Issue 50 - Sooo many ways to work visually
Quick people icons for live illustration gigs, and a heap of inspiration for your practice
Skill up - drawing people at live events
Following on from last month’s posts about drawing people at live events, I wanted to share a step by step guide on how I create Simple Shape People. Quick to do and endlessly useful, they are a speedy go-to when the content gets dense but I still need to show people. Best of all, even though they are quick they still manage to all be individuals.
Step 1 - Heads. Depending on how many people, draw yourself some blank heads. Notice how I’ve put my heads all at different heights.
Step 2 - Bodies. Add some generic body shapes. They are all a bit different but broadly similar. At this point I find working quickly and not worrying about being precise helps me keep my body shapes different to each other.
Step 3 - Legs (and arms). Again the legs are all a bit different. Broadly I try and imagine these little people standing on the same floor as each other, perhaps some nearer, some further back. I’ve assumed here they’re all facing the same direction (they don’t have to be) and so I’ve pointed their feet all to the left. If you look at where the legs join the body I’ve made the legs a bit narrower than the body. This instantly gives you the feel of arms hanging straight down. Of course at this point you might need to have your arms doing something else, and I’d add those in at this stage.
Step 4 - Tops. Now I add in hair, hats, headdresses and ears. Randomly assign each of your people a different topper. You can see here they are all very simple, but they really bring your characters to life.
Step 5 - Hands. I usually add in some hands. Here I’ve gone for the most simple, a little blob at the end of each arm. They are almost complete.
Step 6 - Finishing touches. Here I’ve added in a walking stick for one character. This is the chance to add any extra visual details. I could have added a shopping bag, or a rucksack, a dog or a scarf blowing in an invisible wind. It’s entirely up to you.
There you have it. 5 individual characters that would only take me a couple of minutes to draw live. Simple.
Have a go and share your results!
Working visually variety show
You know by now that I hate being told that there is only one, proper way of doing things. I believe in the expansiveness of the work we do, and that we can use visual skills and tools to help ourselves and our clients communicate in an unlimited number of ways. So, in that spirit, I’m going to share different ways of working visually with you here to act as inspiration, and possibly even the start of an extension to your existing business offer. This issue I’ve got a couple of great examples:
Personal projects
I love a collection, and I really really love drawing a collection. Illustrator, zine maker and print shop founder must also love it, because she has been illustrating her daily purchases for almost 20 years. As someone who struggles to keep a habit going beyond a few weeks, I think it’s a brilliant example of a personal project that I think you’ll find inspiring.
See the whole post here:
Website campaigns
Dementia Journeys was an exhibition at Science Gallery London which ran April-June 2024. The exhibition was created as a response to Empowering Better End-of-Life Dementia Care – a research programme jointly led by University College London and the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's College London.
This website not only tells the story of the exhibition, but also is a really good example of how working visually can be powerfully effective as a way to tell stories and share information.
Throughout the site you’ll see lots of examples ranging from the bold title and spot illustrations to full on cartoon strips, all of which help to share the campaign and act as a shared visual identity to tie all the content together into one project.
Find the project here https://www.dementia-journeys.com/
graphic recorder club is a-go-go!
I can’t believe we’ve finally launched the graphic recorder club and we’ve already got members from England, Scotland, Australia, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands and the USA! We’re just in the middle of the first full month so I’m excited to see where this goes and how it grows.
I want it to become an invaluable resource for practising and aspiring graphic recorders, sketchnoters and business illustrators; a place to connect, share, continue learning and find other people who want to talk about pen nibs. A club for all the visual thinking folk who spend their lives drawing shopping lists, doodling the million and one things in their heads, and trying to make a living doing what they love.
If this sounds like you and you’re not already a member…
What you’ll find in the graphic recorder club this month:
Draw a Better Business - shaping your visual business - Posted June 4th
A deep dive exploring how your wants and needs for your business are fundamental to starting, growing and sustaining your visual business. I’ve shared prompts and hand-drawn exercises to get you thinking and clarifying the shape of your business.
Podcast Ep.1 - Self-doubt
Monthly visual ponderings for your ears. This month we’re looking at why so many of us feel self-doubt and how you can move past it and reframe it in your mind (and your work). Plus Cara answers the questions that have come in from club members over in the Chat.
Skill up - drawing people at live events
We started this issue with a skill up which follows on from last month’s Visual Edit where I shared the 9 ways I draw people. Over in the club I’ll be digging deeper into this and sharing ‘step by steps’ of HOW I draw these characters during a live gig.
Bulletin Board
If you’re in Australia then hold the date!! Viz Conference 2026 is coming to beautiful Melbourne on 17th January - early bird tickets are available now.
The JOTT, my experiment in keeping a visual journal going, continues and surpassed 200 subscribers. To celebrate I shared all the posts so far in one place.
Graphic Medicine Summit — If you’re interested in visualising health then this event will interest you. A gathering of artists, writers, and healthcare professionals exploring the intersection of comics and health. This online summit features workshops, panels, and community conversation around healing through storytelling! It’s free to attend and should be a great opportunity to practice graphic recording at online events.
If you want to Be a Graphic Recorder or a Graphic Facilitator, then the Class of ‘25 is still open. 12 weeks on a deep dive that just might change how you work forever
Find out more: Be a Graphic Recorder and Be a Graphic Facilitator
International Sketchnote Camp is in Birmingham, UK this year 4th-6th July. Buy your tickets here.
Hi - I’m Cara, I’ve been a professional Graphic Recorder and Illustrator since 2006.
You’ve just read The Visual Edit, a free monthly newsletter for Graphic Recorders. Join me in the graphic recorder club for monthly skills, pod and business posts aimed at live graphic recorders, sketchnoters and business illustrators.
My book, Draw a Better Business is a visual thinking toolkit for creative thinking small business owners.
If you enjoy this newsletter, I’d really appreciate you sharing and recommending this publication to your network and visual thinking friends.
Those are some gorgeous heuristics!!!