HOW TO START

Struggling with finding an idea?

Here are the three things I do:

• Morning Journaling
• Creative Walks
• Post-It Exercise

Also get online! Poke around Youtube or Pinterest. Parents are always posting funny things kids do and say.

Get social! Visit our Storyteller Academy Group page to share with others and get inspired.

If you're a workshop student and want my feedback on your idea, email me at [email protected]

CASE STUDY: THE START OF THE FIX-IT MAN

AND THOUGHTS ABOUT DRAWING

Feeling nervous about drawing?

Look how awesome these kid's drawings are. You can do this. Get over the fear. Stop being an adult. Remember all that stuff we talked about in Week 1 about tapping into your inner voice (inner child) and being brave?

You can do this! Plus, it's really fun.

Fix-It Man Examples

Here are some early Fix-It Man sketches. See how loose and rough they are?

Nice, tight drawings isn't the point. Capturing an idea, a feeling that you can organize and put into the story is what you're going after.

START DRAWING!

Exercise: DRAW!

Get loose pieces of copy paper, pens, pencils, anything cheap that you feel comfortable with. Sometimes if I'm using nice paper or nice art supplies, I won't be as loose as I want to be. Another tip is trying to draw with pens instead of a pencil. When you draw with a pen, the mark is bolder and permanent. With a pencil, people tend to be more careful or noncommittal. So try drawing with a pen.

No go! Draw! Doodle! Go nuts!

A DRAWING TUTORIAL

Here are some examples of my favorite artists that draw simply. Drawing simply isn't bad and drawing the way ONLY YOU CAN DRAW is discovering YOUR VOICE VISUALLY as a STORYTELLER.

Drawing Guide

You can download this drawing guide I made to help you draw figures with basic shapes.

RESEARCH

Fix-It Man Reference:

Here's a Dropbox link to my reference folder from the Fix-It Man for you to download.

EXAMPLE STARTS

Here are some examples of loose sketches from my books.

Learning from Storyboard Artists

I've always been a huge nerd of animated movies. While working at Pixar, I would pick up the discarded drawings from the story room. Please don't report me! I just loved the loose drawings that had contained so much story.

I didn't realize until later what the lesson was. The lesson is not to worry about accurate or good drawings. Aim to capture the moment, the feeling. In the beginning, just get the drawing down. You may need to redraw it several times to get the staging and acting right. Don't get tied to your drawings.

Here are some examples.

MONSTERS INC. (Bob Peterson)

And the legendary Bill Peete. Bill was Walt Disney's lead story artist for many years until he had a falling out with Walt. After many years in animation, he turned to picture books where he had an equally amazing career.

Bill Peete wrote an insightful autobiography that is a must read for every storyteller. After reading his autobiography, I knew my future didn't lie in animation but it was in creating books. Picture Books and the Novels are probably the purest form of artistic expression that exists as a business. Creatively, it's extremely rewarding.

Btw, Bill Peet also drafts in legal pads, just like Jerry Seinfeld and Barak Obama. Maybe time to order some?

You can read more about Bill's approach to writing here.

USING INDEX CARDS