It is a terrible thing to have something in the mind’s eye that you just can’t get out on the paper right away! I’ve been working on art for my mangaKabob site in between taking care of sick kids. And boy am I rusty, but it is still quite satisfying to be able to just pick up a pencil and draw!
I still do it the old fashioned way. First I do a sketch with pencil and paper and then scan it into the computer. From that point I generally trace over the sketch in Fireworks and start dealing with things in layers. It can take a long time, but is quite a lot of fun for me. I really need to do this more often. Since I haven’t been able to spend too much time at the computer with sick kids about, I’ve had a chance to leaf through many back issues of Newtype USA for challenges and inspiration. I’m thinking of trying to do a drawing a day, just to get back into practice and to show the kids that their old dad still has it!