Hello! Welcome to The Open Sketchbook, a blog based on my design work and inspiration as well as a few other things. Hopefully i will be able to inspire a few of you out there and connect with some new people! I'm really looking forward to sharing my work and my perspective on design and things that i enjoy. Starting a blog has been daunting for me in the past but my love for what i do has pushed me to get the ball rolling.
Recently i got my first commission, which i am very happy about. I remember about 10 years ago i was on deviantART and i wished someone would want to buy my artwork, its taken a long time but i'm very proud of how far i've come. To be paid for the thing that i love doing is a dream come true for me and it's surreal that it's becoming a reality.
I've learnt that its important to try new things in your work, never be afraid to experiment even if you feel it won't go right. I used to draw only with pencils and swore i would never do digital art. A few months ago i bought a graphics tablet and it was the best decision i ever made. At first i was terrible and felt like i couldn't draw but i persisted and i'm finally at a stage where i really enjoy looking at my work without being so critical. For someone who was never proud of their work and would always hide their drawings it's built a lot of confidence in me to be proud of what i'm doing.
It's important to always be PROUD of the progress you've made, even small progress is still progress. Be excited for who you're becoming and the new skills you've acquired, it's what keeps me going when i've been drawing all day and i feel like i'll never get a piece finished.
It can seem like your dream or goal may never happen sometimes, but sometimes things don't work the way you would like it to because you haven't become or learnt certain things in order to get there. Life is all about learning and growing so if you're struggling with something you're aiming for, i encourage you to experiment and try something you wouldn't normally do - it may be the thing that achieves your best results!
I will post the piece once i've finished it and would love some feedback from you!
Claire x
