I want to use this post to talk about some of the mentors I’ve had the past few years.  You’ll notice in Dragin as I slowly post my previous strips the style has changed and improved over time.  It’s a progress I owe to a group of cartoonists and professionals I’ve had the good fortune of getting to know over the years.  Without their guidance Dragin wouldn’t be what it is today.  We would meet once a month at a local pizzeria.  There, members of the southeast chapter of the National Cartoonist Society would encourage and give me advice and techniques I may not have discovered on my own.  Being a member also led to many other opportunities.  I tagged along as we traveled to local comic book conventions.  We also gave shop talks at libraries and participated in arts and craft fairs around town.

New confidence

These mentors took me under their wing and gave me greater confidence than I had before.  It gave me the motivation to focus on Dragin more fully than I had in the past. I was able to take their advice and reevaluate where I wanted to go with Dragin.  I began visiting local coffee shops and found I was more productive being among people than I had otherwise been at home.  The sounds of espresso machines, the clatter of dishes and background conversation.  It’s what I realized I needed to dive into Dragin and pump out those comic strips.  My path seemed much clearer and focused than it had before.  It was then that the look of the strips began to change.  Now I was making up for lost time.  That new found confidence from my mentors even led me to form new friendships and connections which I’ll delve into deeper in my next blog entry.