I actually started out doing art first, then worked my way into writing.
At some point when I was younger - pre-teens I think - I had this deep desire to write and illustrate my own novel. It stayed floating around in my head despite the fact that I had not a lick of ability to draw or write to save my life.
I started teaching myself how to draw and that took a couple years (still learning!) I haven't started illustrating anything yet, it's WAY harder than I thought it would be but I like to do wildlife and flowers. I'm challenging myself to do more portraits so hopefully that will help when it comes to character sketches.
My art is here -
http://www.aubreycampbell.weebly.com
I tried to do the same with writing and teach myself but it just didn't work out until a couple years ago when I grabbed it and wouldn't let it go until it cooperated.
Sometimes I think that I should just stick to one or the other but there are days when I simply do NOT have the patience to work with my pencils and I must tell a story.
And then there are days when I simply can NOT stand to sort out words and I desperately need my pencils.
The only challenging part is that there's never enough time to do both of them.