Zen Pencils is a collection of comics based on famous quotes created by Gavin Than. His interpretation of Kevin Smith’s quote, “It costs nothing to encourage an artist,” really touched me. When I was young, I had the opposite experience: I recall my mom telling me to “quit messing around and do my homework” when she caught me drawing. In my family, occupations such as medicine and engineering were revered, not art. Sketching was seen as a frivolous hobby, and not a career possibility. I remember expressing interest in pursuing animation, but was discouraged, and told that I would be bored drawing the same thing over and over.

In Mr Than’s comic strip, the young artist, bolstered by her father’s encouragement, later becomes an animator for Disnee Studios, creates a film inspired by her early doodling, wins awards, and makes millions from licensed merchandise. I can’t help but wonder if that could have been me—if I had had positive reinforcement, would I have followed my dreams like his cartoon?

Fantasies aside, drawing at an early age doesn’t necessarily foreshadow a career in art any more than playing in Little League means a destiny in professional baseball. I do think, however, that drawing does develop hand-and-eye coordination, observational skills, visual thinking, and the ability to work out/through ideas. These may not seem as glamorous as seeing your name in lights, but KCD will still encourage you to have fun doodling anyway!

Zen Pencils is now a forthcoming book available for pre-order. See more comic quotes at Zen Pencils.

Images via Zen Pencils