Who says that New Years resolutions need to be in January. Take the opportunity of the financial year refresh to hit one of your goals and become more creative.

This year has been tough and can leave a lot of us feeling drained and uninspired. No matter who you are or what your goals are creativity can help boost you up, create a stronger mental state and even enhance your professional life. Create practice opens opportunities for new skills and new ways of thinking, it is like a reset for your brain, and a mini mental detox. Now is as good as time as any to start a creative journey, learn a new passion and uplift yourself along the way.

I have just released a new class that can help push you forward to whatever your creative goal would be, whether it is learning to draw or doing art in a professional practice. The class is based around the most important tool in any creative practice, and that is (drumroll please…) your sketchbook!

My new class is a 30 day challenge that intends to enhance your art skills by delivering you a unique sketchbook exercise each day for a month. The best part is it is a self run class so you can do it when it suits you, in 30 days, in 15, in 4 months, the time frame doesn’t matter, what matters most is what you get out of your sketchbook practice.

In the course I will teach you 30 ways to utilise your sketchbook to grow your art and enhance your skills. Each of the exercises are tailored to help you with key creative tasks like developing concept and composition, thinking creatively, developing fine motor skills and artistic technique, understanding visualisation and of course learning to have fun with your art.

I won’t say too much more and leave it up to the class to show you the fun and freedom of the sketchbook. Head here if you would like to enhance your creative practice. All I want to say now is I wish you well and hope that the rest of your year is uplifted and creative.

Till next time,
Cara

Improve your Illustration with Character and Story

August 29, 2019illustrationCara OrdComment

Illustration is two fold; how you draw and what you draw. The how is the practical skills, your understanding of the medium (in example pencil/paint), anatomy, gesture, etc. The what is the content, story, character, illustration style and mood conveyed in your art. Levelling up both these sides of your illustration skills is important and often artists tend to focus on the how and not the what and this can lead to beautiful but uninspiring work.

You may have mastered the pen or the brush but your illustrations can still appear dry or amateurish if you don’t have intriguing content. I know each and everyone of you reading this are filled with great ideas and awesome art, however you may be struggling to realise these stories and visuals in your work.

In light of this I have created a class series for you, helping you add depth, character and story to your illustrations. The first course which is released today focuses entirely on your characters and figures, creating real personalities in them to draw your audience into your art and activate an emotive response and connection.

Constant Growth is the Gateway to Success

June 13, 2019designCara OrdComment

I have recently had birthday. Another journey around the sun and it has made me quite reflective on how I got to where I am in my life. To an outsider I am successful, I have a strong professional presence in design, illustration and performance, a good social life, loving husband and positive outlook for the future. People describe me as “lucky”, but luck has nothing to do with where I am or any accomplishment I may have made. Everything I have was built through constant learning, trial and error and lots and lots of work (and it was nurtured by the love and support of those I chose to surround myself with).

Luck, in my opinion is the hope of the lazy, for if luck exists, what is the need for hard work. I am not going to lie to you and say that if you sit just as you are some day your prince will come, your life will change, that some one will hand you the keys to the kingdom and as if by magic you will have everything you have desired. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If you have goals, passions and desires then my only suggestion to you is to work hard and be diligent and this will give you the greatest chance to be successful in your endeavours.

Now this is a pretty vague piece of advice, ‘work hard and you will be rewarded’. However it has never failed me, even when the ‘reward’ came in a form which was completely unexpected or planned.

So below I have listed some steps you can take to grow your talents, and make your own ‘luck.

Using your sketchbook to up your skills

September 2, 2018illustrationCara Ord

I am a professional designer, illustrator and artist and the one thing I can tell you about a career in the creative field is that you never stop learning. Whether you have to fast track your learning of new programs and trend styles constantly updating in your field or learning entirely new skills all together, it is a never ending process of self education which takes a deep commitment and consistency to make sure you always stay at the top of your game.

The best tool I have found to help me along the way in my career is my sketchbook. It is a dedicated personal space designed for growth, emerged in the visual culture which my career and way of thinking revolves around.

How to grow your Business | Giving back to your Customers

March 26, 2018designCara Ord

It is so important to not be a taker but to be a giver. A business which just takes will eventually die out because you are not nurturing your audience. Think of a rainforest ecosystem, if the large trees just sucked up all the nutrients but didn't shed their leaves to mulch the earth the will eventually take all the good things out of the ground and die out themselves, strangling the young plants around them. SO giving is really important. The question is, how to grow your business? How do you give? You already sell great products and services, what more do you need to do?

Well giving free advice and sending out free resources is actually a fantastic way to nature your audience. It helps you to build a community. Even if you are a 'teeny tiny' business like mine there is always something you can give. That is why I try and do a weekly blog, to share my insights and professional knowledge to help you.

Recently I have been thinking about small business, and what I can do to help out those of you who are independent creators and business owners. The first thing I thought was I want to support you and give you something that will help you promote and grow your business, expand your clientele and hopefully improve your revenue. That is when I decided to make my free resource 'A Guide to branding for small business'. It is a simple short eBook that you can use to help you get on your way in branding your business. The eBook explains what branding is and how it can help you market what you are offering. It even includes 5 tips to start branding your business, or improving the branding of your business yourself.

But then I thought, I can do more. Sure I just made this great resource (which you can find here) but I can help you one step further.

This is when this months brand new Skillshare class came into play. I had given back to you and I thought you might want an easy way to give to your audience. So along comes my new class:

'Creating an eBook | promote your business and give value to your customers'

Through this class I will take you step by step through the creation of a simple and effective eBook. I also add an abundance of tips on branding, content writing, social media promotion, creating visuals for your business and more. I am so excited to share this with you as it is brand new and I hope really helpful for you in your business journey.

If you would like to check out the class head here.

I hope both these resources are helpful to you and help you grow your business. if you have any questions feel free to contact me. I am here to help you out.

Have a great week and I will check in with you next week.