What's in my Illustration Pencil Case?

As much as I enjoy digital illustration, I know it's important to practice the traditional methods as well. This is why I make sure to keep up with my analogue sketches alongside my iPad drawings. For today's post, I thought I'd share what's in my pencil case. You'll also be able to see what my favourite equipment for illustrating is.

For my initial sketches, I have a normal lead pencil and a mechanical pencil. I usually switch between the two. It just depends on what I feel like using that day. My eraser isn't too special, just a plain white rectangle, but it does the job pretty well. 

 

A majority of my pencil case is made up of markers. I have my two tombow brush pens and a copic ciao. I use the copic for colouring skin and the tombow brush pens for shading. Basically all I draw nowadays are people and figures so these pens are essential. I've also got a range of different coloured highlighters and felt tips for colouring in outfits and backgrounds.

Finally, I have my black fineliners for outlining and my white gel pen for highlights. These are what I use last. If you've read my Bullet Journal Essentials post, you'll have seen these pens already. It's great that I can use them for both sketching and journalling.

Thanks for reading!
Q: What's your favourite pen brand?

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How to Have Fun Tidying Your Room

As much as I love tidying my room, I know many consider it the biggest of chores. 

I'm sure there was a time in my life when I didn't love making my bed or organising my desk but I honestly don't recall it. I feel like packing up after myself and making things look presentable are two rules that have been engrained in me from a very young age. My mum definitely played a massive role in this. She's the most organised person I know and I think over time, her tidiness just started to rub off on me. 

If you're someone that finds cleaning their room a mission and a half (and honestly, it's okay if you do!), this post is just for you. Here are four ways to make tidying your room fun!

Incorporate a Theme
A couple of weeks ago, I was cleaning my room and decided I wanted to change the colour scheme. It used to be all about the pastels, now I've narrowed it down to three main colours; pink, grey and white. I think it's important to give your room personality. Your theme doesn't necessarily have to revolve around colour, it could showcase a specific season or holiday, your favourite TV show or a hobby you really enjoy. Your room is a space meant just for you. Don't be afraid to put your own creative spin on it!

Do it With a Friend
Having a friend by your side makes everything 10 times better. Rather than dreading the tidying process, turn it into an excuse to hang with your bestie. I've done this before with a couple of my friends. It's great because after a while it stops feeling like a cleaning job and more like a normal hang out. Don't forget to play some tunes while you're at it. It really helps to keep the mood upbeat. 

Reorganise Decor
If you're tidying your space, definitely use it as a chance to shuffle things around. Tidying doesn't just have to be about putting things back where they belong. You can make it a lot more interesting by rearranging your room decor. I do this all the time. I look at what I have on display and then I like to place it somewhere new to see if it looks better or worse. Reorganising things should help keep you on your toes and stop you from losing interest in the actual cleaning. 

Take a Before And After Picture
I always forget to do this with my room but I've done it with a couple of other things I've tidied. It's nice to have a visual representation of your progress. It also gives you an incentive to clean that little bit harder. The more dramatic the change is between the two photos, the more accomplished you should feel. 

Q: Do you enjoy cleaning your room?
Thanks for reading!

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3 Great Places to Write

I don't know about you, but I always have a favourite spot that I like to write my blog posts. 

At the moment it's the dining room table in my house. It's right under a skylight so on sunny I get all that natural light and warmth. 

I feel like the location of where you write is something that can really make a difference to your writing. If you haven't found your ideal spot yet, this week's post is just for you! Here are 3 places I'd recommend writing in at least once! 

1. Library
I always feel the itch to write here. When you're surrounded by the works of so many incredible writers, it's hard to not want to put your own thoughts to paper. Inspiration is everywhere you look. I'm sure if you were to pick a book at random, you'd find at least one thing - whether that be a quote, a word or an image - that you could run with. The quiet in the library is also really comforting. Everyone is in their own little worlds. It's a great spot for those who are easily distracted by noise. 

2. Local Cafe
Cafes are perfect for those who like to snack while they work. I'm definitely this kind of person. If you don't mind background chatter or the sound of plates clanging, you should be able to write for hours here. There's always a lot happening in cafes but sometimes that sort of busy environment can help you to want to get things done. 

3. Outdoors
Natural light is really important to me when I write, as I mentioned in my intro. If I can't claim the dining room table (because another family member is working there), the balcony or front yard are just as good. If there's a park or field close by your house, you could carry a notebook and pen and sit yourself there to write. The combination of nature and fresh air are sure to start an avalanche of ideas and inspiration. 

Q: Where is your favourite place to write?
Thanks for reading!

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My Procreate Drawing Process

I recently got Procreate on my iPad and have absolutely loved the program so far. 

Before Procreate, I created all of my digital drawings on Photoshop, using my Wacom Intuos tablet. Drawing on my iPad is such a different experience from drawing on my computer. Since I've already documented my Photoshop process on my blog, I thought doing the same for my iPad would be a good idea as well. 

Let me now if you'd like to see more drawing blog posts! 

Step 1: The Initial Sketch
For this step, I used the 6B pencil to quickly draw out how I wanted my picture to look. The image on the left was one I found off Pinterest. I attached it to the side of my drawing so I could constantly refer to it. 

Step 2: Darkening The Outline
The next thing I did was take the dry ink brush and go over all my important lines. This was in preparation for my next step which was adding colour. Having a sharper outline made me more aware of where I was colouring. 

Step 3: Colour And Tonal Variation

Once I'd finished colouring my drawing with the round brush tool, I decided to go in with the soft brush to give it some tonal variation. For this drawing, I started with the face and then worked my way outwards. 

Step 4: The Hair Texture

For the hair strokes, I used the dry ink brush again. I varied the thickness of the strokes to give the hair more volume. 

Step 5: The Sweater

Finally, I added some cross hatching on the sweater to somewhat resemble the material in the picture. 

And that's it! Here's my completed picture. I think this took around one and a bit hours. This process appears pretty straightforward however there's a lot more erasing and redrawing that goes on behind the scenes. I obviously couldn't include all of that otherwise this post would have been quite a bit longer! 

Q: Have you used Procreate before?

Thanks for reading! 

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Festive Blog Prop Ideas/Haul

As I was preparing my flat lay for last week's blog post, I came to a sudden realisation. I have barely any festive themed blog props! In fact, I only had one Christmassy item in that photo and that was my pig decoration from last year's Tree Decoration Haul. This gave me an incentive to go to my nearest craft shop and buy a whole bunch of Christmas decor/supplies. I had a lot of fun picking these items out. There's definitely a pink and gold winter wonderland theme going on which I think you'll notice as you scroll through these photos! 

Golden Tree Branch
As soon as I entered the store, I headed straight to the artificial flower section. Artificial flowers are probably my favourite flat lay prop. They're great for placing in empty corners. This gold and glittery branch instantly caught my eye and I knew I couldn't not get it. 

Snowflake Tree Decorations
In terms of tree decorations, I felt very spoilt for choice. There were so many different shapes and designs to look through. In the end I went for these wooden snowflakes. It's not too obvious in the photo but they have a light dusting of gold paint over the them which I thought was really pretty. 

Star Confetti
I've seen a lot of people use confetti in their blog photos so I was really keen to try it out myself. I opted for these small silver stars. Sprinkling it around my set up was really fun and it gives my photos some extra sparkle which I love. 

Patterned/Glittery Paper
The last things I got were these two pieces of paper which serve as great photo backdrops. They both sort of remind me of snow. There's the white glittery one and the light pink one with the frost-like shapes. I'm super happy with them! 

Thanks for reading! What did you think of this haul? What did you like the most out of these items? 

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My Bullet Journal Essentials

When it comes to bullet journalling, everyone has their must-have supplies. It took some research and a bit of trial and error to get to mine but I'm really happy with the tools and equipment I use today. Here they are! 

(Black Fineliners) Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen XS and Uni Pin Fineliner 0.3
I use these pens for drawing outlines and writing text. The Faber Castell fineliner is my go-to when it comes to noting things down however if I want to decorate my spreads with little doodles or illustrations, I'll use the Uni Pin fineliner as it is slightly thicker and bolder. 

(Calligraphy Pen) Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Soft Tip

This is the pen I like to use for titles and headers. If you're interested in learning calligraphy then I'd highly recommend the Tombow brand. Their pens are really easy to practice stroke control with. 

(White Gel Pen) Uniball Signo Broad UM - 153

Mistakes and slip ups are inevitable when bullet journalling which is why this gel pen really comes in handy. If it's a small typo, I can easily cover it up. Not only is it a great correction pen, it's also a great pen to write with. White text on black looks really effective. 

(Highlighters)

Highlighters are a recent addition to my bullet journal essentials but I've been finding them super useful. They're great if I want to emphasise on something I've written. They also add a nice pop of colour to my typically monotone pages. 

(Washi Tape)

Last but not least, washi tape. I'm not a huge fan of glueing things down in my bullet journal so a strip of washi tape is a great alternative. That way, if I want to remove it later on, it's no hassle to do so. This is also another way for me to make my spreads a little more colourful. 

Thanks for reading! What are your bullet journal essentials? 

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The Behind The Scenes of my Blog Photos

If you look at my blog images, you'll see a lot of neatly arranged, carefully edited, flat lay photographs. The mess and chaos that goes on behind the camera is completely overlooked. Believe it or not, my room turns into a complete pigsty every time I go to take a new blog photo. This is because I won't hesitate to turn my room upside down in search of the perfect combination of props. For this week's post, I thought I'd reveal this side of the blog photography process. It really goes to show that there's much more to a photo than meets the eye. 

 

These two photos highlight the before of my room. Whereas my thumbnail photo shows how untidy it can get. I am very picky with my props so I like to lay out all my options on my bed then select my favourites from there. My desk holds a majority of my best props so I always like to look there first. 

Once I've chosen my props, I like to transfer my whole setup to the best window spot in the house. It gets the perfect amount of natural sunlight. As you can see, I always have to make sure I don't include any of the wooden texture in the final frame. 

Thanks for reading! What did you think of this little BTS post? Let me know down below! 

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4 Ways to Come up With Blog Post Ideas

Coming up with new blog content can prove difficult at times. Especially when life gets hectic and your brain is trying to juggle a million other things. I've been really busy recently which is why blog post ideas haven't been coming to me as often as normal. When this happens, there are a couple of things I like to do to get the ball rolling. If you're in a similar position to me and have a lot on your plate at the moment, here are 4 ways to come up with blog post ideas both quickly and easily. 

Watch YouTube 
YouTubers are getting more outrageous and creative with their content with every passing day. Because of this, it's a great platform to get inspiration from. While YouTubers and bloggers work in two very different ways, there is still that same purpose of wanting to produce fun/interesting content for their audience. Because of this, I still think it's possible to base a blog post off a YouTube video and still get a really similar outcome.  

Reflect on Your Week
If you want a more personal approach towards coming up with blog post ideas, use a weekly journal. Every day write a bullet pointed list of the things that happened to you. Consider each thing carefully and if something you put down really resonates with you then make the most of it and just run with it. It's always nice to write about something when the experience is fresh in your mind and this is a really great way to do so. 

Look at Past Content 
There are plenty of ways to make use of old blog posts. If you really enjoyed writing a particular post, make a 'Part Two' building on from what you've already written. If you wrote about something in the past that you completely disagree with now, talk about how your feelings towards this subject have changed. If you have a post that you think is really important to share and discuss but the information is slightly outdated, write a more recent version. Your blog archives are a great place to get inspired so definitely refer back to it when you can. 

Read Other People's Blogs
It's completely okay to want to write a certain type of post after reading it on another person's blog. If it's a topic that excites you or something that you feel like you could talk about for hours on end then there should be nothing stopping you from logging on to your blog and getting started. While copying word for word is completely unacceptable, offering your own ideas or opinions on the subject is perfectly fine. There should definitely be a level of respect when recreating another person's post on your own site. As long as you've put your own unique spin on things, then no harm's been done. 

Thanks for reading! What do you do if you're struggling to come up with blog post ideas? Let me know down below!

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How I Make my Photoshop Graphics

It's no secret that I love using Photoshop. Over the years, it's become a program that I feel really comfortable using. Having a blog has definitely given me an excuse to use the program on a more regular basis. Without Photoshop, I definitely wouldn't have the blog design I have today. For today's post, I thought it'd be fun to share how I make my Photoshop graphics. While I was taking the screenshots, I didn't realise how little steps were involved. It's definitely quite a straightforward process so if you were keen on making your own Photoshop graphics, hopefully it's easy to follow! 

1. First I upload an image of my choice into Photoshop. I like to lower the opacity percentage to between 30 and 40. This makes it easier for me to execute the next step. 

2. Next I select the pen tool and change it to stroke black, line weight 3pt. With my image for guidance, I'll trace around what will soon become the outline for my digital drawing. Once I've hid the image from the previous step, this is what I'm left with. 

3. When I'm happy with my outline, I move on to colouring. I add a base colour to all the main sections using the brush tool, while the more detailed sections - such as the flowers - are saved for a later step. 

4. The next thing I add to my digital drawing is tonal variation. The eyedropper tool really comes in handy for this step. It helps me find lighter and darker shades that are close to my base colour. I'll also refer back to my original image to make sure I'm adding tone in all the right places. 

5. In this final step, I finish up colouring anything I didn't complete beforehand. I also like to add a background colour to make the image really pop. 

Thanks for reading! 
*On a side note, what would you guys think if I were to start a "Draw my Followers" series on my blog? Let me know in the comment section below! 

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Podcasts For Bloggers

A month or two ago, I decided to listen to my first ever podcast. I'd heard the word "podcast" thrown around a couple of times but never got around to investigating them further so when my friend mentioned just how much she enjoyed listening to them, I decided to take action. Now I'm on the podcast app nearly every day. My favourite type of podcasts are the ones about/for online creators. If there's an episode interviewing a blogger, you can bet I've listened to it. Every time I listen to these interviews, it's impossible to not feel inspired or empowered afterwards. I absolutely love hearing about how people found blogging and why they decided to start their blog. I think it's great that no two blog journeys are the same and that every blogger has a different story to tell. In the beginning, I found it particularly tricky to find blog-related podcasts which is why I decided to put together this post. If you're a blogger and are interested in listening to podcasts, here is a list of some shows and episodes that I think you'll enjoy. 


One Girl Band 
(Ep 40) Kristabel Plummer // Carving and Growing Your Blogging Career


Made Online 
(Ep 9) Hannah Gale (Blogger Of The Year 2017, Mum-To-Be & Ex-Digital Magazine Editor)


At Home With...
(Ep 2) KATE JOHNSON - Blogger, Kate La Vie


Ctrl Alt Delete 
(Ep 39) Megan Gilbride (Blogger): The Business of Blogging, Brands & Body Image


The Creative Leap
(Ep 1) MEGAN ELLABY - Style Blogger


What She Said
(Ep 20) with Rosie Chappel // Cider with Rosie

Thanks for checking out this week's post! Do you listen to podcasts? What are your thoughts on them? Let me know down below! 

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