katereeez: I’m very excited to present the final draft of this t-shirt I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Ruth, my boyfriend’s mom, was diagnosed with Schleroderma in 2007, and we’re walking to raise money for the Schleroderma Foundation this coming May 18th in Baltimore. Ruth wanted a t-shirt designed and printed for her team of walkers to wear during the event, so she came to me with this project and I said “Hell yeah!” What could be more fun than designing a t-shirt? You can view the project from start-to-finish on the Skillshare project page, to give you a sample view of how the project coalesced. For awhile, I was stuck for awhile on the inside of the loop. The bottom right-hand corner felt like it was missing something. I was looking to balance it out, so I added a small section of rails. Somehow, I came up with the sub-headline “Rocking the Rails since 2007”. I think it’s a really great addition to the design, and I can’t wait to see it on a t-shirt. I’ve learned quite a few things during this project. The first is that while I really enjoy illustrating, I really need to do it more often to get better at it. The second is that I should focus more on concept and drawing/composing the idea by hand to make sure it works first before I move into vector. I know this is a standard process…and I did draw initially, but the first drawings didn’t really work that well and I didn’t understand that until I got into Ai. I probably spent a considerable amount of time reworking pixel points and beziers than I should have; or at least had I pushed myself harder duing the design/research phase I may have been able to avoid extraneous pixel-pushing. The third is that I really am too afraid of failure… or I just really dislike not being good at things. I’m not quite sure how to solve that, really, except to breathe through, accept it and move on. I think I just need to practice ignoring that negative self-talk as it arises. And/or distract my thoughts with something else in order to come back to the project relaxed and refreshed. I think artists (or maybe I’m just talking about myself?) have such an ego, and when it’s busted either by someone else or by their own fears, it’s a bit damaging and can impede progress.  In any case, I had fun working on this project and hope to possibly improve on it someday. What’s most important is that it’s available for our team of walkers to wear on May 18th! And that Ruth, my “client” loves it. And she does! I’ve seen the amount of work that Kate’s put into this and I think she’s done a great job for a great cause. Ruth is an awesome lady who has had a difficult battle and I’m sure she must really appreciate this. That bold-faced paragraph (emphasis mine) struck a chord with me, so I felt it was time to blog! Fear of failure and disappointment in one’s own perceived skill level are all too common, particularly among creative types. Holy cow, I am so familiar with these feelings. I can’t even calculate how much time and mental energy I’ve wasted on self-loathing and disappointment in my own abilities. If you look at any of my sketchbooks from my childhood, you’ll see pages and pages where a single line was drawn and never completed, because I didn’t like how it looked. Never even mind how I felt about being put on academic probation in art school because of my grades, and subsequently becoming an Art School Dropout.  But anyway. A lot of time has passed since those days, and I feel like I’ve gained some perspective on the subject. As I see it, there are two main options when you are faced with “Not Feeling Very Good at Doing ________”: Accept that your skills don’t lie in a particular area, and recognize that you have other abilities…OR Keep working at it, and working at it, and working at it. The question is, how will it benefit you to improve the skill in question? Is it something that would just be kind of fun, but ultimately not that important — or is it something that might really improve your life in some way? Is it the latter? All right then…here’s some stuff to keep in mind during skill improvement time! That whole thing about being your own biggest critic is really true for most people, especially creatives. Just remember that “good” is so subjective. Your own idea of “Freaking awful!!” is often someone else’s idea of “Perfect!! Amazing!!” On the flip side… When you do creative work for others, you can’t really predict or control how they’re going to respond. Even if your work manages to survive your inner critic — or even pass with flying colors — it could easily get ripped up by the next person to see it. Unfortunately, most people don’t have a workshop/critique background, and many don’t even have a sense of tact…even other creatives. So that means… Work on thickening your skin against your inner and outer critics. Use harsh feedback to fuel your fire, not extinguish it. Opinions should not equal self-worth, whether they’re your own or someone else’s. Plus there’s that whole thing about opinions and assholes and everyone with an opinion is one…that’s how it goes, right? But bear in mind… Not all of your projects are going to be winners in the traditional sense, and they don’t have to be. Even if it doesn’t make it to your portfolio, just think of it as another sacrifice to the God of Skill-building. Maybe you learned something new, or got a little faster at doing something you already know how to do, or — at the very least — staved off the inevitable erosion that happens when you don’t exercise a skill for a long time. As creatives, most of what we do is readily improved with time and practice - in the meantime, we just have to allow ourselves to indulge in self-confidence, and acknowledge our limitations with light hearts. Easy, right?!? (It also helps to surround yourself with supporters, for the times when that gets too difficult.)  *Edited because somehow all my formatting got lost…
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katereeez:

I’m very excited to present the final draft of this t-shirt I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. Ruth, my boyfriend’s mom, was diagnosed with Schleroderma in 2007, and we’re walking to raise money for the Schleroderma Foundation this coming May 18th in Baltimore. Ruth wanted a t-shirt designed and printed for her team of walkers to wear during the event, so she came to me with this project and I said “Hell yeah!” What could be more fun than designing a t-shirt?

You can view the project from start-to-finish on the Skillshare project page, to give you a sample view of how the project coalesced.

For awhile, I was stuck for awhile on the inside of the loop. The bottom right-hand corner felt like it was missing something. I was looking to balance it out, so I added a small section of rails. Somehow, I came up with the sub-headline “Rocking the Rails since 2007”. I think it’s a really great addition to the design, and I can’t wait to see it on a t-shirt.

I’ve learned quite a few things during this project. The first is that while I really enjoy illustrating, I really need to do it more often to get better at it. The second is that I should focus more on concept and drawing/composing the idea by hand to make sure it works first before I move into vector. I know this is a standard process…and I did draw initially, but the first drawings didn’t really work that well and I didn’t understand that until I got into Ai. I probably spent a considerable amount of time reworking pixel points and beziers than I should have; or at least had I pushed myself harder duing the design/research phase I may have been able to avoid extraneous pixel-pushing.

The third is that I really am too afraid of failure… or I just really dislike not being good at things. I’m not quite sure how to solve that, really, except to breathe through, accept it and move on. I think I just need to practice ignoring that negative self-talk as it arises. And/or distract my thoughts with something else in order to come back to the project relaxed and refreshed. I think artists (or maybe I’m just talking about myself?) have such an ego, and when it’s busted either by someone else or by their own fears, it’s a bit damaging and can impede progress. 

In any case, I had fun working on this project and hope to possibly improve on it someday. What’s most important is that it’s available for our team of walkers to wear on May 18th! And that Ruth, my “client” loves it. And she does!

I’ve seen the amount of work that Kate’s put into this and I think she’s done a great job for a great cause. Ruth is an awesome lady who has had a difficult battle and I’m sure she must really appreciate this.

That bold-faced paragraph (emphasis mine) struck a chord with me, so I felt it was time to blog!

Fear of failure and disappointment in one’s own perceived skill level are all too common, particularly among creative types. Holy cow, I am so familiar with these feelings. I can’t even calculate how much time and mental energy I’ve wasted on self-loathing and disappointment in my own abilities. If you look at any of my sketchbooks from my childhood, you’ll see pages and pages where a single line was drawn and never completed, because I didn’t like how it looked. Never even mind how I felt about being put on academic probation in art school because of my grades, and subsequently becoming an Art School Dropout. 

But anyway. A lot of time has passed since those days, and I feel like I’ve gained some perspective on the subject.

As I see it, there are two main options when you are faced with “Not Feeling Very Good at Doing ________”:

  1. Accept that your skills don’t lie in a particular area, and recognize that you have other abilities…OR
  2. Keep working at it, and working at it, and working at it.

The question is, how will it benefit you to improve the skill in question? Is it something that would just be kind of fun, but ultimately not that important — or is it something that might really improve your life in some way?

Is it the latter? All right then…here’s some stuff to keep in mind during skill improvement time!

  • That whole thing about being your own biggest critic is really true for most people, especially creatives. Just remember that “good” is so subjective. Your own idea of “Freaking awful!!” is often someone else’s idea of “Perfect!! Amazing!!” On the flip side…
  • When you do creative work for others, you can’t really predict or control how they’re going to respond. Even if your work manages to survive your inner critic — or even pass with flying colors — it could easily get ripped up by the next person to see it. Unfortunately, most people don’t have a workshop/critique background, and many don’t even have a sense of tact…even other creatives. So that means…
  • Work on thickening your skin against your inner and outer critics. Use harsh feedback to fuel your fire, not extinguish it. Opinions should not equal self-worth, whether they’re your own or someone else’s. Plus there’s that whole thing about opinions and assholes and everyone with an opinion is one…that’s how it goes, right? But bear in mind…
  • Not all of your projects are going to be winners in the traditional sense, and they don’t have to be. Even if it doesn’t make it to your portfolio, just think of it as another sacrifice to the God of Skill-building. Maybe you learned something new, or got a little faster at doing something you already know how to do, or — at the very least — staved off the inevitable erosion that happens when you don’t exercise a skill for a long time.

As creatives, most of what we do is readily improved with time and practice - in the meantime, we just have to allow ourselves to indulge in self-confidence, and acknowledge our limitations with light hearts. Easy, right?!?

(It also helps to surround yourself with supporters, for the times when that gets too difficult.) 

*Edited because somehow all my formatting got lost…

martininamerica:

Clerks - The Animated Series

OMG. This is why “Bear is driving” will forever be the only acceptable answer to “Who’s driving?” and anyone who responds that way is in my heart forever

(via hiveofscumblr)

Source: martininamerica

Weird Shit I See Through My Window, Part 36

image

About 45 minutes ago I heard a dull metallic thud outside. I looked out to see that someone in a white BMW had struck the NW corner of N. Calvert & Mount Royal…maybe he’d hit the utility pole, it was hard to tell. The driver got out, stumbled a little, and looked at the front of the car. Then he got back in and did his best to reverse out of it. A huge cloud of white smoke issued from the rear of the car, and a lot of squealing ensued, but there was no motion. He got out again and walked off down the street. I didn’t see him again.

A police officer showed up shortly afterward, looked in the car, then got back in his own car. Then this tow truck arrived, and the tow guy attempted to open the driver’s side door, but it was locked. The lights were still on. He struggled a bit getting the car loaded. I couldn’t tell if the engine was still running, but it seemed like a hell of an undertaking either way. 

During all of this, bunches of drunk Copy Cat kids were crossing against the light every few minutes, the usual taxis and late-night speeders were dodging the tow truck, patrol car, and Copy Cat kids from either direction, some guy wheeled a person in a wheelchair across the Calvert St. bridge down the middle of the road, and some other guy walked up and did a little dance on the median strip.

So…I’m thinking maybe that car was stolen. I don’t think I’d leave a locked, powered-on BMW sitting around unattended after driving off the road, if it were mine…

Whatever dude, thanks for the show. It was all so gloriously weird…a perfect slice-of-life illustration of how Baltimoreans sometimes just don’t give a shit about anyone else, they’re going to do as they please…screw the consequences. Especially around 2am on a Friday night.

Writing Makes Me a Better Designer, by Meng To

“I write what goes through my mind. I learned throughout the years that the key to efficiency is to never wait for inspiration and always grasp it as it hits you, on the topics you’re most passionate about. Turn frustrations into actions. Inspiration comes when you set an environment and lifestyle fertile for it. When it strikes, don’t let it slip, it doesn’t matter if you’re brushing your teeth or in the middle of a conversation, jump to your phone and write your thought down. If it was good enough to completely eat your soul, then it’s worth writing about. That thought will stem into a more complex piece and from there, it will naturally blossom.”

That last article I read made me remember this blog post that Smashing Magazine turned up the other day. This was the part that resonated with me most.

Creativity: On Keeping a Notebook in the Digital Age(via @Lifehacker)

image

[Steven Berlin Johnson] notes, “…Most good ideas (whether they’re ideas for narrative structure, a particular twist in the argument, or a broader topic) come into our minds as hunches: small fragments of a larger idea, hints and intimations. Many of these ideas sit around for months or years before they coalesce into something useful.”

In order to exploit this particular quality of idea formation, he keeps what he calls a “spark file”: “A single document where I keep all my hunches: ideas for articles, speeches, software features, startups, ways of framing a chapter I know I’m going to write, even whole books.” He doesn’t try to organize them. The randomness is intentional. He reads them over every few months and finds themes emerging—connections between fragments that wouldn’t seem apparent if those fragments were presented in isolation.

Wow. This article really struck a chord with me. I usually carry a small sketchbook in my purse out of habit…it’s a holdover from the days when I actually drew constantly. Lately, I only seem to use it when I’m taking notes at an AIGA event, or explaining something with a doodle. However, I’m constantly thinking of random stuff and noticing things that are probably not very interesting to anyone else…it would be nice to keep a record of that stuff for my own use. I need to get back to writing things down. 

Source: Lifehacker

Warren Ellis' Notebook: Okay. Someone asked me how I feel about writing fiction in a world...

warrenellis:

Okay.  Someone asked me how I feel about writing fiction in a world that still needs actual activism and hands-on work to make life better.  They said something similar to, “I get pulled away from writing fiction because I feel guilty for not making tangible benefit to the world.  Isn’t fiction just escapism?”

But I also got the following message, which I’m filing some of the serial numbers off of, as it were:

“I just wanted to tell you something. When I was 18 years old, my life was a fucking mess. I worked at a store that sold comic books and one day I stumbled upon Spider and the filthy assistants. Your comic kept me from killing myself. There is a character limit here so I can’t say everything I want to but thank you. From the very deepest part of my heart.”

I post this not to self-aggrandise.  It is not a unique message, for good or ill.  I get them surprisingly regularly.  Frankly, messages like that scare the hell out of me, because I’m not very smart and not a very clever writer and I fuck up all the time.

But fiction speaks to people.  Even fiction like mine acts to tell someone, somewhere, that they’re not alone.

You want tangible, social benefits to writing fiction?  There are people walking around today because other people wrote words that spoke to them.  That’ll do.

And thank you.

This is part of why it always weirds me out when people say they don’t like fiction because it’s “made up.” The solace I’ve found in fiction has helped me get through the harder years of my life — and fictional characters have taught me a lot about being a real person.

(via wilwheaton)

Source: warrenellis

jsingewald: Old school Bmore bench. #bmore #thecitythatreads #oldschool Oh man, I haven’t seen one of these benches in years! I remember seeing them as a kid and thinking excitedly that I really must belong in Baltimore, because I love reading so much. Years later, I found out that the slogan was part of Mayor Schmoke’s campaign against Baltimore’s abysmal literacy rate. Whoooops
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jsingewald:

Old school Bmore bench. #bmore #thecitythatreads #oldschool

Oh man, I haven’t seen one of these benches in years! I remember seeing them as a kid and thinking excitedly that I really must belong in Baltimore, because I love reading so much. Years later, I found out that the slogan was part of Mayor Schmoke’s campaign against Baltimore’s abysmal literacy rate. Whoooops

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