Draw Tippy the Turtle!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve seen the ads my entire life. Draw Tippy the Turtle! Draw Cubby the Bear! Draw the Pirate! This past New Years’ Eve I decided it was time to make a fresh start and called the Art Instruction School’s 1-800 number for the free art test. I’ve since completed the test and mailed it back.

But I have lingering concerns. Are these guys legitimate? Are their graduates taken seriously by people in the industry? If I showed up at [insert favorite comic book company’s name here] with my Art Instruction Schools diploma, will they laugh me out onto the street without even looking at my portfolio? Has anyone ever started a real career by drawing Tippy, Cubby, et al?

(In case you’re curious, I drew Cubby instead of the pig, and then went over him with ink. Then I drew Tippy instead of the pirate and then went over him with a darker 6B pencil–ink would have bled through onto the house I shaded in. It was fun but I hope I’m not just wasting my time and getting my hopes up for nothing.)

2

When I was a kid my neighbor – a superb artist – sent this in. His mother beamed about how they sent out someone to interview him. But I don’t think he signed up.

Years later I sent in an application. Sure enough, they sent out someone to interview me. I am nowhere near the class of my neighbor (although I’m not completely terrible – I made the Gorgon mask that I use on my page at http://www.MedusaMystery.com ), so right away I realized that they were not being extremely discriminating in chosing who to interview. So I never signed up.

I don’t know anyone who HAS taken the course, so I can’t tell you how it turns out or how respectable they are. They do spend a heck of a lot on advertising, though.

3

I actually find that a little reassuring. It would be nice to get an interview instead of an impersonal “you suck” letter, which is what I’d been dreading.

Supposedly Charles Schultz completed the course, according to the mail insert. That’s the only name on the insert I recognized. But if I’m even only half as successful as he was, well, that’s fine by me :slight_smile:

Do you want to see what I can do with a mouse and Paint? I’ve posted this before, but my ego could use a little stroking: http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/katart.htm

4

They’ve been doing it for years. I preferred the pirate, myself. I drew it and sent it in, and they sent a letter wanting me to enroll, but when they learned I was ten and lived in Germany, well, it kinda died a quiet death.

I still have the 8X10 drawing of the pirate I drew kicking around here somewhere…

5

I did the pirate drawing when I was in the fourth or fifth grade or so — circa 1970. I was fairly talented — it was a dead-on likeness.

They sent me back a letter saying that I had real talent, but that I was too young to enroll.

I’m very impressed with their recordkeeping, however. When I was in college, I got a followup letter, asking me if I wanted to enroll.

And that, friends, is why today I am an engineer, and not an artiste…