In this final episode of The Sketchnote Army Podcast season 15, we have compiled the tips from nine great visual thinkers into a single episode. We hope these tips will inspire and encourage you on your visual thinking journey.
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Running Order
- Intro
- Maggie Appleton
- Alejo Porras
- Alina Gutierrez
- Pierpaolo Barresi
- Claire Ohlenshlager
- Jimi Holstebro
- Deb Aoki
- Alan Chen
- Julian Raul Kücklich
- Outro
Links
1. Maggie Appleton’s Tips
- Explore GIFs.
- Play with Midjourney or DALL E.
- Explore interactive essays or long-term visual essays.
2. Alejo Porras’ Tips
- Show up consistently, be present, and care about what you do.
- Be kind to yourself.
- Be curious about people to learn how to make them feel appreciated and loved.
3. Alina Gutierrez’s Tips
- Push yourself to try something new so it doesn't become boring.
- The more people are engaged with creating the visuals, the more impact it has on them.
- Give yourself grace if you are starting. Don't compare yourself with those who started way before you did.
- Give yourself realistic goals.
- Listen to a TED Talk or a podcast to try taking live notes.
- Challenge yourself to add new icons as you progress.
- Look for something you're not an expert in and take visual notes of that.
- Leave your comfort zone and get exposed to different tools.
- Find inspiration from other artist's work.
- Do the first line, even if it means signing your piece before you get started.
4. Pierpaolo Barresi’s Tips
- Have fun.
- Do what you know.
- Give thanks.
5. Claire Ohlenshlager’s Tips
- Practice because with practice, you develop your way of visual thinking.
- White spaces don't matter.
- It's not really about the tools, so don't go around buying a whole set. First, try it out before you invest in lots of tools that you are not going to use.
- Words will help you find the icons and the pictures. Metaphors will help sometimes.
6. Jimi Holstebro’s Tips
- Don't limit yourself to gadgets.
- Just do it.
- Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
- It's not about being good at drawing. It's about conveying ideas.
7. Deb Aoki’s Tips
- Think of drawing as a form of alphabet and writing system versus an artistic system.
- You don't need to learn how to draw everything in the world. Just the stuff in your world.
- Be visual with fun, low-stakes things.
8. Alan Chen’s Tips
- Aim for your creative minimum.
- Practice on paper more than on digital if you can.
- Try to link your habits.
9. Julian Raul Kücklich’s Tips
- Work with shapes, mix them up, and find new ways of combining them.
- Shift from noun to verb. If you find it hard to draw something, it's often easier to draw a verb that goes with it.
- Always carry a pen and some thread. If you need to draw a large circle, that's the easiest way to make that happen.
Credits
- Producer: Alec Pulianas
- Shownotes and transcripts: Esther Odoro
- Theme music: Jon Schiedermayer
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