Materials, Process and it means nothing

I've been asked time and again what materials I use what is my "process" and things like this.  To be honest, there is no magic pencil, pen, paper, brush, paint or fairy dust out there nor is there a certain process to do things that is going to make you an over-night sensation super star.  I'm not and I haven't met many artists who are.  In fact many artists that I have met who are working artists have their own preferences in how they approach their art and also are willing to try different methods if only for the hell of it.   

For me I prefer traditional and I use drafting pencils and paper.  Drafting pencils because my dad gave them to me from his drawing days, he also gave me all his cool stencils and things like this that I find useful.  I use tracing paper too to fix things or I'll scan in my image and tweak in photoshop if I like what I have and want to scale things etc.  My process is not too complicated.  I think the only real complicated thing I do is headdesk until I can get the idea to flow like how I picture it in my head.  Sometimes my hand does not want to translate the images in my head and we have issues.  So I'll pout, surf the net and then eventually have an "Ah ha!" moment of clarity and feel really stupid for not seeing it earlier because it was so obvious what I was doing wrong.  

I've dabbled in paints.  I'm not a patient artist, I hate waiting for paint to dry but I do have a respect for it.  Artists who can paint have my respect simply because they are working with a medium that is so unpredictable to me. (Likewise to sculpting--don't get me started on sculpting.) Although I WILL grab the cheap watercolors from Wal-Mart and play with them if I want something off-the-wall and break from the norm.

I use Copics, or used them I need to get back into using them again.  I love those markers and wish I had better command of them.  But they really appeal to me because they dry quickly and don't smear.  I also like using the Copic pens because of the same reasons.  

I reference.  YES I reference, I do research and look up poses and animals and landscapes and such to get better visuals on what I want.  I DO NOT TRACE!  I've seen some folks who "reference" and it's so obvious it's tracing I vomit a little in my mouth, especially when they "reference" another artist out of "respect".  Yes tracing can help you learn but it will hinder you in the end from not being able to trust your own skills.  So reference, look at other images or go outside go to a bus station look at life!  That is referencing too believe it or not!  And if your image is not coming out like what you're looking at or not how you want practice--the dreaded evil word!!!  

I can go into extreme details of the exact tools I use and how I use them but this might come as a surprise that it really means nothing.  I've used all kinds of pencils--namely what I can get my hands on--and all types of paper.  Currently I draw on Staples 11x17 paper, I did this to save money on paper nothing more.  Staples paper is cheap and doesn't hold up well to erasers and babies.  One thing I can say that really means a damn about my "process" is that I try to make everything I do a step up from the last work I completed.  I challenge myself to do better and when I'm not drawing a complete image I'm practicing as much as I can.  My sketchbook is FULL OF SHIT, most of the images in my sketchbook are so crappy my daughter's scribbles are an improvement to them.  

So don't get hung up on what an artist does.  Yes its nice to see and sometimes it's enlightening but really it's going to take sitting down and figuring out what works for you.  Don't cringe when someone says "Practice" I know this is redundant but it's extremely true.  If you practice you WILL improve, that I can promise--how much you improve is up to you and your own persistence.