Drawing - Please Help me Understand!!!

[anonymous]

I'm a little distraught right now... I've come across very opposing viewpoints, and one of them really disturbs me. Is drawing people/animals/cartoons for fun wrong? Is it forbidden in Islam? This just doesn't make any sense to me... None at all... I've been looking online, and I've found that I don't trust the online fatwas (since they all seem to be incredibly severe and "extreme", if I may use that word), and the Hadith they quote seem to be... Well, they don't make sense to me. One of the Hadith that is quoted in those so called online fatwas said something like "the most severe punishments will go to the image makers"... I don't understand how that makes any sense... If I become an artist, and just draw pictures for fun... Will I be punished more than any other criminal? Why? Is it referring only to those who make idols or images for worship, like some claim?

Please, I know this might be a silly thing to get upset over, but this is really shaking me... I can understand the opinions about music being avoided, but this is too much... I enjoy drawing harmless pictures a lot, and I had planned to learn some form of web design that would involve a lot of drawing as a possible career option... It's also one of my few passions and hobbies (but dont' worry, it's not something that keeps me away from religion) Please help me make sense of this all...

Thank you