Happy Mistakes!

When I was taking painting class in high school, my teacher had what she would call, "Happy Mistakes." That's what happens when you make a stray mark or some other mistake on a painting, but instead of ruining it, it gives the the piece more character. From her words I saw how making a mistake could lead to making a piece of art that I didn't expect.

But the thing about happy mistakes is that to experience them, mistakes have to made first--which is scary. Creating manga is an artistic process, but it's a process that repeats over and over again. Always the same characters, the style has to stay consistent, there is a right way and wrong way of laying out pages...

Of course to create a good manga the style has be consistent and things have to be right, but sometimes I've found that I need to just break away from that simply to sketch and allow myself to draw without a plan. It's okay to draw badly sometimes.

When I allow myself to draw without worry, this is when I discover new techniques and styles. And if I like what I discover, I add it to my manga drawing techniques.

I think sometimes when drawing it's easy to get caught up in making everything look absolutely perfect. But things really don't have to be that way.