Growing Up Creative: 1

Yesterday I was fortunate to talk to a group of students at Woodside International High School in San Francisco. I like talking to high school students because they are at such an early stage of figuring out what to do with their creativity.

So if you're a person who loves to draw, and you'd love to grow up to do something creative but you're not sure what that is, I'm going to offer some bits of wisdom I've gathered over the years. I've put them together on a little postcard that I give out when I talk at high schools.

Here's the first one:

1.Be True to Your Gifts.
This means: Don't spend all your time trying to be different from what you are. I know, there are tons of children's books written about this - but as an artist, it's important to notice what makes you feel good and what makes you struggle. Don't beat yourself up because you don't draw characters just like the ones you saw in a book or movie. Your drawings are going to come out with your style all over them, no matter how hard you try to change it. So try lots of things, but be good to yourself, draw the things that make you happy, and then notice what those things are. If you always tend to draw people, pay attention to that. If you tend to draw things that are dramatic or emotional, notice that too. Those are signs that will guide you to what kind of artist you are going to be.