From The Studio: Life in Pictures, Will Eisner

Recently, I've been feeling a general sense of inertia towards my drawing endeavors which has been slowly but constantly developing over the last few weeks and months.

In a bid to stave off this most unwelcome state of being, I have taken to pulling out all my old art books and graphic novels in a bid to see if I can't jump start a bit of enthusiasm to pick up the pen and pencil once more.

One of the first things that I plucked off the shelf was "Life in Pictures" by Will Eisner, a largely autobiographical graphic novel which tells the story of his early attempts at breaking into the comic industry.

As I said at the start, I've been going through a bit of a creative lull recently. Everyone who has been through this will understand what I'm talking about. Every time I've picked up a pen recently, every attempt has just felt so stiff and unnatural which makes even the slightest thought at going to the drawing board extremely unappealing.

All this was to change though as soon as I began to flick through the pages of this book. With each page that I turned, I began to marvel more and more at the seemingly effortless flow of Eisner's illustrations, the attention to detail, the uncanny expressions of the characters.

So, pretty soon my inertia had all but disappeared and I was back to drawing again. After all, when the world has given us guy's like Will Eisner to be in awe of who leave us all trailing in their wake, there's really no excuse at sitting around complaining about a lack of inspiration.

 Not only was Will Eisner a fantastic Illustrator, he was also a master of storytelling with all of his characters tales weaving into one another.

So, if you haven't got this book, go and buy it. Open it and allow yourself to be transported into the world of Will Eisner. And if you already have it, read it again. I assure you, there will be parts you've missed the first time around that you'll discover and the rest that you'll marvel at all over again.