Revisiting Neglected Drawings – Monday Minutes

Hello Friends!!

Earlier this morning, I was really quite keen to sit down to write this morning’s blog post, yet despite that, somehow it took me 10 solid minutes to write the opening line! All I was attempting to share was that I was feeling pretty chipper! So let’s not get too clever & just roll with that succinct summary. (And, let’s kindly ignore any clunky sentences as I warm myself up.) Though ‘warming up’ was perhaps the blunder I made in the first place.

So much for those exercise endorphins

See, being in such a motivated mood, I thought it would be a grand idea to jump into a spontaneous pilates session before I got stuck into my blog post. And certainly, this would have been a solid idea… if I actually did pilates. Truth be told, I haven’t struck a single pilates move in probably a year. Therefore, laying out a very thin mat .. on a very cold & very solid floor .. and getting stuck into some moves without even stretching, was probably not the best idea. After less than 8 minutes I realised I was incredibly cold, uncomfortable and slightly head achey. So, ditching that, I’m feeling slightly less jolly than 30 minutes ago, but just slightly.

Failure aside, I truly would like to get back into the habit of flexibility and exercise. At the moment, the only saving grace is that I ride my bike to & from work, 3 times a week, totalling in about 2 hrs of exercise. I feel I could definitely do better considering how much time I spend hunched over an iPad or a computer. My body just feels a lot crunchier than it once did. If you have any low cost recommendations that you have found motivating, please do share!

A New Page

Which brings me neatly to a new addition on my website – Recommendations. This page compiles all my favourite podcasts, audio books and YouTube channels into one resource, with each image linking to the original content. I will be adding to this page on a regular basis, so keep that in mind if you’re on the hunt for something new to listen to / watch.

This week I quite enjoyed Scamfluencers: Ben McKenzie Hates Crypto, Too & Planet Money’s: Did Two Honesty Researchers Fabricate Their Data?

I also am attempting to kick my bad habit of procrastinating on things I actually want to do! I’m thinking I might give the book ‘Solving the Procrastination Puzzle’ – Timothy A. Pychyl a read, if I can get my hands on it, because I quite enjoyed Ali’s Abdaal’s summary. I’d also like to learn a bit more about the concept of time blocking.

Presents!

Last week I managed to follow through on finishing some drawings I hadn’t quite completed, or that I had forgotten, and this saw me successfully print out some new stickers/gift tags. I’m yet to upload these to Etsy, but I did take some product shots, (which is my least favourite part), in preparation for the new listings. Alas, regrettably, these presents are fake.

The photos need some adjustment in terms of lightning & what not, but at leat they’re almost ready to go for when I need them. The middle butterfly was a gif I originally drew for this website. Trawling through my procreate files, I realised I could pretty easily remove the painting hands to create quite a sweet sticker/gift tag. I now suspect there will be a butterfly collection on the horizon.

YouTube – I Haven’t Forgotten!

FINALLY, let’s talk about my tasks for the upcoming week. At last, I have edited the illustration footage of my Halloween frog trio! This I plan to turn into my first ‘full-length’ Youtube video. All that remains is to record the audio, which I hope to get done within the next day or two.

The editing process was delayed due to other tasks cropping up, however, going forward, I am hoping to tidy up the footage in the same week I create the drawings. My idea is to create something of a podcast video, so a slower, closer look at the illustration step-by-step. Then pair this with a commentary on my process that also highlights the inspirations & mind wanderings that took place during the drawing. I suppose a bit similar to this blog, but instead of writing to you, I’ll be talking at you. What a thrill! ;p

Furthermore, now that I have my sticker production pretty much down pat, I feel comfortable sharing what I have learnt, so hopefully I will find time to create a more educational video this August!

Over the next four days I hope to:

• Create a new cake illustration
• Commence the next Halloween design
• Finish a secret piece I will share later on
• Investigate Printables a little further, potentially beginning to create supporting documentation for customers
• Finalise my Frog Video
• Finish some printing work for my Dad

Fingers crossed!

As always, thanks so much for reading! And hello to my new subscribers, I hope this post hasn’t sent you clicking for the ‘unsubscribe’ button!

Talk soon,

Fiona x