Graphic Designer & Calligrapher
I wanted to start the new year out with creating a compilation showcasing my calligraphy journey. I hope you enjoyed it. Because I really was sitting back thinking wow I started from doing work like that.
Have a great day and thanks for checking out my post.
This is one thing that I am so happy that I possess. But you know the thing behind the title of this post is my belief about myself. Because I have been told that I am gifted. Honestly I would not be in the position I am in if I did not work hard.
Because a lot of people like to think there current life circumstance determines how they will turn out. But you know you are able to alter those circumstances. If you come from a bad neighborhood then you do the opposite of the negativity that exists and gets done in your environment.
You are better than that no matter what ethnicity you are. So stop using whatever you can as an excuse. Life comes to those who get out and hustle. Not to those who cry, complain and wish for success.
Calligraphy is one thing that I am so thankful I have been learning for over 2 years. The effect that it can have ones life is astonishing. For example when you get into calligraphy and learn that you can improve. Also that if you know what you are doing you will get better fast.
Now lets get into the title of the post. Calligraphy has taught me that one: Fail, fail, fail and fail some more. Through the attempts that you have made you will succeed. Also that you have to slow the hell down and appreciate the fine details.
Because with calligraphy there are many fine details. The fine details of the letters, the details of the flourishes are breathtaking.
Second thing calligraphy has taught me is to believe in my work even more. Because when you start learning calligraphy it can be hard to keep at it. The reason is how many people get frustrated and or get bored. If you stick with something and don’t give up you will see little bits of progress.
Seeing the progress is what excites me. When I see how each of my finished calligraphy pieces are better each time gets me motivated more and more. Knowing that I came from producing work that I feel was garbage is great. I say that its great because I know I did not stop at the top and I worked my way up from the bottom.
The third thing is that I want to get better. Knowing that I am able to improve is wonderful. We as humans love to see growth and us to get better. The only way to get better is to fail often. Because if you are not failing in whatever you are doing you will not get better.
The fourth thing is that you should not get comfortable using the same tools over and over. With calligraphy tools there are many that have been used and some that are more comfortable than others. But I for one know that If I have been using a certain tool too often its time to stop using it.
Calligraphy has helped me as a designer tremendously. There is benefit of using your hands to create compared to not using them at all.
This time of year many of us want to take the time to set new years resolutions. Well me personally I learned that taking the time to set them does no benefit whatsoever.
For me setting goals is whats more important. This past couple of months I had honestly fell off of the wagon with setting goals. Because I had fell into the same system of doing the same thing over and over.
An example is how I would study mandarin often. Then I just got frustrated and stopped giving it my all. Because when I was learning it I felt great. The reason is I knew that I was doing what I should to help me progress further in life.
If there is something that you want to do then there should be no more excuses for you. While I am writing this I am on a plane back home from my vacation. The issues that I had went through with waiting for my flight to get to the airport I was flying out of was frustrating at one point.
But what I learned from Jim Rohn was to not be upset in any situation that is not working the way it was planned to. Instead be fascinated. So you should be fascinated with yourself by not doing things that you know you should be doing.
Just think how much your life would change if you did not make any more excuses. If you like me actually took the time to post new material to your etsy shop as often as you post on your instagram feed and various other things.
Do more of what you know you should be doing and stop making excuses. Because another year has passed how long are you going to be doing the same thing over each day. As well as working at the shitty job you are at. You should be smart about it and start working on your own projects.
Some of this may not be surprising at all. I just wonder why the famous people who acted in these ads would even support such lies. Well maybe because they were under the same belief as we all were about the products.
I have been running my etsy shop for about a month or so now. My Etsy shop is a collection of my calligraphy work and I also do custom calligraphy pieces.
My whole process for doing custom calligraphy pieces is that we will discuss the colors that you would like and also I will send you over a proof before I go forward with printing. The type of paper that I print all of the posters 8.5×11 on is french paper 80# text butcher white paper.
All of the prints are laser printed and are of very pristine quality. There are other pieces that are marked lower in price because they will be sold as is on the original piece of artwork. All of my calligraphy/brush lettering work is solely sold for the artwork and not for reproduction.
I will continue to add more work to my etsy shop in the meantime. I must say it has been a learning curve for me and there’s still a lot for me to learn about etsy. I will overtime make the transition to solely selling all of my work here on jostendooley.com
I want to say thank you for taking the time to read this far and I hope you have a great weekend and a happy holiday.
If you have ever had this ideal of I need to have the best tools do what it is that I want to do. Well let me tell you there is nothing wrong with that at all. The main thing is that you shouldn’t be solely dependent upon them.
Because in the video I used a very basic marker that you may have been surprised that I used. The marker that I used was a crayola washable marker and the other that I used was a tombow brush pen. I wanted to show that the tools do not matter. The tools only matter to the person who is using them.
A real person would be able to make use of anything that they have. When someone has the capability of not making any excuse for not having the best tools they are well on their way. I for one fell into the trap of thinking having the best tools would help me get better. when in reality the only way that I would get better is with practicing.
Now there is nothing wrong with having the best tools money can buy I get that. Because some people want to start off with the best right away. Well for one you do not know how much time you are going to actually devote to what you are going to do. A lot of people fall into the trap of doing something because it feels good or its cool at the time.
So I want you to take this with you do not think any point in time that anything is going to happen overnight and or the tools will make you a better designer. Because none of that matters in the long run. What truly matters is the time that you are willing to put into your craft.
This video is great and very informative. Because just think of how much thought goes into such a necessary tool that is used every single day. Also how every single option and etc has to be explored.
This is still amazing to especially the attention to detail. Because I for one would not expect something from so long ago to still be lasting till this day. Also the techniques that they used are still being done today.
Have a great weekend.
The truth is all there is no matter how you try to avoid it. There are many people who are frauds and pretend to be something and or someone they are not. But you know that is not our problem. As long as you are being transparent with what you are doing and who you are.
Another thing is to not sell yourself short with anything you do. If you know that there is something you do not know there is nothing wrong with admitting you do not know that. I will be the first to say I used to be scared of admitting such things.
But over time I realized that I was being more honest and thorough with myself by not pretending. Trying daily to not fall into the trap of those who talk about doing things but when you honestly know they only like the title and telling people about things they are not actually doing.
Remember this Honesty is always the best policy it will save you a lot of headaches and suffering.
P.S Guess what day it is its my Birthday 🙂
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