My high school was renowned for Art — but I never studied it.
I couldn’t draw, so art lessons left me floundering and I was happy to abandon them early on. I resonate with the scepticism of many adult beginner cartoonists — I thought able to draw was a talent you had to be born with. It was only at the age of 39, wanting to try something new and being prepared to embrace the possibility of failure, that I took the plunge and learned to cartoon.
As a Chartered Accountant I love the reassurance of a systematic approach 💙
I was lucky enough to find a cartooning mentor who designed a process where each lesson built on the ones that came before. I’m also still a bit of an ‘auditor’ which means helping people to use objective criteria to judge the quality of their work comes naturally. I like people to be able to recognise what’s going right, so that they can build the skill to cartoon ever more consistently over time.
Greatness isn’t born.
It’s grown.
Reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle gave me hope at the start of my cartooning journey, or at least helped me suspend disbelief 🧐. Embracing his principles of deliberate practice, the right system and a good mentor, I was able to set out on a wonderfully light-hearted journey that continues to this day.
My scuba diving family loves that cartooning has honed my eye for detail
It comes in very handy when trying to identify new fishy critters we’ve spotted underwater! Holidays are also a good source of cartooning fodder (actually, every day is) because I am always on the lookout for some small, entertaining happening that might make it into my cartoon diary.
I’ve always loved to learn
Now I’m lucky enough to have an excuse for constantly finding and sharing new skills, plus watching other people learn and blossom, too. Dive in and join me 😀— who knows where the creative current may take us?
Ready to start your journey?
Cartooning involves combining your imagination with some drawing skills. Fortunately our brains are wired to makes sense of randomness, so simply moving your pencil across the page can spark your imagination. Check out this video lesson about how Keeping your Pencil Down helps you draw better while it can also spark your imagination to work for you.
P.S. I’m a sucker for a hammock. My husband jokes that I would buy the worst house in the world if it had a hammock hung on the patio. Shh! Don’t tell any estate agents my secret.
P.P.S. You may have noticed I never let a good emoji go to waste. And hey — they also make great references for learning how to draw cartoon expressions. Whenever you’re bored in a waiting room somewhere, pull out your phone and start copying the faces 🤓.
