Transcripts
1. Welcome: Hi, I'm Lisa, a
freelance illustrator, and I want to share
with you how you can become more
artfully productive. Have you ever wondered how some creatives seem
to get so much done? It's not about being perfect, it's about being persistent. And I want to help you expand
your creative potential. I'm gonna share my own
experiences to help you overcome productivity challenges
and discover new ways to grow as a creative. We'll talk about
making goals and creative habits that
fit your lifestyle, as well as maximizing peak
energy will also go over some personal project
ideas to help you expand your creative skills and open up some new possible
income streams. Because practicing your Art makes progress. Ready to begin
2. Prep + Plan: Artful Productivity is
productivity for creatives. It's a way that you can
wrap your head around being more useful with your time so that you can be
more productive. It's being able to create healthy good habits that will enhance your creativity
and level up your Art. You'll be able to improve
upon your skills and craft these habits that
will fit your lifestyle. We start off pretty simply. It's determining your high
peak energy time of day. Do you rollout of bet in
the morning raring to go or do you feel you
need time to wake up? Afternoon is more
of when you hit your stride or do you come
alive in the evening, whatever it is, that is
what you want to set aside. Time block that
period of the day to do your most creative work. Decide how much time
you can give it. Maybe right now in your life, you really can only devote
15 or 20 min a day. Or you might be able to
commit an hour or two. Be honest with yourself, and start with where you're at. Hoof, and I get it. There's
some tastes that just feel short on time
because life happens. The only thing I can say is the days that don't feel
like that It's so much better if you've
have a plan in place and you can fall back on
those creative habits that you've set so that you can
just pick up and know that this morning you will be working
for an hour on your Art. I am a morning person
throwing through once I get up in the morning
and do my exercise, have a cup of coffee or tea. I dig right into whatever important creative task I have on my calendar
for that day. And that is where I sit. That is where I stay in the afternoon when my
energy starts to wane, then I'll dig into
answering emails, jumping on social media, smaller tasks that I feel don't require so much
creative brainpower. You've determined your
best time of day. So now you need a goal. You need to define what
you want to achieve. Having a clear
goal will give you purpose and it'll
help motivate you. It gives you a
point a to point B. Sometimes you might have so many goals that it
becomes overwhelming. And other times you
might just be in a frame of mind
that you're having a hard time even determining a single goal. And that's okay. Just ask yourself a few questions
and that might help you understand and then prioritize what's most important
to you right now. This is always in flux, right? Once you hit a goal,
you need to be able to move on to the next one. Think about how this will
move the needle forward. How will this allow you
to grow as an artist or maybe put yourself
out there more and whatever creative field
you want to be in. Maybe it'll push you
outside your comfort zone. And yes, that's an
uncomfortable place to be when I tend to
procrastinate the most. It's when I'm nervous
about doing something. There's this fear, this block. We need to learn to
push through that. We need to try new things and be willing to experiment so that we can grow and stretch as a
creative planning wise, what works best for me is
to use seasonal goals. So what that means is instead of working with a
12 month calendar, which I used to do, and then I would tend to get overwhelmed because I had
to juggle it so much. I switched to working
on a quarterly basis. So using the seasons
to help me plan for my goals, vacations,
kids activities, personal projects, and
then better be able to schedule in client
work on my calendar. Alright, still
working on this plan, you have your peak energy,
you have your goal. And now we're going to
establish a routine. This is the supportive
framework that you need. Set aside time for
your regular practice. And again, be honest
with yourself, if it's 15 min, that 15 min is going to add up. I don't want you to
say, Well, I'm gonna do 3 h and then by the third week, it's just not feasible. Pick something that's
realistic to you where you are in
your life right now, we want to foster all positive vibes around
this creative routine. We don't want it
to make you feel frustrated or overwhelmed
within the first month. And side-note, if that
happens, then change it. If an hour isn't working
in your creative routine, change it to 30 min. Don't do something
that'll discourage you and stop you
from moving forward. You really want a routine
that just provides you with stability so you can
focus on your work. That is the main goal here. Once you have a creative
routine and habit in place that works
really well for you, it will totally maximize
your productivity. And the other benefit
to it is it's so much easier to just get right
into that creative zone. What works for me is morning, I get up by exercise, do yoga, have a warm beverage, and then I just jump right
into that first creative task, the priority of my morning, I probably work steadily for
an hour, hour-and-a-half, and then I'll take a
break and move around, stretch, get some more
water or a snack. And I jumped right back into it. This allows for to really highly focused creative blocks
of time in my morning. Besides procrastinating, I think distractions are
the biggest hurdle when you're trying
to be productive. So how can you reduce and minimize the distractions
around you so that you can just sink into that creative mindset
and not be interrupted. Limit the things within your reach that you know
will be a distraction. Alert the people
around you that you're trying to work
without interruption. So important to try to
reduce these distractions, because our brains
literally take over 20 min to refocus and
get back on task. Kids can pop in or a friend and it's almost a
happy distraction. But if we're doing
it to ourselves, that's just that's
just frustrating. I keep my phone on silent, which does drive my kids crazy, but I keep my phone on silent
and I move it away from me. The biggest hurdle I've had in recent years is
when my husband began working from home because he would just walk right
in if the Torah were shut, he would come in and you want
to chat or ask a question. So I had to explain to him
how disruptive that was. One day I came home to this. We do have a better understanding
and it was very sweet. The flip side of this as
welcome, please come in. My point is just do your best to minimize
the distractions that are within your control because some things
simply aren't
3. Art Space: Having a dedicated Art
Space to call your own is such an important
part of being a creative, whether it's a cozy
little nook or a huge room filled
with beautiful light. It's a place to feel inspired to create and hopefully organize
your Art supplies to. There are so many
benefits to having your own Creative little
spot to make Art. Namely just being organized to have materials
when you need them. If you're dealing
with limited space, space limitations
are a real thing. I get it. My first apartment
out of college, I shared a bedroom
with my roommate, wedged against the foot of
my Bed was my Art table. Next to it was a rolling
cart filled with traditional supplies and
things shoved under the bid. It was the space
I had and I knew I needed a place to
create, so I may do. When we move to our first home, MySpace was a
closet and are done in the space we had
available and we put in a bunch of shelves and
I set up my computer and I had the kids behind me when they were little napping in
their pack in place. They napped. Of that is just to say you just do the best
with what you have. If you're feeling
challenged by having a limited space or you're not
quite sure where to set up. Here are a few ideas
that might help you. Instead of being like me and
shoving things under a BED, adult Lisa decided to find interesting storage
space solutions like this cute little
artist cabinet that someone was selling online. And while it didn't happen
overnight, after many years, I was able to move
out of my closet and into the studio
space, which I love.
4. Creative Habits: Forming a Creative Habit
is simply a way of consistently showing up for some type of creative activity. That activity has a key
intention behind it. For example, if you want to
improve your drawing skills, you could dedicate 15 min each day to practice sketching
in a sketchbook. Think of your creative habits like planting seeds in a garden. They both require
regular attention and care in order to grow
and blossom and thrive. This time should be
pretty carefree. It's literally
practicing something that's important to you. So you should do it with a
playfulness and a freedom and without putting any pressure
on yourself whatsoever. Creative habits are a
great tool for developing your skills and an
ongoing commitment to your creative pursuits. Design a new habit
that is unique to you, one that is going to
fit your lifestyle, your schedule, and
your artistic goals. If you can do that, you will reap some big benefits. You will see increased
productivity and growth in your skills. It'll affect your creative
thinking and mindset. It'll help you avoid procrastination and push
through any creative blocks. It really does build momentum. It's like comparing it to
making your BED in the morning. If becomes second nature, it just gets to this
point where, you know, at a certain time of
day you are going to be writing or you are
going to be drawing, just like you know what,
a certain time of day you're probably going
to be making dinner. So to start, I would suggest
setting aside 15 min. If you can start small, it won't feel as over whelming. Plus even 15 min a day is going
to add up pretty quickly. For some ideas, you
could do a sketch a day. That can be a warm-up
sketch in the morning, or it could be more specific, like if you want to improve upon drawing hands for example. It could be a doodle break. You could practice your
writing or journaling, or you could even spend
15 or 30 min each day getting to know a software you've been
wanting to learn. The important thing is just
having this become a habit. It's okay. I know that at 09:00
in the morning, 9-930, I'm going to be
learning how to use Procreate. I started off these
daily creative Habits with a morning warm-up. That was what
worked best for me. And the focus was on sketching. As that habit developed, I added another
setting aside time each week to learn a software. I began with Corel
Painter when I bought my first iPad that transitioned
into learning Procreate, the good thing to
keep in mind is creative habits will grow
and change as you do
5. Outlining: Outlining is my way of breaking down either a project or a goal. It's making sure I understand
everything about it so that I can work effectively to get to the proper end result. It's similar to how I describe
drawing to beginners. If someone is intimidated by
an object or subject matter, say a horse, you can look at it and see a very
complex object. Or you can break it
down into shapes. You can take that complexity and simplify it in your mind to
make it more manageable. And that's what I'm
striving for here. How can I make this task
at hand manageable? How can I create a
clear roadmap so that I can make progress
towards that finish line. If I'm approached with a
commission or a client project, I have a deadline. But if it's a personal project, I need to know the
steps to get there. I need to assign its own
deadline using a freelance gig. As an example, I think about the complexity of
the assignment. And I go from there, I break it down into
manageable tasks, knowing the steps we're going to need to go through to get to that final Art and be able to deliver it to the client. And FYI, if you're a freelancer, always build in extra
time for revisions. If you don't need
them. Great. You have padded your project a bit, but nine times out of
ten, you need them. As a freelance illustrator. This is so important
because most of the time you're not working on just one project at a time. You're working on
a variety of them. I need some type of effective outlining so that I can schedule my calendar appropriately and establish a timeline
and be able to work on pieces of a variety of
projects throughout a given week and make sure that I'm able to deliver it on time. This is not something I could
ever just wing it and go. Okay, it'll work out somehow. I definitely need to
come up with a way to manage my time
and make sure that my workload is
organized in a way that it's doable and that I have
a clear plan of action. I don't want to
let down a client. And I certainly there things
I want to accomplish in my own work and I don't want
to let down myself either. Once I began outlining
my seasonal goals, it was much easier
for me to plan for one personal
project a quarter. And I usually did this around
my busy and slow seasons. It was so much easier
for me to then plug certain things I
wanted to accomplish in and still be
able to coordinate client work or commissions
and family life, even just daily life. In my opinion, the
best thing you can do for yourself is
have a plan of action. If you have that, and can learn to keep your
calendar well-organized, it's so much easier to stay
motivated and productive. There's so many handy apps and resources
available nowadays. You just have to do a
quick search online for what you're looking for if you want to automate
something or organize. There are many options that are budget friendly or even free, which is the best budget
friendly resource. In case this is all
brand new to you. I have a few resources up on the screen for
project management, financial tools, organizing social media,
client communications. I do use some. I do not use all, but it's just to get
the ball rolling. If you want to
research what was out there and find what
would work best for you?
6. Critique: Constructive feedback can hold some valuable insights
for creatives. It will also help us improve and become
more productive in our Art as we develop our skills and refine
our artistic vision. Now I totally understand that receiving a critique
can be scary. You have no idea what someone
will say about your Art. But if you can
keep an open mind, it really can be a golden opportunity to grow
and improve on your Art. And look, it is perfectly
human to feel nervous about putting yourself out there and getting feedback
on your work. It's not an easy thing. Even after all this time, I still get nervous. There's usually something or a few things that I really
agree with and can lean into. That becomes motivating. I want to improve my Art. Getting constructive
feedback that I can use is highly motivating. Listen to what people
have to say and focus on what you find that
could be constructive. We are close to our Art. So sometimes people on the outside can see things
that we just don't see. On the flip side
of that, remember that Art is subjective. They will have their own
tastes and preferences. I had a few critiques. One thing was mentioned more
frequently than others, and that was that
my characters were stiff and I took a real good
look at it and thought, wow, it was like a
light bulb moment. They, they are, they are stiff. That was useful and
helpful feedback. So now I want to
point out that, yes, we can kit negative
feedback and how that can totally hurt it just
downright sucks. Unfortunately, it's something
that happens because not all feedback
is created equal. So if you're on the
receiving end of critique or feedback that
is more harmful than good. Let me say it hurts. And I've been there
and I feel you, someone who's familiar
with the process has a way of giving feedback that will
always be constructive. If there's room to grow, they will tell you that if
there's room to improve, they will tell you that
in a kind way that doesn't deflate
you as an artist. Give yourself space to
feel all the fields, but don't it prevent you
from doing what you love? In fact, if self-doubt is
really living in your head, I want you to just
say, nope, stop. Dig in your heels and remind yourself of
how far you've come, the progress you've
already made. And think about
where you can be in five-years time if you
don't give up on yourself. And look, it's not
just feedback. When we ask for it. As a children's
book illustrator, I'm open to all sorts of
reviews and feedback. And those can be hard. The good ones,
those are fabulous. Sometimes reviews are disappointing
and something doesn't land and the way you thought
it would, That is tough. In those instances. You just need to lean on your creative circle and
work through the feelings. Especially in the case of a
review or even a bad comment. If you've posted
something online and somebody comments in a way
that kind of bums you out. It's one person's opinion. And accountability
partner or group is a motivating
factor in your life. There a system of support
and encouragement. A good accountability group will be completely
honest with each other. They will share their
challenges, provide guidance, and they will motivate you to crush that crazy
deadline you took on. There. Your support system that inspires the best in you by being honest and vocal and putting out what you want to
accomplish to that group. You are allowing
all of you to track your progress and growth over time with regular check-ins, whether those are once
a month or once a week. It provides even more
opportunities to talk about challenges,
achievements, and wins. Celebrate those things together. This is probably sounded
good to you, right? I mean, it's nice to have
a buddy in your corner. So how can you go
about finding one? I found mine through SC BWI
and from those friends, That's how I developed this accountability
group that I'm in now. So I would encourage you
to reach out to fellow artists and your community or organizations that
you belong to. You might have
friends online that would be interested
in doing this. R group gets together once a
month through Google Meet. It's not something you
have to do in-person. Whether you find an
accountability buddy or a group, or even a community online, It's important to form this
creative bubble around you. Having that will make all
the difference when you're feeling a bit lost or simply
run out of motivation. Those are the people
you can turn to, to give you that push, that little dose of encouragement
that you need to pick that pencil backup and crack open the sketch
book and start drawing
7. Courage + Creativity: I want to encourage
you to be more brave in your thinking
about your Art. And remember what it
was like to draw when you were a little kid without any inhibitions and
really believing in the possibilities of
what you can achieve. I want you to feel free to express yourself
through your Art. If we can tap into that unique voice that we all
have as a creative artist, it connects with
your audience in a more genuine and
authentic way. Give yourself permission to be proud of what you're making and to share that with the world artist meant
to be seen and enjoyed. It's a way to connect
with other people. Often the thing that holds us back is the feeling
of being judged. Well, that's going no
matter what we do. Put it out there because
the way I see it, It's not meant for everyone, but who it is meant
for if that makes their day a little brighter or puts a smile on their face, isn't that worth it? One big way that we can
all be more courageous is to think more about our
own personal projects. What do you want to
do with your Art? What's something you want to try or that you're interested in? These, these things that
pop up in your head, these ideas might become other income streams
for you as well. Personal projects give you complete control because
it's your vision, your style, your
creative direction. If it's something
you're excited about, you will be super productive, making progress on bringing
that project to life. Building up your
portfolio of work is also a type of
personal projects. Showcase the industry
you'd like to be in, or the type of projects
you want to attract. Brainstorm the type of personal project you
would like to work on. Consider your unique skills and the projects that align with
your interests and passions. Creating a personal project or projects will be unique to you. I usually focus on building pieces for my
portfolio and for my shop, and having the courage to
work on my own stories, practicing so that my
writing skills get better. And creating more
picture book dummies that I can pitch to my agent. I deeply believe
that if we were to listen to our inner child more, that some really amazing
things could develop from it. Because when we were kids, we didn't have the insecurities
surrounding our work, like we do as adults. There was so much just simple, pure creative freedom in
making Art as a child. The simple joy of a box of crayons and a cheat
pad of paper. My mom gave me this box of crayons and it's in my studio as a gentle reminder to just be courageous and let that
inner kid out to play. Don't be afraid to showcase your unique viewpoints on the
world and show off your Art
8. Class Project: Thank you for being part of the artful Productivity class. I hope you feel encouraged and
motivated to get out there and make your Art for
the class project. I just want you to share
your personal project. What will you be working on? And don't forget,
you can download in the Projects and
Resources section, this handy PDF if you need some help brainstorming
what you want to work on. And a few parting thoughts. I really hope that
you remember to let that inner
child out and play. Art is not perfect. It's messy. So embrace the imperfections. Feel free to follow me
here on Skillshare, to stay in the loop
on class updates. Or you can follow me on Instagram where I
post work weekly
Lisa Griffin, Illustrator
