Hello!
The sun is shining, and I have much more energy than I did last Friday when I wrote to you all. I was conflicted about whether I should post at all, but I’m glad I did. I’d rather have little to say than nothing at all!
This week I had a birthday. My partner treated me to a wonderful day out in Leeds where we ate good food and bought lovely books. We also did a bit of wedding planning which was very exciting! The day itself was my perfect day, we went out for coffee and breakfast, fed the ducks, I did my pottery class in the afternoon and then we cosied up in front of the telly with take out. I’m a year wiser, I’m content, and that’s a really great thing.
I’ve taken it a little easier this week. I took holiday from my design job so I could focus more on my illustration projects. I’ve got a lot to get through still, but I’ve moved some things along ready to get my head down properly again from next week.
I’ve spent the morning drawing some cover concepts for a new project I’ve just started working on. I think there are 60ish internal illustrations of varying sizes, so it’s quite a chunky one, but it’s really fun and full of adventure, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in properly.
The second book in the Ace series by superstar JB Gill was published yesterday! It’s been pretty wild working on these books with someone like JB. He’s very generous with his time and includes me in everything he posts about the series, which I appreciate so much. I’ve always been really lucky with the authors I’ve worked with to be fair (I’m looking at you, Jo Clarke).
Did I have fun drawing the pig with the rubber ring? Yes, yes I did.
I think the above 2 illustrations are my favourite - give me a whole book drawing goats and I’ll be a happy lady.
I moved my studio around for the 10th time since we moved in October last year. I don’t know what compels me to do it, but once I get it in my head, I can’t be stopped. In my defence, I bought a new desk top which is reaaaally long, and so it’s been a bit awkward to find the right spot for it. I then decided that the legs I bought to go with it are too short (of course), so I’ve ordered some new ones, at which point I’ll have to move things around again in order to swap them out. It’s fine, it looks great, it solved a couple of problems from the last orientation, and I burned off some of the naughty treats I’ve eaten this week.
I’m trying to make the space more functional so I have easier access to my printer and Cricut. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a machine that cuts things out at varying depths, so you can make anything from stickers, to vinyl designs, to cardboard cut-outs, and many other fancy things. It’s pretty nifty, but I’ve barely used it since I bought it and am itching to have a play.
I had a very short-lived shop a couple of years ago where I sold stickers, bookmarks and notepads. They actually sold quite well and I would have loved to continue it, but as with everything, there just wasn’t enough time.
Aren’t they cute though?!
I am planning to open some sort of shop again soon, focusing on stickers, prints, cards, etc, I just need to make sure I have the stock ready to go, and the time to upload everything to my website. The mistake I’ve made in the past is that I get super excited to do something, put all my energy into it, and then realise that it’s not sustainable. It’s hard to not feel like a failure when this happens, I don’t like letting myself down, or other people, so I need to wrangle my enthusiasm a bit and do it the right way!
I uploaded lesson 3 in my Character Workshop. We worked on our second character, and talked about the importance of form, shape, and expression. I also posted the third character prompt which I’m looking forward to doodling this weekend. If you fancy joining us, you can find the latest post here.
We recently set up a desk in our living room in order to incentivise us (well, me) to stop channel surfing and do something different like crafting or playing a board game.
I’m pretty pleased with how it’s turned out, and I love that the space is more functional now. I’m also excited to throw that door open in the summer months to let in the fresh air. We need to cat-proof it first though because it leads onto a balcony, and I can just see Hank launching himself over the edge in wild abandon trying to chase the local jackdaw gang.
It’s the perfect writing spot, too, so I might make use of it this weekend to work through some edits ahead of the deadline at the end of March - eek!
I’ve just had an email for a potential new project drop into my inbox which is always very exciting, so I better head off and get back to work!
Thanks for reading, and have a brilliant weekend!
Bx
Happy birthday!
I have a nightmare with desk legs!! How on earth can you get the right size? I bought scaffolding poles and connectors in the end, which sort of do the job. (I should add, 4 years into my new home, I still haven’t balanced or screwed them in properly… 😬)