People that follow me on Instagram ( almost 10K of you. So grateful for all your support and encouragement) know that I draw a lot but it wasn’t always like that.
Not that long ago, a bit over a year ago I’d say (but feels much more recent than that), I didn’t even know or believed that I could draw. I have a brother who is brilliant at drawing but I never thought of myself of being able to do that myself.
I have been designing both interiors and kids fashion for a few years but didn’t do much drawing as such. Interiors involved a lot of technical CAD drawings and mood-boards and as for the kids fashion, I’d just do some quick sketches (and pretty awful they were) and get them all drawn up on illustrator. A lot of my design work happened during the process of sample making, rather than on paper.
Anyway, one day I just picked up a pen and started doodling together with my kids, after seeing something online somewhere that inspired me. Since then, I have tried a variety of different ways of creating and tried using different mediums. I had a go at art journaling using acrylics, illustrations using pens, markers and watercolours.
I also taught myself how to create repeat patterns on photoshop, using some of my little drawings. Here is a tutorial that got me started.
I kind of just let myself go with the flow and allow myself to have fun and to explore, with no real goal in mind apart from just trying to learn something new.
It is all about the process and what this process has taught me is that I can draw and that I can create anything that I want to create.
We are all creative.
Here is a nice TED talk by Jonathan Tilley, which I find quite inspiring.
All you need to do is to just let go of the fear of not being able to create , or of failing to create something good. It might not be brilliant to begin with but once you just focus on the process rather than the end result and let go the fear of being judged, it really doesn’t matter so much what people think anymore.
Jennie Maizel, an amazing illustrator, has a brilliant online sketchbook club that will help you get started if you like I was scared of the blank page. By the end of the short online course, my fear of making a mark on the blank page was gone. I often did this together with my kids. They loved it too and they were always so proud of what they had managed to create.
Sometimes, I get stuck with new ideas on what to draw but I won’t let that stop my practice. I simply ask my online (and offline) friends what they would like me to draw and I’ll do it. I even ask my kids and their play-dates ! This really helps challenge my practice, as it brings me out of my comfort zone of just drawing the same things or things that I feel comfortable drawing, and make it more exciting and fun.
Having almost exhausted all my friends and families requests, I started to do Sarah Langdon’s #31thingstodraw challenge on Creative Bug. I am a bit late joining in but it doesn’t matter. I am currently on challenge #13. It is so much fun, as each day I get to draw something that I have pretty much never drawn before.
A new February challenge has just kicked off a few days ago on Creative bug, so I may join that one too.
This new obsession with drawing has left my house somewhat messy, my sleep somewhat lacking and my workday somewhat shorter but at the same time, it has also left me feeling much more creative, focused and determined.
My daily practice had brought me so much joy and allowed me to meet so many lovely people. All the online support and encouragement that I have received has been so helpful in keeping me going. Thank you all so much !
To follow my creative journey, please follow me on Instagram. I love connecting with people, so come by, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Good or bad, always welcome.
Have you got a creative journey that you would like to tell us all about ? Leave comment below and we will make sure to share it with our friends.
Jake + Maya [Kids] Journal 