Is this the Year You Will Make an Imaginary Friend?

An imaginary friend can add a lot to your art life.

This is Dear Me! and she has been my best imaginary friend and my Muse for more than forty years. She first showed up in a children’s book I did called “Here and Gone” - as a puff ball critter who had to let go of everything she held on to, so she could blow away with the wind and find freedom. I plan to republish that book as an ebook one day soon.

At any rate, she and I became best friends and she has been invaluable in my art life. She even helps me in my class videos because she loves to be on camera - and I don’t.

Don’t expect that an imaginary friend will always agree with you, always think you’re doing the right thing, or that you can always tell her what to do. They can be very headstrong, outspoken, and even sassy on occasion. They can boss you around.

But having a simple little companion is a big addition to your sketchbooking art especially. If it is very easy to draw, it can show up on any page - to help explain something, to ask questions, make comments, or even make fun of you . . .

This is what Dear Me! had to say when I had to clear out a big stock of watercolor canvases that did not work with my style of watercolor.

If you look up any lessons on cartooning, and you practice some simple facial features, you will see that the tiniest lines and marks can make any expression you need for the situation at hand.

Here is a very haughty Dear Me! when she thinks she knows something better than I do. The eyelids and the simple mouth made the whole idea. And she puts her hands on her hips a lot. She doesn’t really have hips, but you get the idea.

And here, Dear Me! helps me explain how many sketchbooks we have done . . . she is surprised and proud of how many there are. Her body language and open mouth expression show the surprise.

And here, she is frustrated about her art. She has tried so many ideas and it’s still not right!

Notice how much emotion can be expressed with just the enlarged pupils and downturned mouth.

It is fun to add a little personality too. For example, Dear Me! always wears a hair bow - on just one single hair. That is her special quirk. If it were ever missing, there would be BIG drama!

So, how can you make an imaginary friend? I can’t share Dear Me! with you because she is highly copyright protected. But you can start with any simple shape that is easy for you to draw (think stick people simplicity). It could be an animal, a balloon, or even a waterdrop, flower or leaf. Add arms and legs and simple expressions, and go have fun getting to know each other. You will never feel lonely when you are creating again.