So, to nip any comments in the bud, should any happen along this way who wish to make the statement:

I don't consider myself to be an artist. I figure artists work hard through trial-and-error, working with their hands and minds to eventually copy down their ideas directly from their head to paper. It takes time, practice and skill to do what they do, and much talent to become good at it.

I can't do that. I've tried drawing on my own on and off for years, I simply cannot develop that kind of creativity and communication between my mind and hand to draw what I want, to create a style unique to me.

It is either a lack of patience or something else. I don't know. Fact of the matter is, I can look at a few pictures drawn by someone else and with a few hours of practice I can mimic their style and turn it to my own uses, and with reasonably good success.

I don't believe my work to be even close to the quality of the original artist, but it pleases me to be able to actually draw something that is residing in my head, even if I have to filter it through a technique that isn't my own.

What I do is mimic. I practice by freehand copying a few bits of images from the artist I become drawn to. When I understand the way the pencil is supposed to move, the way the shapes interact in that particular method, I can turn it around and draw my own ideas through that style.

It's not art. It's not copying either. It's something in between, in my opinion. It's how I draw.