Sarina

My entry for because this piece definitely has a back story - Of course, I didn't win
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Long Explanation of this pic's Back-Story:

This piece wasn’t supposed to be anything special, just a practice concept sketch of a character from a story I’m creating. However, being the perfectionist I am, I started putting a lot of effort into it as it went along. I wanted to get the confident ninja-like yet feminine quality of this character down right and practice some different poses/angles. So there I was on a Saturday morning in my favorite chair, drinking coffee and focusing intently on my drawing. You can always tell when I’m focused because apparently my face looks pissed off! Ha ha! Anyway, as I was working, my mom looked over and asked the question I’d hoped I’d never hear. “Wow Ali, you’re so focused on your drawing. May I see it?” *GULP!* She wanted to see my drawing?! YIKES!

Something you should know about me is that when it comes to my art, imagination, and dream of writing/drawing my stories someday, I don’t share them with my family…EVER! I love my family to death, but I’m very secretive around them out of fear that they’ll judge and look down on me and my love of anime, manga, fantasy, even the idea of an artistic passion. We’re a conservative southern traditional family. Let’s just say my love of Art, fantasy, and anime make me feel like a bit of a black-sheep. Therefore, I hide my anime and manga technique books, my sketchbook might as well have a chain lock around it, and my bedroom door always stays shut . I can be really sensitive sometimes, especially about my passion for art. Yet I yearned to share my passion for art with them someday, hoping and wishing they’d understand and except me. So you can see why I dreaded this request
Thinking quickly in surprise and panic , I told my mom my drawing wasn’t finished yet and I’d show her later. I was nervous the rest of the day, yet I knew I needed to show her to overcome my insecurities.
That night, I finished the drawing, shooed the butterflies from my stomach, and handed my sketchbook over. She studied it for a while as my cheeks burned red. “Ali,” my mom said (I held my breath). “This is really good! I didn’t know you could draw like this.” I was thrilled! We talked for a while about how I taught myself to draw. I was just all smiles.
So this drawing wasn’t a fail, my confidence in it and my family was. But I faced my fears and learned to trust my family. Since then, I’ve been a lot more open with my art, even posting some on Facebook for my other non-DA friends to see and I’ve gotten some very kind compliments and a boost in confidence. My mom is even paying for me to take an Art class at my college. So really, this drawing, which I felt was a fail, became the key to acceptance, trust, and confidence.