HOW TO BALANCE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL WITH A FULL TIME JOB

IN THIS VIDEO: I AM DRAWING A MUSHROOM PATTERN USING POSCA MARKERS AND I AM ALSO TALKING ABOUT SOME TIPS I HAVE GATHERED THIS PAST YEAR ON HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF HAVING A FULL TIME JOB AND ALSO HAVING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL

I THINK EVERYONE STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL WILL STRUGGLE AT FIRST BECAUSE MOST OF US EITHER HAVE A 9 TO 5 JOB OR ARE ATTENDING UNIVERSITY. HOWEVER THE MORE YOU POST THE MORE YOU WILL GET THE HANG OF WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOES NOT. I HAVE SOME TIPS ON HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT AND MAKE THE BEST OUT OF BOTH WORLDS.

PLAN AHEAD . BY THIS I MEAN ALWAYS BE ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOURSELF. YES I KNOW THAT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE BUT IT’S REALLY EASY. I LIKE TO ALWAYS HAVE A LIST OF IDEAS FOR VIDEOS. THAT WAY I CAN START FILMING RIGHT AWAY WHEN I HAVE THE TIME TO DO SO. ANOTHER WAY YOU CAN PLAN AHEAD IS BY FILMING A WEEK AHEAD. THAT WAY YOU HAVE A FULL WEEK TO EDIT YOUR VIDEO AND ALSO YOU WILL PROBABLY BE LESS STRESSED.

MAKE A SCHEDULE THAT FITS YOUR NEEDS. WE ALL HAVE A DIFFERENT LIFESTYLE SO MAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT. FIGURE OUT WHEN IS THE BEST DAY FOR YOU TO FILM IN PERFECT CIRCUMSTANCES AND MAKE THAT YOUR FILMING DAY. FOR ME THE BEST DAY TO FILM IS SUNDAY. IT’S THE ONLY DAY WHEN I DON’T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED AND I CAN JUST CHILL AT HOME PAINTING WITH NO TIME PRESSURE.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHANGE THINGS UP. WE ALL TRAVEL FROM TIME TO TIME OR HAVE SOME THINGS THAT NEED YOUR FULL TIME AND ATTENTION. SO THAT MIGHT MEAN THAT YOUR FILMING SCHEDULE MIGHT SUFFER FROM TIME TO TIME. SO DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT OR EVEN FILM TWO VIDEOS IN A DAY. MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU AND YOUR NEEDS.

YOUTUBE IS TIME CONSUMING. THAT’S JUST HOW IT IS. THERE’S NO GOING AROUND IT. IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON STARTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL YOU WILL NEED TO SOMETIMES SACRIFICE OTHER THINGS IN YOUR LIFE. MAKING A DRAWING, FILMING IT, EDITIING THE VIDEO, TAKING PICTURES, POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA. IT’S ALL TIME CONSUMING. SO MAKE SURE IT’S SOMETHING YOU ARE WILLING TO DO AND COMMIT TO ASIDE FROM YOUR OTHER JOB

HAVE FUN WITH IT. REMEMBER YOU’RE DOING YOUTUBE BECAUSE IT’S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD GIVE YOU A SATISFACTION AND IT’S A WAY OF LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND HOW CREATIVE YOU ARE. SO DON’T PRESSURE YOURSELF TOO HARD AND JUST ENJOY THE PROCESS.

ESSDEE BLOCK PRINTING TOOLS. ARE THEY WORTH IT?

IN THIS VIDEO : I RECENTLY PURCHASE SOME NEW ART SUPPLIES FROM ESSDEE UK FOR BLOCK PRINTING AND I DECIDED TO TEST THEM OUT ON CAMERA. I CARVED OUT A FLORAL DESIGN AND PUT EACH SUPPLY TO THE TEST. I AM STILL LEARNING HOW TO IMPROVE MY BLOCK PRINTS AND I WANT TO DOCUMENT THAT PROCESS AND SHARE IT WITH YOU GUYS/ HEAR MY THOUGHT BY WATCHING THE VIDEO .

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3 IN 1 BARREN AND BLADE KIT

THIS MULTI FUNCTIONAL SET IS GREAT BECAUSE IT CONTAINS 5 BLADES OF DIFFERENT SIZES, A BARREN AND MINE ALSO CAME WITH 2 SMALL CIRCULAR STAMPS WHICH ARE GREAT IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A LINOCUT OF YOUR LOGO FOR EXAMPLE. THE HANDLE IS VERY STURDY AND THE BLADES ARE VERY EASY TO CHANGE.
PRICE: $7.96 ON AMAZON

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INK ROLLER

THE ROLLER FROM ESSDEE IS A HUGE UPGRADE FROM WHAT I ORIGINALLY OWNED. MY OLD ROLLER WOULD NOT DISTRIBUTE THE INK IN AN EVEN WAY AND MY PRINTS WOULD ALWAYS LOOKS MESSY. SURE I AM NOT QUITE THERE YET WITH THE ROLLING AND PRINTING TECHNIQUE BUT I RECOMMEND THIS ROLLER IF YOU ARE STARTING OFF WITH BLOCK PRINTING AND ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT WILL DO THE JOB AT A DECENT PRICE

PRICE: $8.69 ON AMAZON FOR A 50MM ROLLER

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ART PRINT LINOLEUM

THE LINOLEUM I PURCHASED FROM ESSDEE IS A TRADITIONAL HESSIAN BACK LINOLEUM AND IT COMES IN A SET WITH 2 PIECES, EACH IN A5 SIZING. THIS TYPE OF LINO IS NOT AS SOFT AS RUBBER LINO AND IT DOES TAKE A WHILE TO GET USED BECAUSE YOU NEED ,I THINK, A MORE STEADY HAND WITH IT. WHEN I STARTED WORKING ON THIS TYPE OF MATERIAL MY HAND WOULD ALWAYS SLIP BECAUSE I WAS USED TO WORKING ON RUBBER. SO YOU NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL AND PATIENT AT FIRST IF NOT YOU MIGHT JUST INJURE YOURSELF.

PRICE: $4.98 ON AMAZON

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PLASTIC INK TRAY

THIS INK TRAY IS JUST WHAT I NEEDED. I LOVE THAT IT HAS THOSE BEVELED EDGES AND INK WILL NOT SPILL OR GET ANYWHERE (BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW BLOCK PRINTING INK STAINS LIKE CRAZY. THE ONLY DOWNSIDE TO THIS TRAY IS THE FACT THAT IT DOES GET STAINED THE MORE YOU USED IT, BUT IF YOU DON’T MIND THAT THEN I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND IT. ALSO THE SIZE I GOT IS 240X200 MM AND IT IS JUST THE RIGHT SIZE FOR MY NEEDS.

PRICE: £2.50 ON www.jacksonsart.com

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BLOCK PRINTING INK IN VERIDIAN

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST I PURCHASED A TUBE OF BLOCK PRINTING INK IN VERIDIAN. OVERALL IT PERFORMS JUST AS WELL AS ANY OTHER BLOCK PRINTING INK I HAVE USED BEFORE BUT I REALLY LIKE THAT IT’S WATER BASED SO CLEANING IT OFF SHOULD BE FAIRLY EASY. ALSO YOU GET A HUGE QUANTITY FOR A VERY DECENT PRICE. AND I REALLY LOVE THEIR COLOR SELECTION.

PRICE: $11.64 ON AMAZON

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IN CONCLUSION I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND ALL 5 ART SUPPLIES IF YOU WANT TO START WITH BLOCK PRINTING. THESE 5, I THINK ARE THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS YOU NEED TO GIVE LINO CUTS A GO. OF COURSE ESSDEE HAS LOADS MORE PRODUCTS TO CHOOSE FROM INCLUDING BEGINNERS SETS. IT’S REALLY UP TO YOU! BUT I CONSIDER THEM AFFORDABLE AND QUALITY WISE THEY WILL DELIVER.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE TRIED THEM AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THEM.

LOVE, A.

I FINISHED INKTOBER FOR THE FIRST TIME!

In this video : Watch a full tour of my #Inktober2018 sketchbook. You will get to see the materials i used this year and 31 different cat breeds.

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Art challenges have always been a fun way to experiment with my illustrations. But every time I decided to start one I would never get to finish it. This year I told myself i have to finish it so I prepared in advance. I got some new art supplies before the month of October so I would get excited about using them and also I made my own prompt list which I found really helped me stay motivated. I decided to paint 31 cat breeds because I knew this way I would paint something I love everyday and also build up my portfolio.

Before Inktober I was on vacation so I started my illustrations in advance because i knew i wouldn’t have time for the first few days of the month . This was really helpful in the sense that i was on track the whole month and did not skip a day because I always had something to post on social media.

The sketchbook I used is from Daco, a romanian brand and i think it was an excellent choice because it comes with three different types of paper in it. This way after completing ten drawings on white paper I could move on to kraft paper and later to black paper , which made the whole process much more interesting and also challenging.

The inks I used were from three different brands : Kuretake (white ink), Winsor and Newton (black ink) and Koh-I-Noor for all the colour accents. Also I cheated a bit because I used a Posca Marker for all the teal accents. But i really loved the colour pay-off and I said screw it this it my challenge and not yours.

Overall this year’s Inktober was a really good experience for me. It helped me be more relaxed about what I paint and not stress over the end result. It made me be more efficient with my time management ( I kept every drawing under 1 hour). It made me think of new ways to use ink because of the different types of paper I used. I am pretty sure i can draw the anatomy of any feline now.

My top 5 tips for getting through Inktober and actually enjoy the process are:

• Plan in advance. Buy your art supplies in time. Think ahead of what prompts you will be using. Schedule your drawings if you know your time is limited

• Chose something that will be fun for you to draw. If you feel the official prompt list is to abstract just find another one or make your own.

• If you miss a day don’t give up . Make two drawings the next day or finish the challenge in November. Just set a goal for yourself and stick to it.

• Keep it simple and small. Don’t try to do very elaborate pieces because you will end up screwing yourself over. Unless of course you have a lot of free time. But otherwise if you have a job or go to school and are just living life my advice is to not over complicate things.

• Chose art supplies that will make you happy. If you want to do colour don’t shy away from it . If you love black and white go for it. Think about what you like in terms of materials and stock up.

Here are all 31 drawings . You can also check them out on my Instagram or watch the fip-through video.

I hope this post will help you with your next art challenge and will keep you motivated.