When I was starting out I would spend hours twisting balloon figures and developing cool designs. Many days the face looked like Edvard Munch drew it. I would put a couple of well-placed dots for eyes, scribble a wavy line for a mouth, and call it expressionism art.
As a child, Saturday morning was a blast. I would sit in front of the TV with my bowl of cereal — what am I saying… bowl of cereal. Cereal comes in a box, and God gave me hands. Every Saturday morning, as I fought off my hunger with handfuls of cereal, Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius were dropping anvils, running from flying bullets, rocketing down a ramp, and making me laugh hysterically.
When I was growing up, I noticed the present day animation was lacking, as if my Munch dots and scribbles for mouths were things of beauty. I needed to have the Pixar look, the smooth lines, details that stood out, and colors that popped.
I was stumped. How do I learn to improve my drawing? Then before my eyes, like an anvil falling from the sky, it hit me. Look to the cartoons and see how they draw their faces. Once I did that, cartoon faces started appearing everywhere. Faces were on pens and eggs, wacky little faces were everywhere.
It did not take me long to master the basics, but it takes practice to perfect the skill of drawing. The years go by and the faces have melted back into the blur of life, but every now and then a smile, a wink, or a funny little face appears to my delight. Like the child who sat laughing in delight, I grab my pen and doodle again.