Never Overlook the Obvious

I don't talk about it very often, but I am a sequential artist and comics creator. No, I have not worked professionally for any of the major companies, but I have won a few contests and awards in local-type contests, etc., and I do pull out the old pencil and pad from time to time to doodle whatever it is I need to... you know... doodle.

It was in so doing this weekend that I had to pull out The Art Box.

The Art Box is exactly that: a box in which I toss everything Art-related that I either do not want on the drafting table or doesn't fit there - or I simply don't know what to do with, but knew I had to buy.

See, I'm one of Those artists: the kind that constantly collects and stores shit for no purpose other than... "Art." And not in a pretentious way - which is why I wanted to tell you this story.

A while back, I was in a department store (there are no Art or Hobby shops where I live for about 100 miles or so) and I saw something called a Flexi Ruler. This is not a sponsored post, mind you, I just figured I might as well give it a plug. Anyway, the Flexi Ruler is exactly what the name implies: a sturdy, but flexible, 12" ruler. It really is flexible - you can twist it, curl it around to make the ends meet, whatever - and it unfolds right back into place. I had no idea what this was useful for, but something in my mind was... well, not "clicking," but sputtering and wheezing violently.

I actually needed a T-square (still haven't found mine) and the only one I could find in town was at a hardware store for like $30 - slightly more than the $15-20 I was willing to pay (though I really don't know the going price for a T-square, so...), but I settled on this because I had that niggling feeling that I just needed it.

So last night, I was working on the Dark Conspiracy campaign setting. I was laying-out the neighborhoods so I could get the visual representation and all that, and I suddenly needed a straight line. As any artist knows, this can be a real pain. So I went to get the ruler off the table and the Flexi Ruler was setting on top of the bookcase. Perfect!

The ruler was perfect! It bent right down instead of punching me in the gut or leg and I could move it any way I wanted and just bend the part I didn't need aside. I didn't have to move everything I was doing or twist the paper 15 ways around...

I know this is a "boring" post and I'm going on way too long, but I found a whole slew of templates I had purchased over the years (in general, whenever I come across one I don't have and it's under $3-5, I'll grab it if I can) as well. They are almost all in different scales, but I had no idea what I had! I even came across the lettering guide and spacer... if only I had learned to use it. SIGH. Guess it doesn't matter anymore, anyway.

Anyway, the only real point to all this babbling is just that, if you are an artist, get An Art Box and grab any and everything you come across that strikes you. Like I said, I bought those templates throughout the years and knew I had them, but never realized what I had until last night. And when I came across the flexible ruler, I knew it was useful for something, just no idea what. And it was all worth it!

© C Harris Lynn, 2008