Sit Up Straight!

This is a public service announcement for alla you young artists out there:

Learn how to draw at the table with good posture.

Y'know, sit up straight and don't lean over the artwork, like Mom used to tell ya (and if she didn't, she should have, cuz if you're the type who likes to hunch over the drawing board while you work, take it from Quasi Modo here, it's a bad idea). I've always been a Huncher and it's really starting to take its toll on my lower back now that I'm getting to be a geezer.

Few artists consider the pitfalls of illustrating comics when they first start out, and in particular, no one worries about their health, as the paramount problem is finding work. Well junior, once that lil' problem is solved, consider that you'll be spending the better part of your day (and probably evening and night), drawing. Not one or two or three hours a day, eight to twelve hours a day, every day (and weekends are just another day for the vast majority of comic artists - so there are no days off). That may sound like a dream come true (and it pretty much is), but you need to prepare for this rigorous schedule. Just as a professional athlete must train for the game by lifting weights and working out, you need to prepare for those long hours at the drawing table being a professional cartoonist by practicing good posture.

Aye, tis a simple thing, but it's an important thing.

Think about the amount of wear and tear that your back will have to endure if you have bad posture and you become a successful comic book artist - we're talking about 10-30 years of sitting hunched over a drawing board, day in and day out. That's gonna to do some major damage, kiddo. I've seen many old timers (and not so old timers) walking around looking like they're next in line to ring the bells at Notre Dame, and it's mostly thanks to bad posture.

When I was younger it wasn't such a big deal, because I actually did more than sit on my lazy ass all day. Aeons ago, exercise wasn't an alien concept to me; but now that I am old and bitter and spend 16 hours a day sitting in front of a computer or lurched over the drawing board, my aching back is starting to get the better of me. I suppose I need to start exercising again to help alleviate the problem, but as an old and bitter geezer, exercise just makes me extra cranky. Back in the day, I used to be pretty svelte and worked hard to stay that way, but anymore it just seems like too much hassle, and it's a helluva a lot easier being a fat bastard, lemme tell ya.

Thus is illustrated the dementia of the aging mind... this recent formula that I've developed wherein "Exercise = Bad" can only be explained by senility... but it's a thought process that creeps into alotta people's brains once the dread age of 30-something emerges. My best advice to you is don't age over 30 - but somehow I don't think anyone will heed that advice, try as they might.

Regardless of this exercise issue, it's still a very good idea to learn how to draw with good posture, as no amount of exercise will save you from spinal warping if ya insist on being a huncher. You may laugh at the concept now, but trust me, the older ya get the more you'll look back on these words of wisdom and nod your head in growing wisdom - and if ya listened to me, you'll have a misty gleam in yer thankful eye (not to mention a strong, healthy back).

So save yourself some pain (and a hump) and start sitting with good posture. Slouching may look cool while yer young, but in 20 years time, cool isn't something that will matter - but being able to walk like a homo sapien will be.