This week’s video shows how to draw a cartoon of a surfing alligator. There is an initial instruction on how to draw cartoon hands in this episode as well. Some people find them difficult, but they’re quite easy to draw. Most people have 2 that they can use as models 🙂
There’s also a quote by the amazing Albert Einstein:
“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”
I love this quote! It is directly related to last week’s quote by Dr. Seuss in the sense that each of us is unique: We don’t have to follow the crowd. While it is true that we live as part of a society bound by certain rules and laws, we don’t have to blindly follow what others are doing just to be like them.
It is difficult to break away from the crowd. Sometimes we are afraid of speaking up because of what others may think, say or do. We all want to be accepted and liked by others, but if we are changing who we are in the process, are they liking who we really are or a different version of us?
I’ll give you an example: today many kids in high school and even middle school are vaping, which is like smoking … only worse.
I’m willing to bet most of those kids started not because they liked the idea of doing it, but because they were afraid to be mocked or pushed out of their group if they didn’t do it.
They simply followed the crowd and their lack of courage is now affecting their health in ways they don’t even understand …
They were afraid to stand out and in order to belong, they pushed aside their own ideas, the stuff that makes each of us, well us.
It is important to make friends, we are social animals, but it is more important to stay true to our foundations, to our ideals and our goals.
I’m pretty sure most of those kids weren’t thinking of ways to harm themselves when they began vaping, and yet that’s exactly what they’re doing. Sorry to say, but that’s pretty darn dumb: Giving up who you are and harming yourself in order to hang out with others when there’s like 7 billion people in the world! 7 billion! You’re going to tell me these kids can’t find a group of kids that aren’t willingly harming themselves because they think it looks cool? Dumb, dumb, dumb …
So back to Oscar Wilde, be yourself stand up for your ideals, stand out from the crowd , make good choices, be courageous and choose your friends well.
In this week’s video we break down a quote by Dr. Seuss
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
This week’s doodle was requested by 3 brothers from Austin, TX: Lucas, Nico & Mateo. Their request was for me to draw the Think Doodle Do little dude from the logo.
No one is perfect – that’s why pencils have erasers
This week’s doodle is a fun one! How to draw different facial expressions on cartoons. If you’d like to find out how to draw different facial expressions watch the video above. The video shows expressions like:
“Start by doing what’s necessary;
then do what’s possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible“
That’s a great quote by St. Francis. I chose this quote for a couple of reasons: First, Francis of Assisi is known as the patron saint of animals, and since this week’s doodle was a great white shark, I thought it was fitting. Second, the quote talks about doing the impossible, which in order to generate major change is what we need to do.
While I was drawing the cartoon shark, I mentioned that sharks are a keystone species. A keystone in architecture was a stone or brick that was placed at the top of an arch, and if removed, the whole structure would come crumbling down. In a similar way, a keystone species is a species that if removed would bring down an entire ecosystem.
Sharks are a keystone species. We can’t do without them. Unfortunately humans are fishing sharks in huge numbers because of their fins. And since a lot of people still see sharks as dangerous animals they don’t pay enough attention or simply don’t care. But we should care.
Sharks are more beneficial to us than they are dangerous. They keep their ecosystems in check by keeping populations of smaller fish in check. If they weren’t there, these fish would wreak havoc in the oceans. In their absence the oceans would suffer, and so would we. Sharks are on the top of their food chain. They keep the populations of fish healthy by getting rid of the sick and weak fish. They also clean the ocean by eating the dead and dying fish. They do all this and so much more!
Humans, on the other hand, have an astonishingly amazing track record of messing up anything related to mother nature. We are horrible! We’ve been doing it for thousands of years, and if we keep it up we’re going to break the whole thing! This is our planet, and if we all do something about our environment, we could bring forth some much needed change in the world.
Humans, unlike other animals, weren’t designed to fly or breathe underwater. Doing any of those things would by definition be impossible for us …
It sounds impossible, but if we are to believe St. Francis, we may find ourselves doing it.
Francis of Assisi talks about doing the impossible. Humans, unlike other animals, weren’t designed to fly or breathe underwater. Doing any of those things would by definition be impossible for us; however millions of people around the globe jump on an airplane and fly every year. There are others who put their SCUBA gear and witness the breathtaking beauty of our underwater landscapes.
These 2 inventions and thousands of others have redefined what the word “impossible” meant. If you were able to travel back in time 2,000 years, and ask around if they thought humans would ever be able to breathe underwater, talk to their friends in a different country while at the same time looking at their faces or take a stroll on the moon; they would say you’re nuts. That, in their minds, would be impossible! In that sense, you realize that sometimes impossible simply means lacking the knowledge or skill to do something.
Sometimes we call difficult things, or things we don’t know how to do “impossible”. What Assisi tells us is that if we begin by doing what we need, and then move to what we can, soon we’ll find ourselves doing things that we thought we couldn’t do. It is by doing that we acquire the skills, knowledge and experience. There is a progression that Assisi refers to, but it begins with taking an action.
This week’s quote comes to us from the great Steve Martin:
“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent”
Steve Martin is a very famous actor, musician, but most importantly: comedian. This quote is his way of poking fun at himself, by implying that he was born without any talents. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t know; although I highly doubt it, because I believe each of us was born with something special. In any case, the quote is spot on!
Talent refers to things we are born with … they’re gifts. Some people have the gift of height or a beautiful voice; some are gifted in music while others are naturally good in sports. Some people seem to be predisposed for certain things at an early age while others struggle under similar conditions. Regardless of what the U.S. Constitution says, not all men are created equal. We all have our own unique DNA … and some are not even created men … they’re women!
What Steve Martin is telling us, is that even if we weren’t born with a specific talent, we can still achieve success as long as we persist.If we practice and improve, and we try and try again without giving up, we can achieve our goals.
Can we achieve the same level as those who were born with talent? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes we can achieve an even higher level!
People who persist have a stronger mental edge. They just won’t give up. Talent can only take a person so far, persistence is a key ingredient for success. If a person who was born with a talent doesn’t push him or herself, they won’t get very far compared with those who push themselves in order to develop a skill. If a person who was born with a gift, however keeps on pushing forward, he or she will keep on building on top of their talent.
Obviously there are some things that practice and perseverance won’t help us achieve. Try as I might, for example, I won’t get to be 7’ tall through practice. But if my goal is to play on the NBA, I can focus on improving other skills that will help me get there.
In conclusion, be thankful for the gifts you have, don’t worry about the ones you don’t; persevere, don’t give up and follow your dreams!
Suggested Tools for Drawing:
Note to Parents:
I hope you take a few moments to watch these videos with your kids. As a volunteer soccer coach for many years, I’ve seen how positive words can generate amazing results. The positive quotes I share are meant to spark a dialog between you and your kids. Take this opportunity to enhance the values I teach with your own personal experiences and point of view. Have fun with the doodles and encourage your kids to practice. Doodling increases creativity, moreover is a skill that they can build up and improve. I started doodling as a kid, and it propelled me into my career as a graphic and web designer, and now … Think Doodle Do. Who knows what our children’s future might bring, but learning a new positive skill is never a bad thing.
Don’t forget to visit our store to see the doodles that I teach on the videos as designs for t-shirts, wall art and more.
