This illustration was probably the most fun out of the three. I instantly knew what I was going to do with this one. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it really feels like the drawing did itself. Sure, there was a ton of work in trying to figure out how to depict the actual brewery in the background, and I knew it would be hard to make the perspective work for the table in the foreground, brendan’s sleeve, beau’s luxurious hair… but all of those cool little elements I’d get to draw! The clinking beers, adding myself in as igor, and nate as the mad scientist… the lightning! Hell, the jumper cable nipple clamps still make me chuckle.
Drawing is a lot of work, it takes time, it takes a toll on your body, and your mental health. There are real world consequences to sitting for as long as you have to, when you have deadlines to meet, and projects to finish. That reward though, the buzz of people seeing a new piece, the reaction of the people it’s for, the unexpected reactions of people you never met when they find out you did the work… It can all be so addicting, but often fleeting. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, or maybe just gotten better at over the years, is the ability to hold on to that feeling when it happens. Not to let it sour of slip away over time, but to remember what you really liked about the finished piece, and the process of bringing it into being. Sometimes, not always, it makes those sacrifices worthwhile. Really, as artists, and humans.. that’s all any of us can hope for. Find the joy, and hold onto it for as long as you can.
