Ever since I started to really get serious about Graphic Design, my work has been more and more computer based. I got really comfortable with Illustrator’s pen tool and my sketches became more and more sketchy. I would draw my ideas roughly on paper and develop them further on the computer, or sometimes I’d just skip the paper altogether. Nothing wrong with that, as long as I get my final results, right? Sort of.
The problem is I always loved to do stuff with my hands, but the computer was starting to atrophy them. Not only that. There’s a pleasure and deepness involved in the tactile experience of holding a pencil or feeling the friction of a dip nib on paper, not to mention the lovely scent of Sumi ink or the bliss of looking at a watercolor palette. The material is inspiring in itself. It makes you put more weight on the process and less on the end result.
Or maybe this is because I didn’t get to be good at it yet? The thing is I’m not really too worried if I’m gonna be really good. I don’t intend to become an art gallery artist or even a professional calligrapher. I’m pretty happy being a graphic designer and I don’t feel guilty at all if I have to make adjustments in Photoshop or Illustrator for a final professional piece. At least that’s how I feel now. I still love me my computer! But, oh, the joys of working with my hands!
This is a happiness that I want to share. I intend to post on this blog my journey with graphic design, typography, modern calligraphy, watercolor and anything else I find inspiring along the way.
