got mad at Instagram and joined a creative challenge
Exploring ideas for a calendar, a mini update and Alphabet Superset
heyy!
It’s good to know that for this second post there are some more eyes watching! Before sharing last week’s post on social media, it felt a little like I was talking to no one. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read it! And even more thanks those who subscribed.
The decision to start creating blog posts before launching my new website was pretty sudden, but at the same time, it just felt so right to just start, without overthink it. And, well, so far, this keeps going!
Onto today’s thoughts:
A bit of what I did last week, creativity-wise
Joining a creative challenge
Things I’m consuming that are worth sharing
thanks again, take a sip of water and get comfy :)
Bits from last week
I shall share the successes but also the failures:
A bit of a rant
The day I published the first post, I also posted a reel, short one, less than an hour to create. HOWEVER, when it came to editing!!! Oh gosh, I’m just going to say, the Instagram reel editor s u c k s. Then I posted the video and 😄 the audio was wrong 😄. It played for less than a second and then silence for the rest of the video. Isn’t that nice? Anyway, I had to repost the video with another song, and less video quality.
All of that for a 6-second video that got 153 views and 14 likes, which, even if it could definitely be less, and is very appreciated, makes it feel like it’s not worth it.
Instagram in general, lately, just feels very off. Because of the immense competition that the algorithm sadly promotes more and more, you can rarely see any authenticity on Instagram. Not because people aren’t authentic, but because Instagram loves it when everyone does the same and follows the same trends. It’s just so, so sad that people are forced to do what everyone else is doing and hope that maybe they can get a tiny fraction of attention on their art, their craft. Something they put years of dedication, and a lot of love into. And I’m talking about big accounts, too.
Anyway, it’s just so obvious why everyone is burning out all the time!
Ahh… Just had to get that out 😚💨
Don’t worry, the rest of the post is lighter.
Onto something I’m happy about: calendars
I’m feeling inspired!!
I’ve always liked creating, or designing, things to plan life with. It’s one of the things that got me into graphic design. I just, for some reason, love calendars, agendas, bullet journaling… all that.
So I just really want to design a calendar. Or who knows, maybe two or three.
With posters, I struggle to find a topic, a subject. But for a calendar, you don’t need that, you just design.
I also love how with calendars you can have a theme, which is always fun.
Oh, I also created a mock-up with Photoshop’s generative fill for one of them.
Tell me in the comments, which one do you like the most? And if you think they all suck, maybe don’t tell me! haha
Mini update about the new website
On Sunday, I finished developing the homepage on Framer, and I couldn’t be more excited! It feels so close to finally launching it!
I’m going to France for a week in September, so I’m hoping it’ll be ready before that, so by the 10th. If not, it would be ready by the 20th.
Ahh!! I’m excited!!! I will explain more about the process and maybe show some bits in the next posts!
Joining a 6-month challenge: Alphabet Superset
I’ve been watching Struthless’ videos for a while, he’s inspired me many times, both creatively and with life in general. He has great videos.
He’s created a challenge called the Alphabet Superset. I won’t go into much detail, so if you’re interested, check its website out!
The challenge consists of creating a piece of work every week, with the only prompt being a letter of the alphabet. The catch is, you have to stick to a medium, stylistic constraints, output constraints and a theme. The aim is also to share 100% of what you create.
I still haven’t decided on the theme.
As for the medium, I think I’ll do oil pastels combined with design on Illustrator/Photoshop.
The style will be rough illustrations, with a bit of typography. Only one colour per work. They also have to look good as posters and on t-shirts.
It’s been very difficult trying to decide and be 100% sure on a theme, medium, and style. Committing to such restrictions for so long feels daunting.
I have doubts, I think “what if I don’t like rough illustrations in 4 months”, I sure wasn’t so passionate about them 6 months ago.
But I guess that also makes it exciting. Committing to something, as a challenge, really helps in letting go and just focusing on creating, not thinking. And that’s a good thing.
Maybe I should just not overthink it: choose, and it’s done. I’ll update next week on what I’ve decided.
The challenge starts next week. So if you want to join, which I highly recommend, you still can! It’s cool cause many, many people are going to do it at the same time, and that’ll help to stay motivated and have accountability!
Things worth sharing
Some food for thought → “The Plastic Feminism of Barbie” by Verity Ritchie on YouTube
This funny (but true) post about AI
I’ve been enjoying the series “Archer” on Netflix, it’s a funny one!
Thank you so, so much for reading! I appreciate it you taking time from your day to read what a tiny creative has to say 🫶🏼
Remember to subscribe if you haven’t yet! And like the post to help a girl out!