After bearing great waves of shame in my Draw Something Tell-All post, I quit playing for a couple of weeks. I just couldn’t bring myself to draw any more of my frighteningly appalling Works of Shame.
…Then I attempted to play again, hoping for a miracle in the form of spontaneous artistic giftedness.
That miracle clearly didn’t come, so I quit again.
Then I picked it up once more, and in so doing, finally had a moment of enlightenment.
I can’t do art.
(Okay – that wasn’t the moment of enlightenment. I was already excruciatingly aware of that.)
I realized that I can’t do art, but perhaps, just perhaps, if I attempted to amuse my opponents, they would be distracted from my loathsome drawing skills and disdain me a tiny bit less.
I also realized that although it is generally considered malodorous to use words in one’s drawings, if one’s words do not give away the clue, but instead add a satirical twist to the drawing, it is accepted and welcomed as “Better Than No Words”.
On other drawings, I enjoyed the power of subtle touches.
Such as the difference that one stroke of a pen can make…
Or perpetuating a stereotype in a scrappy illustration.
(My apologies to all of my red-headed, uni-browed, and red-headed uni-browed readers.)
And, when I couldn’t find anything humorous to touch on, I went for an incredulous waste of my opponent’s time, as I meticulously drew a completely unnecessary amount of details.
(See those grey x’s? Those are the gates that cordon off the student section.)
(And those black dots in the South Endzone? Those are the frat guys in their suits.)
(And that one lone green dot in section B? That’s me, being rebellious and not wearing team colors. At the biggest game of the year, no less.)
I found that it was even more fun to waste my opponent’s time if I could draw a detailed picture and not give the actual clue away until the very end, therefore preventing them from solving early and escaping my clutches.
(Most likely, though, the joke was on me, as I was the one who continued to have unwashed dishes in my sink due to extenuating drawing times. They probably washed their dishes while they waited on my drawing to finish.)
I also decided to jump on any opportunity to make a movie reference,
A cliché reference,
or a bacon reference.
(See why I need to distract them from my hideous art?)
But to help out with my lack of skills, I decided to start referencing Google Images when I found myself really needing to plagiarize someone else’s hard work.
I found that it never hurts to do a double header, either.
(Ryan Gosling is somewhere right now saying, “Hey Girl, I know you can’t draw, so I’m totally okay with the fact that you made me look like a Russian Spy with a broken nose and a hot dog for lips.”)
But more than anything, I realized that the fun is in the details, no matter how poorly they’re illustrated.
(Unless, of course, I get the details wrong. And my husband happens to see.)
But ultimately, I still hung my hat on the fact that my best work is still in the gory – details or not, I’m AWESOME with blood and guts.
Look at that precision!! Behold that happy patient!!
I missed my calling.
I wasn’t meant to be an accountant, nor a blogger – I was meant to cut people open for a living.
You almost make me want to try the game even though I can’t draw either. I loved your Princess Bride reference! To be honest considering you are drawing on a small screen (ipad or iphone) I don’t think you are doing half bad.
the iPad is unbelievably easier than the iPhone. I only play when I can swipe Ali’s iPad now.
Gosling is my favorite. ;)
But Gosling was HORRIBLE!!!!
So very funny! Your posts about Draw Something and Suri make me want an iphone. Just for those things though.
No – you need an iPAD. Draw Something on the iPhone is indecently more difficult.
My cousins introduced T and I to this on our vacation and now we play every night. It’s actually a really fun game! I also go way overboard on the details whereas he does too few. He’ll draw for 10 seconds and be done and I have NO IDEA what it is. It’s fun. :) And I think your drawing skills outweigh mine! It’s hard to draw a skinny little line with your finger!
I totally think it’s a guy thing. Every guy I play with seems to have the theory that Less Is Better. The quicker I can portray the clue with the fewest lines, the better. And us girls, well, we clearly enjoy making things complicated.
I cannot tell you how much I love your drawings. They crack me up every time I see one. I usually guess what you’re drawing way before you finish and then kick myself for not waiting so I could really look at the illustration in it’s hilarious entirety. You are tied with AZSundog for my favorite opponent. (Although, I realize now that I’ve never played Jamie, so perhaps she’ll give you some competition ;)
Jamie is Queen of Draw Something. You should give her a try.
(And Tim is always making fun of me for stealing ideas from Google Images, but think any inspiration is fair in a game that limits you to drawing with an index finger.)
I really wish I could at all justify buying something I could play this on, but … I can’t. And I’m a miser even if I could. =p
They really need to have some sort of online version. I play iSketch which is similar, but you have a one minute time limit and there’s usually a LOT of unpleasant people drawing stupid things, cheating, or just being rude. Playing one opponent who you can choose sounds much better.
I wouldn’t worry about your drawing skills. On iSketch at least, there are some players who will use up their time drawing something gorgeous but unrelated, then in the last 5 seconds will write the word. Cheating and not playing the game is more annoying to me than someone who is trying.
I actually find, (especially with a time limit) that it’s often not about how well you can draw, but how well you can convey an idea or see what someone else is trying to do. Especially when most people (myself included) have to draw with their mouse. Which is hard! Your drawings rock compared to most of mine!
Also i don’t understand the “vaccine” drawing. One less?
It’s a huge media campaign in the states for a somewhat controversial vaccine called Gardasil. The tag line is “I can be One Less One Less!!”, chanted by preteen girls.
Seriously, you are a creative artist! Brilliant and fun.
i disagree. you were most certainly made to be a blogger and bring smiles to everyone’s faces who reads your posts. you are HILARIOUS all the stinking time. so funny. i quite enjoy you. The Rapture?! Lady Gaga?! Dumbledore?! I’ll just say it. i wish i was as cool as you :)
Now you’re just being nice. But I’ll take it!!
I now have the overwhelming urge to upgrade my phone JUST SO I CAN PLAY THAT. [see also: Angry Birds]
I shall never play Draw Something with anyone but my husband, who is bound by spiritual law to play even though I stink. At least I think that’s scriptural.
That makes me want to play with you. But I can’t marry you to do it, so I guess I’m out of luck.