thing to myself! One half tells me to use my time on my passions, the other half that I should be working on something “productive”.
It is alarming how we inherit / internalize our parents. Sometimes when I think about the inner critic "voices," I know that some of them are my parents.
I relate a lot to this "split" that you describe. At first it made me think how right now, my week is split between working part-time at a startup (the formally productive, financially stable), and my creative projects (exploratory, undefined, playful.) But even then, the split happens again—within my creative projects, each project has something in it I want to do for fun and serendipity, but the other half of me also wants to be productive and effective at it, putting out work at some pace or quality.
I love this so much, Salman.
“The practice of sharing, not studying, kept me drawing.”
That’s fairly profound that the act of sharing, having the space to share itself, and inviting others into your world like that can act as fuel to keep going.
What do you think it was about sharing specifically that propelled you to keep drawing, though?
“I like to think that in certain moments when I’m giggling at a funny nose I doodled, he’s giggling too.”
That’s so sentimental. Lil Salman is probably amazed at what you’re doing!
Great question! I think there was an element of permission there. For example I put out other things (writing or otherwise) that were more "serious," or at least more clear in terms of their value. Silly animations, though? Not so clear. I often wondered if including them was annoying.
So even though I took the initiative to make them without purpose (that in and of itself is a big deal—we have to give ourselves the time and space to play, which I am proud to say I did)...when ppl actually responded and resonated with them, that gave me a green light to keep going.
Also—some of the feedback described them as kind of a breath of fresh air from all the serious stuff we read. So that gave me the idea that I can include other random stuff in the letter to serve this purpose (such as art that inspires me)
"we have to give ourselves the time and space to play, which I am proud to say I did"
YESSS. Agree 100%
Happy you felt like you had the green light and that you have kept going! Following the play seems to be working out for you.
Love how you turned a supposed limitation--an internal battle with drawing people--into your greatest drawing strength.
That's a beautiful way to frame it, Matt! As you say that, I'm realizing that doubling down on it has both helped me keep the drawing process playful + become a leveraged skillset that helps me stand out.
Your experience really resonated with me! My mom encouraged my art, but my dad thought I was “too smart” to pursue it seriously, and wanted me to have a successful, stable career. He put a lot of pressure on me to succeed.
Now I’m an adult, and I do the same thing to myself! One half tells me to use my time on my passions, the other half that I should be working on something “productive”.
It is alarming how we inherit / internalize our parents. Sometimes when I think about the inner critic "voices," I know that some of them are my parents.
I relate a lot to this "split" that you describe. At first it made me think how right now, my week is split between working part-time at a startup (the formally productive, financially stable), and my creative projects (exploratory, undefined, playful.) But even then, the split happens again—within my creative projects, each project has something in it I want to do for fun and serendipity, but the other half of me also wants to be productive and effective at it, putting out work at some pace or quality.