Alex Heizer

I’ve drawn all my life. Most kids draw on the walls. Instead of yelling at me, my mother put paper on the walls to protect them. 

I grew up creating my own versions of my favorite Marvel comics, and some of the few childhood memories I have are about drawing. As a teenager I won 3rd place at a comic con against older teens in my age group, losing only to 18 year olds. In the early 90’s I got turned on to Japanese manga. In the mid-90’s I interviewed at Marvel and was given a 6-page Tom DeFalco script to draw, along with some helpful critiques of my work. This inspired me to finally go to art school.

At art school, I studied in the Fine Arts tradition — live models, oil paints, Conte crayons, quick 2-minute croquis and longer 3-hour, 8-week sessions, with world-class teachers! I was in all my artistic glory! I lived for my classes, even with the hour-long commute into the city on the train or driving. So, how did that suck?

That part didn’t suck, but there was an aspect of receiving advanced education which did. Formal education is the process of passing knowledge, experience, wisdom and style from those who have it to those who need it. In the process, the student learns how to create art according to the teacher’s rules. And, as they learn to create according to the teacher’s rules, their own artistic voice gets put aside. This should be temporary, for the purpose of learning skills which will reinforce your natural talent. Skills like discipline, focus, technique… So, what sucks about that? 

What sucks is, often it takes some time for the artist to allow themselves to listen to their own voice again after years of listening to their teachers. Learning from a master can be a valuable experience in the development of a creative person’s skills, but to truly reach your potential you need to apply their teachings to your own artistic voice. I’ve seen countless examples of people’s work which looks good, but looks like student work, or worse, like someone else’s work.

Education is the best thing you can do for yourself if you care about your craft, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. You can learn new knowledge all over the place, especially if you live near a city. The key to making it not suck is working hard to make what you create not limited by the learned behaviors of a structured classroom and its teacher.