Drawing with Ourselves

In this day and age, we have more advanced tools for our creative and productive needs than we did years before. Writers, who were strictly tied to tools like the pen and typewriter, now have multiple software programs on many machines to complete their work. Artists, who at one time were limited with physical planes such as paper and canvas, can now weave visual beauty on a computer screen. The physical labor of work drawn and written has never been easier for those whose productive lives revolved around writing and drawing. Yet despite these advances in digital software and tools, most people choose to start their productions with the pencil because, in more ways than one, that tool is an extension of ourselves.

Now when you think of the pencil, it’s most likely that the one that comes to mind is the No.2 model. Still widely used from academics to everyday work, we have all grown up knowing this tool well. The pencil has two primary functions: drawing and writing. The lines we make with these can take forms ranging from letters to objects. Whatever is made with its tip, it did not originate from the pencil. It came from the one using it. The pencil simply acts as an extension of ourselves, allowing us expression and ideas for others to see.

Another reason that the pencil feels natural is because of the simple similarities we, humanity, shares with them. Pencils mostly consist of wood, a product of the planet as are we. They come in multiple sizes and shapes, each better suited for certain tasks, as do we. The pencil has the capacity to create (with the writing tip) and to destroy (erasing), as do we. And like our own lives, the pencil’s uses are not infinite. Each sharpening at the tip after use widdling away its body until it can be sharpened no more.

When a sketch is first made or a rough idea is written, it’s usually crude and unrefined. These come from our thoughts that we have decided to put in physical form. Yet, these drafts are not suited for our advance tools because those are suited for finalizing and finesse. These tools, such as writing softwares, computers and digital programs like Photoshop, are used when the creator is sure on where to go next with the aforementioned ideas. So as it stands, the pencil is better suited for the early stages, for its rough and single colored lines often reflect the state, the mess that is our answers, thoughts, ideas, and dreams. Besides, they are pretty cheap too.

Notes:
I chose to illustrate my point by attempting to compare the pencil to humans. I figured that emphasizing on the similarities to a subject such as ourselves would connect to readers well.