It’s confounding that the frustration I feel when getting warmed up for drawing now, is exactly the same as I remember having as far back as age 4, and definitely at age 8. Once I’m going, picking up a pencil and just doodling around, it takes just a minute to whip up a sketch like this one.
But from there, revving up the engine in my brain enough to work up a composition, and getting the gears connected to the ol’ drawing arm (the left one) to render it reasonably cleanly, requires some effort. Then some help from my trusty light box.
I’m contemplating the purchase of a Wacom Intuos Pro Paper Edition. My son no longer has use for a Dell all-in-one I gave him a few years ago. I originally purchased it for my father in Arizona, in an attempt to see if he could manage the touch screen after his stroke. That didn’t work out, so I had it shipped home. The factory-calibrated 24″ FHD screen on this thing is outstanding, and it would be ideal for digital drawing. Once I have the system set up on the drawing table, no longer tilted, I’ll decide on getting a tablet… or not.
Follow-up: Leaning towards the Wacom Intuos Medium. It’s half the price of the Pro — $200 vs. $400 — and it comes with a 2-year license for software that’s useful for cartooning.