How to draw a Good Enough soldier

Jeannel, , , ,

 
[blockquote source=”Douglas MacArthur”]“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.[/blockquote]
 
 
War is a common metaphor for business. We wage marketing campaigns, fight for customers and market share, and even strive to crush our competitors. When we’re going after our goals, we take no prisoners and charge until our objectives have been achieved.
 
I’ll be honest. I’m not a big fan of this metaphor. Perhaps it’s because that’s not how I like to do business or engage with others. Perhaps it’s because I feel for the soldiers we send to fight on our behalf. (My best friends and I joined the Marines right before the first Gulf War, and they all got deployed to the front. One of my friends died, and the rest never really came back.)
 
As a result, I’ve developed an aversion for unnecessary war and a protectiveness about our soldiers. (It’s also probably a big reason why my career now focuses on conversation and collaboration.)
 
So in this period between Memorial Day and the anniversary of D-Day, it seemed appropriate to dedicate a lesson to the men and women who fight on our behalf.
 

How to draw a Good Enough soldier

 
GoodEnough-Soldier
 

Three Tips

 

  • More than anything, the thing that says “soldier” to me in a drawing is the helmet. It’s bigger than the person’s head. It also rides low on the face. That’s why I start with drawing the face first. I think about it as a coffee cup with an ear for a handle, where the eyes of the face are going to go right to the top of that cup’s rim. Then I can get the scale of the helmet right because I can see what it looks like over the head!

    •  

  • The helmet itself can be drawn as a full-on upside down “U” shape, but I like to draw mine with a bit of an outward flare on the sides. It’s simple, and it gets the idea across. But it wants just a bit of flare…not a full-on upward curl! ;^)

    •  

  • Once the head and helmet are done, I find that I only need to draw a bit of the soldier’s head and shoulders to get the rest of the idea across. I tend to draw the uniform I most remember wearing back in the day – camouflage! But, I don’t have to draw the actual pattern for you to get a feel that my soldier’s out in the field…the helmet does that all on its own!

    •  
    And that’s it! May all our soldiers be safe, well, and come home soon.
     
    Looking forward to seeing what you draw forth,
    Jeannel-blogsignature-leftslant
    P.S. What does YOUR soldier look like? Draw yours up, Tweet it out to @jeannelking #goodenough, and see who salutes!
     
    P.P.S. Want to have fun drawing AND inspire others to pick up the pen at the same time?  Got something you wish you could draw, but you’re not sure how to approach it? [highlights color=”ffea00″]Tweet your drawing or idea to @jeannelking and tag it with #goodenough: it could be featured in an upcoming “how to draw Good Enough” blog post![/highlights]
     
     

    About Jeannel

    - INFJ - Strategic | Activator | Connectedness | Relator | Intellection - Scorpio - Cat Person - Movie Buff - Modern-Day Johnny Appleseed - Creative who Specializes in Organizational Culture Change - Painfully Aware of Her White Privilege

    1 Comment

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *