Complete a 7 Panel Double-Page Spread in 70 Minutes! Cafe Scenes.

1. Introduction to Sketchbook Panels: Join me again for another fun art project where we use a limited palette of marker pens and create a double-page spread in our sketchbooks by drawing up panels and taking complicated cafe images and creating easy cropped in drawings. And if I haven't met you before, my name is Jane. I live on the Gold Coast with my husband, two remaining chat Olts. If you don't know what they are, they are the ones that are now around 20. Still living at home, along with a dog, two cats, an aviy and three chickens. I also teach local art classes on the Gold Coast. Grab your pens and your sketchbook and let's get into the art room. 2. Class Project: To begin this project, you need to go to the Project and Resources tab and view the seven cafe images. They've all been chosen from Unsplash, a website that has royalty free images for us to use. We'll credit the photographer's name on each slide. You don't necessarily have to download these images because each image will be on the screen whilst we draw them. But if you want to use them to crop in, then you can find them under this tab. You will have a double-page spread just like this one, completed within 70 minutes. How wonderful is that? I would also love for you to upload your work in the same tab, which is the project and resources tab so that I can see your work progressing and give you constructive feedback. Only way for me to know that you have done my class is by uploading your work into this tab, so don't be shy. It's also an awesome way to be able to see how someone else has sketched up their double-page spread using the same images and instructions. Let's now head to the materials video so you know what materials you need. 3. Material List: Okay, let's get on to the materials. As you can see, there's not very many materials here. We start with a sketchbook. Now, you want to do a sketchbook so that you do have a double-page spread. It's all about filling up your sketchbook and doing a double-page spread on the same subject really makes it come together. So this sketchbook is not a four and it is not a five. It is right in between. It's a 200 GSM paper. So it means that the copy will not go over to the other side. It is better to have a heavier weight paper. It can be cartridge. It can be a mixed media sketchbook, but you want to have that thicker paper so that you don't see what's behind this image and then ruin the page for here. So the other things that we've got is a drawing pen. Now, this is a waterproof drawing pen. It is a 0.2. This is the one that I have used for this project. And as you can see, it is a really good size weight for doing a sketch like this. Tombow markers. Have you heard about them? They are jewel tip, so they have a brush end like this. And then this end is a fine end. The great thing about tombo markers is they are watercolor markers, and they blend two colors together, and then they self clean. So this nib got quite dirty, and now it's lovely and green again. So what I mean by that is, if we look at this brown that happened here, I've used this pen. It is this brown here, which is this pen, followed by the gray. So I've gone over that area of brown with two color markers, and it's created a third color. Done in there again. Also did it in here with the gray and the green pen. That's what I love about the Tombow markers. They blend beautifully, they self clean, and they last forever. These two here are over 10-years-old because I used to have a shop and I would sell the Tombow markers. I would let people use mind to test out the colors. And so they are 10-years-old, and look, you would not know it at all. So that is it for art supplies. Very, very simple for a very fun project. So let's get ready to start drawing and do our first panel. 4. First Panel - easy cafe scene: Okay, so we have our first image, which is it's quite a simple one. It's the sunglasses sitting on the notepad with the empty coffee cup and a nice chair with a nice back in it. Also a nice pop plant on the window sill. So I'm naturally going to go here because that's just natural for me. I'm going to go a square panel. You can do all of this up before we set the timer. It's fairly small when you look at the page here, the dynamics of it, but maybe I'll do a long one there and make a bigger square there. Let's start on this one. Our very first one. Let's start the timer. Now, there we go. All right. Now the reason, which I've probably already explained that I am using pen is so because you don't have time to do the sketch up in pencil rub out here and there. You just don't have the time for that. It is what it is. And helps keep it a lot more organic as well. To start off with an ellipse straight up is a bit cruel. I haven't really done my table in perspective there either, but it doesn't matter. We've got 8.5 minutes left on this first one. And I'm allowing a lot of time. I probably gone too small with this square for a ten minute drawing. Okay, you've got just under 7 minutes left, and I have done a fair amount got the edge of the wall in here as well. I've done a fair amount already in my line drawing. Just the 5 minutes to go. Mmm. I kind of want to leave some blank space as well. I might make the wall green. And I've got 3 minutes to go, and I myself have finished this one. But the camera is going to keep rolling because I'm going to make sure that you've got the image up for 10 minutes. And I'm really debating what I do about these last bits. I'm thinking I'm going to make that floor. I wonder if I could make it gray brown. So by going with gray, I've got time, so I may as well use it. It's quite a dark gray. And using limited colors, too, which helps just remove any um big decisions and making it too colourful. Limited palette does work well, and these Tombow markers do like to blend together to create new colors. So that worked quite well for that. Made that a lot darker. I could do the same in coffee cup and then make the top. We got minute 30. Still plenty time. So I've made this a full cup of coffee. It's not going through, no. And now I've been left with that little bit of white space down the bottom, so I'll definitely have to fill that in. With? What color? What color? What color? I might go gray and then green over the top. Would you. I'll do that. 30 seconds left. You may be like me with this first one done something where you don't really need the 10 minutes. Okay. And that timer is up. Even though it started again, don't worry about that. I will change that. So I'm going to cut this video and we'll move on to the next video and we'll have a new image. 5. Second Panel - coffee machine with chalkboard : Alright, so onto our next image, this one, I am going to go a bit further down, I think. Then that will leave this one being could be quite large or could go to there. So I might go to here. Oh, I fell a bit short from where I wanted to go. These panels don't need to be perfect, remember? Okay, so I guess I'm doing four on this side, three on that side, I would imagine. Ready to go for our next ten minute. Don't know what I'm doing. Okay, I think I might focus on the coffee machine. With the cups on the top, that's quite a lot. I might do from the knobs of the coffee machine. Now, of course, you may not be doing the coffee machine with the cups on top. It is quite detailed. Who's doing the lettering? That's a bit of a challenging one, but also quite. Yeah, it's a challenge, I'd say. But there's also the glass coffee makers up the top there, the little individual ones that they probably sell, they don't use in that coffee shop. And then, obviously to the is at the right, you've got the coffee grinder and a few more cups. So there's a lot going on in this image of the coffee shop. I have more time. I'm putting a lot more detail in this time. We have 8 minutes left. Okay. That are in the middle are not the same size cups on the outside. That's the beauty of actually drawing something rather than just taking a photo and moving on. I you actually see a lot more detail. You would never know that the cups are a different shape and size on this coffee machine if you were just taking a photo in a coffee shop because you liked the aesthetic of it and not for any other real reason. But drawing what you see means you just observe a lot more Okay, so we have 6 minutes left on this panel. How are you going? 'Cause if you're looking at what I'm doing, I can't believe that's taken me 4 minutes to do that much so far. So at this stage, I feel like I am not going to be adding any color at all, given the fact that I've got all those cups on top to draw yet. And it also doesn't look so much like a coffee machine. It looks more. I feel like it looks like a bit of an oven at the moment. But anyway, how is yours going? Are you sticking to three colors along with a black pen. Of course, if you don't have the Tombow markers, then you're using something else. And I've mentioned before in regards to the color. So this works well with watercolor, as well. As long as you have got a waterproof drawing pen, like the one that I'm using, that's the really. Hang on. I've just it is a UIPNFne line that I'm using. I just blanked on the actual name of that one. So that is a waterproof and fade proof pen, which you can buy in many places. So they're quite well known this range of pens. But I don't know if I actually told you what pen weight I'm drawing with, but from the image, it looks like it's a 0.2, which is a good all round size thickness. Alright, what we got? We have just got over 4 minutes left. And look at me. I am still drawing this image and the cups are getting thinner as I went down, and they look like they're going to topple over. But that's okay. I think when I add color, it's not gonna be so obvious. I just am leaving adding color to the very last minute. Okay, we have just got over 2 minutes left. So hopefully you are adding color as well as I am. I look like I have never colored in so fast. The other thing with these tombo markers is you can see those lines look quite harsh now, but as the ink dries, that will not look as harsh as it does now. So yeah, I'm just trying to get color down as fast as I can without going outside or inside other areas that want to be certain colors. And you have 30 seconds remaining. Time to draw or color in very quickly. We are down to the last 20 seconds. And that is 10 minutes up again. Alright, so I'll again end this video and come back for the third panel. 6. Third Panel - bookshelf beside counter: Okay, we are on to number three. So this is the one where the bookshelves are the main focus. So I am going to do a long thin panel. And just get all those books in. Alright. So have you chosen your panel? Are you ready to start? Sum. Let's get started now. So hopefully you can see my time you're in there, but I will call it out as well. This is really hard to know where you're going to crop. So I'm just gonna go in with bookshel Hi, everyone. I'm just stepping in here just to let you know that this was a really long photo horizontally, so you won't see my drawing for this one, and I will move the timer up so you can see it again. The negative space is really good to use as well. Okay, so I'm going to demonstrate the negative space here, actually. Before I do that, there is the shelf behind. So with negative space, I am drawing the white of the wall and not the books yet. So, it will just be uneven. And I will do all those books in well, I guess I can do them in now. If I want to go seven months totach with through this here. It's the first book. We have 6 minutes, 15 seconds left. Now, these books started going on slant, and I didn't really know that, so I don't know what I'm gonna do here. I might have to make it up. Alright, so we have got 5 minutes, 30 seconds left, which is pretty much halfway for this panel. How are you going? Have you started color yet? I do not. I risk it this time, and I leave it to less than a minute to go, which is a bit too short. So I hope you are closer to color than I am. U How long are we going for time? Just under 5 minutes, 4 minutes 49. I've just realized that that's the bookshelf I've done, and then I was about to do it again. So that's not kind of good, but I'm going to I might just I might do it again. Just different. I'll go for different shapes. Just under 4 minutes left now. I don't get a hurry on. I'm not going to get any color down. Just under 3 minutes. I'm not sure how you are going with this third panel, but I am finding myself getting into too much detail too quickly. I don't want to be messy with the lines and have them hanging over other lines, like a cross line. So I just think I bit off a little bit too much for this one, with all the books all being individual. I should have honed in more maybe on the pop plants up a top. Hopefully you are smarter than I am and have done something like that and haven't found yourself all of a sudden getting down to less than a minute to go to actually apply color. Minute 30 left. Okay, I need to get color down. So I'm just going to get some background in because we have got 35 seconds. And that is time up. That's another 10 minutes done. Wow. That panel is looking a little blank. Alright, so again, I will stop this video, and we'll get ready for the next one. 7. Fourth Panel - halloween counter: Alright, so we are on to our fourth panel. The image with the Halloween and there's some pumpkins off to the left. Alright, so we are ready to go. Let's start clock. You've got your image ready and your panel drawn up. We are on. So I'm going to go straight for the bench and where those pumpkins are and all the little cute tea candles as fake as they are. I have taken a break in between the first three, and this one, had to drop my daughter to work and get some dinner for tonight. So it's been a good hours. So I've kind of I warmed up and now have to start again, but that's what happens. We don't all get to don't get to do this all at once. If we can. Awesome. But you can break it up. But I'm looking forward to seeing your results of how you go with these. Please make sure that you post them in a resources area so that we can all have a look at each other's panel. It's really interesting when I do this in a class locally that we're all drawing the same thing, or at least I'm instructing them to draw the same thing, and how different everyone hanss that drawing. That's a weird looking pumpkin. Okay tips for me. Might make it slightly bigger so that I can use the space that I've given for this panel. Or Ooh. And what's beside it? It's a glass jar, I think. I'll just make it a glass jar. There we go. I've made that one up and looks a bit like a cookie jar more than coffee beans, which I think is in it. Bunch. I How long have we got? We've got 5 minutes left on this one. Shouldn't have probably colour these black, but anyway, too late now. Just over 4 minutes, less. The idea behind the panels is to create a double-page spread of a scene for a theme, as in this case, so it's all cafes, cafe style scene. But if you're traveling, you could be taking some photos of your day and then from those photos, do a panel a double-page spread panels in your sketchbook and break it up into more of like a little story of what's happened that day. Doesn't have to be when you're on holidays somewhere, can just be even just your normal old day to day. Okay, I'm spending way too long on those, so I need to move on, start putting in a bit of color. This is easy for the pumpkin. Could put a bit of black outline a bit more shape to them, as well. Wokend. We've got 2 minutes, 25 left. Go so quickly. It's also very good to time yourself because if you don't time yourself, you get caught up in detail, and you can always go back, like I could go back to the bookshelf and add more color to it, which I may do because it looks a little bit unfinished. But timing gives you that ability to be able to work out what it is you're actually doing. We've got green flames on our little t lights. And let's do Oh, I think the gray background is gonna be too dark. I might do a green background. I'm using a waterproof black pen, so I can run over the top minute 20 today. I can run over the top of the black pen. Did topled a little bit there's 'cause I was coloring in. Yeah, did it again. Just on those little dots that I colored in. They're probably still a little bit wack. 39 seconds. Well, I'm gonna run out of time. All 16 seconds. I'm gonna make it. Oh, no, sir. That will look funny. Let's go to the black pen. Oh. Time's up. I wretch all rules. Just pouring a bit of wine in on those pumpkions. There you go. You're allowed to cheat. No one's got a night. Alright, so I will end this video again, and we'll go on to the next one. 8. Fifth Panel - semi difficult: Okay, so as I started this, a concrete truck has turned up fixed up. Um, anyway, we just have to continue with it. Do people are allowed to build? And that is definitely what they're doing next door. Adding another bedroom or something. Okay, so I'm going to go down here. I don't really know what I'm gonna do to those ones. I might even do a shape that goes a bit like the step. But, this one I'm going to go for, let's start the timer. Now we go. We're on. I'm gonna go for the jug of water and the jar of cookies down the bottom there. Try and do a bit of a sincle one again like I did up here. But pairs of lipses that I don't like. It's a bit of a weird lid that I've done. I thought I was doing the right thing there, but it doesn't look it. And the base is very off as well. Ellipses are hard. Maybe I need to do an art class on Elixes. I do an art pass locally. We do a lesson on Elixs. They are circles in perspective. And it's what I do ellip is They are so wrong that I like them. I actually like them. I they just so out there and weird and wrong. Oh goodness. Okay. What is the in this jar? They look like fortune cookies. But very round. Looks We have got 6.5 minutes left. Saving the best one until last. If you do it in the order that we're doing it in, I'm saving the best one until last. But you might have seen the images already, which it is the coffee sign. So, um, it's a lot to do in 10 minutes when you're doing writing, but I don't mind a bit of writing. So signs just in case no one knew what on earth. These look like enormous coffee beans. Um, yeah, in case no one knows what spread I'm doing, the coffee sign should give it away. I think I'm gonna give up doing these. They look diculous. 5 minutes to go on this panel. The one thing I'm planning for my Japan trip because we're going for two weeks. It's my husband and my daughter who are going with me, but I'm not going to have a chance to be able to sit in a cafe and draw a scene or even sit outside because I'm traveling with two people who do not enjoy drawing when you are traveling. So with that being said, I will be taking a lot of photos, collecting a lot of bits and pieces and creating a sketchbook that I draw on when we were when we are in the rooms of the apartment, or if we're traveling on the bullet train, there are the times that I'm going to be actually drawing, and it will be all from photos, which makes it very easy and still very fun to do a traveling sketchbook. Okay, you got 3 minutes 30 left on this panel. One correction I must make is that my daughter does draw. She will be taking her sketchbook. She's very good at Japanese anime. So we'll be really enjoying being over there, being out to go into shops anime shops, which I don't know how excited I'm about that, but yeah, she will be drawing, as well. Probably on the train, maybe the airplane, as well. Uh, but it will be anime figures rather than what I'm doing, which is creating a sketchbook about Japan and the places that we go to. Alright, time for color. We've got 2 minutes, 20 left. I do hope that you are getting down a bit more color than I am. And I'm also I did say that that gray Tombow markers would Um, the lines would not be as obvious once it had dried, but I am to be corrected on that. The marks have not dried on that drawing above. So I'm not sure if that's 'cause of the paper I'm using, but I don't know if I've ever had that happen before. It definitely won't go through to the other side, though. That's the one beauty about Tombow markers is that they do not go through to the other side. They're not alcohol based, and they are watercolor pens, as well. 1 minute left. It's deep inside my thoughts then. Not a drawing of passports and have all our passports being updated, which they have. Okay, so we've got 40 oh, well, we're actually 35 seconds left of this one. Get coloring. I'm madly trying to get some color down, and it's looking very much like the panel beside it now. And that is time up. Okay, let's stop this video and get on with the next. 9. Sixth Panel - a lot going on in this cafe: Alright, onto our second last panel. Now, I'm going to go. I definitely want the coffee one to be there, so I should have brought this one up a bit higher 'cause I don't need all that room, but I will go here, and I think I might just come up a little bit. Finish a bit early there. And then that way the next one can be there. There's a little gap there. There's a little gap there. That's all good. That can happen. Oops, I don't know why I'm putting that down. All right, are we ready? Let's set go? Okay, what are you doing in this scene? This is a very complicated scene. I am going to focus on the bottles on the wall and the lights. So I might put the light in first. Alright, so I have a little confession to make. As I was doing this panel, I was more so mumbling to myself than I was talking to you about the drawing, et cetera. So I've decided to do a voiceover. You will also hear a voice over in the next panel for a completely different reason. You have to get to that panel to understand why. So I'm just going to break this video by talking about the power of having a regular hobby, such as drawing and painting does for you. I will let you know what time it is. Now we have got just under 9 minutes. So 8 minutes 45 you've got left on this panel. I am reading this from my screen, as well. So if I stumble a bit, that's the reason why. So the power of regular sorry, the power of regular creative hobby. As an art teacher, one of the most common things I hear from adults is that I wish that I had a hobby or I used to draw, but I'm not good anymore, or I wouldn't even know where to start. And I think this says a lot about the world we live in because somewhere between childhood and sorry, adulthood, many of us stopped doing things simply because we enjoyed them. And it's so true. So many of my retirees that I teach locally, they say that they haven't actually done anything since they were at school. And these women are usually over the age of at least 60. So that's a long time to be going without doing something that you enjoy. We replace hobbies with responsibilities. We replace curiosity with productivity, and we started to believe that if we weren't good at something, it wasn't worth doing. Alright, you have 7.5 minutes to go. I will continue this on in a little minute. Okay, continuing on. Having a regular hobby, especially something creative like drawing or painting is not a luxury. It's something our brain actually needs. When you sit down to draw or paint, something quite remarkable happens in your brain. You're not just making art, you're activating multiple areas at once. The part of the brain that processes what you see, the part that controls movement in your hands, and the part responsible for focus and decision making. One of the few activities that engages the brain in such a complete way. And yet it feels calming. That's because creative activities help reduce cortisol, the hormone responsible for stress. Even a short session, 30 to 40 minutes can noticeably oh, goodness, I can't speak noticeably lower stress levels in the body. We're just under the six minute mark now. So while it might look like you're just doodling, your brain is actually shifting into a more balanced, regulated state. And then there's something called flow. And that's not my cat, my cat's name is Florence, and I always call her Flo. You may have experienced it before without realizing. It's the feeling where time disappears. You're completely absorbed in what you're doing, and you're not thinking about emails, your to do list or what's for dinner. You're just present. Drawing and painting are some of the easiest ways to access that state. And flow is incredibly powerful. It improves concentration, strength, strengthens neural pathways, and it gives the mind a break from constant overthinking. Now, here's something important. You don't need to be good at art to experience any of these benefits. The brain does not care if your drawing is realistic. That's a very good point, actually. It doesn't care if your painting is frameworthy. The benefit comes from the act of creating, not the outcome. But many people stop themselves before they even begin because they believe creativity is something you either have or you don't it's simply not true. Creativity is not a talent. It's a skill, and more importantly, it's natural human instinct. Children don't question whether they're good at drawing. They just draw. They experiment, they play. They enjoy the process. And that's exactly where the benefit lies. Just to quickly step in there. I say that regularly to my retirees who I teach locally. I tell them to leave their adult brain at the door. And let the child come in to play. And you should be doing that as well while you're actually doing any form of creativity. Leave your adult brain at the door. If you are over 12-years-old, leave your adult brain at the door and let your child your inner child play because it's amazing what happens when you take that restriction away from yourself. Okay, how are we going for time now? We have got just over 3 minutes. So 3 minutes 15. I will take a quick break and I'll come back with a little wrap up of what I'm talking about. Drawing teaches you to slow down and really look to notice detail, to observe light and shadow, and to see things you would normally rush past. In a world that constantly pulls our attention in 100 different directions, that ability to focus, even for a short period is incredibly valuable. Then there's the emotional side. Art gives us a way to process thoughts and feelings that we don't always have words for. You might sit down feeling overwhelmed, distracted or unsettled, and by the time you've finished, something has shifted. You feel calmer and clearer, not because you've solved everything, but because you've given your mind space to move through it. And that's why doing a hobby regularly matters. No once every few months, not when you have time, but regularly, because the real benefit comes from consistency. 10 minutes here, half an hour there, a quiet moment at the end of the day doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to happen. Because each time you sit down to create, you're doing more than filling time. You're lowering your stress. You're strengthening your brain, you're improving focus, and you're reconnecting with something that is inherently human. You have just under a minute and a half to go. Perhaps most importantly, you're giving yourself permission to do something purely for the sake of enjoyment, not for productivity or performance, not for anyone else, just for you. And in today's world, that is incredibly powerful. So have you ever thought, I wish I had a hobby or I used to enjoy drawing or I'm just not creative, I would gently challenge that start small, pick up the pencil which you've done, put some color on a page, which you're doing, and let it be simple, which, again, we are breaking down difficult images and making them simple. It's not about what you create. It's about what happens when you do, and that is where the real value lies. You have just over 30 seconds remaining. Hopefully, you are coloring in by now because we don't want to leave it too late, do we? I will end this and come back with the normal recording. I can't anymore. Okay, that is time up for that one. We do what we do. Take a break and come back. 10. Seventh Panel - coffee sign & wrap up: Okay, so we are on to panel seven. And as you can see, my panel has been already done. And what happened is it wasn't a case that I forgot to hit record. It was a case of, I didn't save it. And when I went to quit the program, I said, Yeah, yeah, I don't need that one. And as soon as I quit it, I realized I just deleted a video, and I tried so hard to get it back, and I couldn't so what I'm going to do, I'm going to set the timer. The images come up now. I want to talk to you in regards to actually, let's just get into the timer, and I will tell you what I'm going to talk about. So time starting. Oh, so sorry. You do need to do your final panel drawing. If you're doing it in the same lamp that I'm doing, you will have a landscape box. But if not, you might want to focus on just one of the parts of the image as well, not the whole coffee letters. Alright, let's start. I think my time needs to be replaced. It's starting to struggle. So what I want to talk to you about while you are drawing is the benefits to the brain when it comes to doing a hobby, such as drawing or painting. It might be a side geek. You might actually be selling some of your art somewhere. So I have asked my friend Chat GPT for a little script. I do pay for chat GBT, so it does know me. It knows me. I knows that I'm an art teacher. And that I not only do art, but I also teach others art. So I'm going to go into this script. I've only read half of it, so I might stumble a bit as we go on. But you're getting into your drawing and let's go. So there is something quite powerful about sitting down with a pencil or a paintbrush, no notifications, no pressure, just you and the page. Drawing and painting might look like simple hobbies. But what they do to your brain what they do, sorry. But what they do to your brain and your well being is anything but simple. When we draw or paint, we activate multiple areas of the brain at the same time. The visual cortex processes what we see. The motor cortex controls hand movement, and the pre frontal cortex helps with decision making and problem solving. Even the emotional centers of the brain lights up. It's like a full brain workout, but one that feels calming instead of exhausting. Sorry, I'm just going to have to change my glasses over. Research shows that creative activity reduces cortisol, the stress hormone. Even 30 to 45 minutes of making art can significantly lower stress levels. That means your body physically relaxes, your breathing slows, your shoulders drop, and your mind stops racing. And here's the beautiful part. You don't even need to be good at art for this to happen. The benefit isn't in creating a masterpiece, it's in the process. When you draw, your brain shifts into what psychologists call the flow state, that feeling where time disappears, you're fully present, not thinking about yesterday, not worrying about tomorrow, just noticing shapes, colors, and shadows. Flow is one of the healthiest states the brain can be in. It improves focus, sorry, it strengthens neural pathways and builds resilience. And over time, regular creative practice actually helps rewire the brain in positive ways. Creativity increases neuroplasticity, which is one, sorry, which is the brain's ability to adapt and grow. The more we challenge ourselves creatively, the more flexible our thinking becomes. That flexibility doesn't just help in art, it helps in life. I'm going to have to remind my students that I teach here on the gold coast that one because they sometimes tell me that I set them tasks that are too hard. Back to it. So you become better at problem solving, more adaptable, more open to new ideas. In a world that constantly demands productivity and performance, drawing and painting give us permission to slow down. There is something deeply grounding about putting color onto paper, watching pigment spread in water, feeling the scratch of a pencil on texture. I love the sound of a pencil on paper. It pulls us back into our senses. It reconnects us to ourselves. And for many adults, that reconnection is something we're quietly lost. As children, we drew without hesitation. Without judgment, without comparing ourselves to anyone else. Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped, not because we didn't enjoy it, but because we decided we weren't artistic, but creativity is not a talent reserved for a few. It is a human instinct. And when we ignore that instinct, we often feel a little disconnected, a little restless, a little suck. Regular drawing and painting can also improve memory. Studies show that sketching information helps us retain it more effectively than simply writing it down. The act of observing and translating what we see strengthens cognitive connections. It sharpens attention, I trains patients, encourages us to look more closely at the world around us. You have 4 minutes and 44 seconds left. Sometimes we don't even realize we needed that to realize until we started. Oh, gosh, I forget. Art gives us a safe space to express feelings that are hard to put into words, stress, grief, joy, excitement, uncertainty. All of it can be processed visually. Now, sometimes we don't even realize we need that release until we start. That's where I went wrong there. Looking at the screen to the timer. Now, let's talk about something people are curious about turning creativity into a side gig. For some, drawing and painting begin purely as self care. But over time, confidence grows, skills develop. People start asking, Did you make that? And slowly, the idea of selling artwork or teaching others doesn't feel so far fetched. Having a creative side gig can be incredibly empowering. It builds confidence in a way, in a different way than a traditional job. It's personal, it's expressive, and it's yours. And interestingly, when we monetize creativity gently without pressure, it can actually increase motivation and skill development. But the key is this the joy must come first. If creativity becomes only about income, it can lose the very benefit that made it powerful in the first place. You got 3 minutes and 10 seconds left. So whether you draw once a week at the kitchen table, attend a local art class, join an online creative community or slowly build a small side income from your artwork. What matters most is consistency. The brain thrives on repetition. Small, regular creative sessions are more powerful than waiting for the perfect time. 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, it doesn't need to be elaborate. It just needs to be regular because each time you sit down, you're not just making art. You're luring your stress, you're strengthening your brain. You're improving focus, you're building resilience, you're reconnecting with joy, 2 minutes 20 left. And perhaps, most importantly, you're proving to yourself that creativity still belongs in your life. In a fast paced world of scrolling and consuming, choosing to create is a radical act. It says, I am more than my to do list. I am more than my responsibilities. I am allowed to make something just because it feels good. Drawing and painting are not childish. They are not indulgent. I was always guilty of thinking that. They are not a waste of time. They are mental fitness, they are emotional regulation. They are personal growth, and they are available to all of us. You've got a minute 36 left. So whether it is a hobby that fills your cup or grows into something that adds to your income, the real value is in what it does to you, the calm, the clarity, the confidence. Pick up the pencil, dip the brush, make a mark. Your brain will thank you for it. Alright, so that is the little script that Chat GPT came up for. With for me, and I actually found that quite interesting because I do tell my you got 1 minute left. I do tell my students that the fact that they are coming together in the community each week and sharing a love that they all adore is really good for their brain, and they know it. I teach a lot of retirees. So they're the ones that have been there, done that and have some great stories to tell. You've got 30 seconds left. So I'm going to actually read a bit of that out to them next week when I see them and just remind them how much they're doing for their brains. Alright, you have 15 seconds to go, and then we are all done. I'll keep, um, the film rolling after this. And it is over. Oh. I'll put it back to my page there, take that image away. And regardless of the size of your double-page spread, you have just completed a sketchbook page in 70 minutes. And it's interesting, as well. It's not just one drawing where you've gone deep in detail. It's seven little ten minute drawings, and using a limited palette is also fantastic. Those pens have disappeared from the desk at the moment because I've actually been away, and I would have taken them with me. And then not put them back for the pretty sure. No, they're not here. But you can see how effective it can be when you've only got a few marker pens to use. The other thing you could do is actually use watercolor. So go in with a black marker and get all your outlines in and then go in with watercolor because that's a very quick paint to use as well. Okay, so in wrap up, please remember to go back to the project and resources tab on this project, upload your image of your double-page spread so that I can see it and other students can also see it. I will give you some constructive feedback into it if I need to, but I'm pretty sure you guys are going to smash it and you're going to do great double-page spread. I've really enjoyed this class. I might do a different subject and do another seven panels, maybe in this sketchbook, maybe in a different layout sketchbook. So, that's it for me for this project. Keep on drawing and painting and thank you. Oh, I'm trying to get the love heart right. Thank you for being in the art room with me. Mm.