Ten Minute Artist is the leading newsletter for building a daily creative habit through drawing and journal prompts, encouragement, perspective, meditations and practice advice for living a more creative life. If you want to build and keep a daily drawing habit, this is for you. New posts every weekday
That one time I knocked someone down in training.
I was listening to an Art Director talk about authenticity yesterday.
“If I’m commissioning a scene in Russia, I’m going to look for a Russian illustrator”, he said. It’s frustrating to hear as an illustrator, because we want to believe we can draw anything, but this kind of attention to detail actually makes for better work. Does that mean I’m stuck drawing tropes based on my geography and heritage?
Mostly yes, unless I can demonstrate authenticity in the subject matter, and how can I do that if I don’t show the art director who I am?
Personal work, gets you work.
Drawing daily is a good way to tease out personal stories that you may not have put out there before. And if you don’t put it out there, no one know’s to hire you for the job.
Even if you’re not looking for creative work, presenting authentic stories or angles about yourself is how to make your art more human.
I once knocked a guy down while sparing, I wasn’t trying to, it was only a speculative sidekick, however the guy also decided to attempt a kick in the same moment, but his kick positioned his face in the path of my speculative kick, and that knocked him down, ending the round.
Taking my win that was the last time I was in a ring.
Could I illustrate a story about Muay Thai, Boxing or MMA, I think I could. They say write what you know, maybe the advice hold true for drawing too.
What subjects can you draw authentically? How can you bring more authenticity into your drawings?
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
How to draw authentically
As I was thinking about what the art director said on authenticity, I was looking around my room for something to draw, when I saw my old boxing gloves, I drew them. And I realised that there are pretty non obvious things that I could draw wit some level of authenticity, and it would make sense to figure out what those things are.
Scan your space for an object of interest, draw that. Then scan your memory for a related experience, and draw that. Share the experience. And share the drawing, let there be a record of what is authentic to you. (An Art Director may be reading)
Try this exercise in different locations, build a list of subjects you can be authentic about.
Adam Ming is a start up co-founder turned children’s illustrator at 40, he’s illustrated nearly 20 books. He writes generously about keeping a daily drawing habit and the early years of breaking in and working as a freelance illustrator.
Want the ultimate drawing prompt for? (FREE)
🇵🇹 Need a break from everything but art? Let’s go to rural Portugal!