The Calling...

...that I've been looking for all these years, I've found it. It wasn't exactly a momentous occasion, but a gradual realization that I could, perhaps, do this for a living...

It was during the 3-month long semester break and I was facing a metaphorical brick wall. I had bought 50 notebooks a few months before with the idea that I could draw on them and sell them online. The first few books were fine; I drew the sigils of the main noble houses of Game of Thrones (can you tell that I'm a GoT geek?) and they looked awesome.

But after that, my pool of inspiration dried up. I found myself floundering for anything that might sell (I spent RM240, man!) and when I couldn't find it, my confidence was gone too. I was resigned to the fact that I might not get my investment back, much less make a profit. And so I threw myself into freelance writing (basically reviews of headphones) and exercised my atrophying writing muscle. But then I stumbled upon lettering...

A friend (bless her kind heart) has asked me to draw on a few books for her so she could jot down lecture notes in them. I was actively searching for an epiphany on Pinterest when I came across lettering. Sean Wes was the first lettering maestro I've ever checked out, and his work is beautiful. There's something about drawing letters that appealed to me and I gave it a try. Hours were spent on simple block letters, and those hours could have gone on forever. I never tired of it.

Sean Wes suggested that amateurs like me should first study the history of all the letter styles (serif, sans serif, blackletter, etc). I tried, I really did, but patience was never my strong suit. I'm usually cautious and analytical (or so I say), but when I find something that feels right, my heart dictates that I must jump in whooping. And so I did.

So what was my shortcut? I copied. Mind you, I didn't plagiarize other people's work, but took what I liked from them and replicated it. I also searched for fonts on online, and arranged letters into words. That's what I do; arrange and copy. That doesn't make me a real artist, true, but arranging takes some art too. Money is slowly trickling in; lettering is a painstaking business and any hopes for fast cash have long flown out of my window. But I don't mind. Every hour I spend on my drawings (each book takes approximately 3 hours to complete) is an hour I willingly spend.

What's the lesson of this story? I think there are several. Firstly, when you're facing a brick wall, Google ways to scale that wall. Secondly, when you find something you truly love, seize the opportunity with both hands. Throttle the mistakes out of that opportunity. Thirdly, shortcuts are inevitable, but that doesn't mean you can't build up the skills. You just have to make allowances for more mistakes.

P.s. I was recently made Head Editor of AIKOL Press! It's a publication for the law faculty of my university. I've always dreamed of becoming a Head Editor of something. A newspaper, a magazine... So this is a dream come true. Thank you Allah.