Issue 44 - The business of graphic recording
The Business of Graphic Recording, our new bulletin board and a draw-along
Fall inspiration
As a Graphic Recorder I know that drawing characterful people simply and quickly can be a real challenge.
is brilliant at telling a story and conveying emotion with ‘simple’ drawings.Check out this little collection of autumnal scenes, and pay attention to how the combination of drawings and concise text can really conjure up a FEELING.
If you haven’t come across his work before then I recommend setting aside a bit of time to scroll through his back catalogue, he will be a great addition to your inspiration feed.
My studio table
Being a visual worker can sometimes feel a bit lonely. It’s hard to progress your practise or solve a problem if you feel like you are at a party of one with no-one to chat to, and it’s hard to find your tribe when everyone seems to be already established. You might well be the only graphic recorder or graphic facilitator you know.
That’s why I want to welcome you to my virtual studio table. Come on in and pull up a chair! Over the coming months I’m going to share some of the lessons I’ve learned over the last 20 years of working visually, as well as answer some of the most commonly asked questions that I get from our students in the Graphic Change Academy. Hopefully you’ll find it helpful.
To start us off I want to give you some inside knowledge about the BUSINESS of working visually. A lot of you reading this are visual practitioners and have, or really want to have, your own business working visually, and I remember how daunting that can be. So let’s start with a fundamental question:
HOW do I make a living?
The answer is a bit complicated because there are many income streams that contribute to me earning a living as a visual worker, and before I get into it I want to be clear that my list will not be the same as your list.
I didn’t start this work until I was in my 30’s, simply because I did not know this world existed. Over the years I’ve expanded the portfolio of what I offer to make sure I don’t have all my eggs in one basket (thank goodness - otherwise I wouldn’t have survived the Covid year when live events stopped dead and all my graphic recording jobs were cancelled in one week!).
So if you’re feeling a bit lost or a bit stuck, I hope this post will inspire you to explore more widely and start to create your own list of aspirational, or preferred workstreams.
Let me start with the helicopter view of last year’s work (FY 2023-24):
I run (along with my wife Natasha) the Graphic Change Academy, training people to be Graphic Recorders, Graphic Facilitators and visual workers.
I’m also still a solo practitioner offering visual services to my clients from the Graphic Change Studio. Last year the income balance was split 38%/62% - Academy/Studio.
As a practitioner my Studio income (the 62% above) is made up from lots of different streams of work (the eggs, the baskets…). Here are the different types of work last year, broken down into how much of the total studio income was made up from each. (GR = Graphic Recording.)
Why so many income streams?
It took me years to diversify to having several different work and therefore income streams. It’s a natural process, so don’t think you should necessarily be as diverse as me from the start! There are lots of benefits of having a variety of income streams:
Different offers appeal to different types of clients, spreading your potential sector or industry reach
Different offers appeal to the SAME client, giving you ways to expand your relationship with a single client by doing multiple types of work for them
Multiple workstreams can minimise the chance that what you offer falls out of fashion or gets eaten by AI (or cancelled by the next pandemic)
You get to lean into the work that fit your lifestyle - don’t want to schlep across the country? Then remote digital graphic recording or illustration might be a perfect fit :)
… and my favourite reason:
You get to explore different ways of working and can start to focus your business on what makes you happy
note: For paid subscribers (in the coming months) I’ll be going into a lot more detail behind the scenes about these individual segments.
Movember draw-along
Every November men across the land grow moustaches to promote or raise money for Movember, a leading charity supporting Men’s mental health / health. Taking this as inspiration, our draw-along this Issue is all about facial hair! Facial hair is often overlooked in graphic recording, but it’s a fantastic and easy way to add variety to some of your people.
Grab some pens, make some splodges!
Now you’ve made some splodges it’s time to add some faces, including facial hair. Don’t overthink it… draw quickly and see what you come up with!
Bulletin Board
Welcome to our new feature! If you have any relevant visual thinking news you’d like us to share, email Natasha at support@graphicchange.com
1. Volunteer Opportunity - next week!
An opportunity came across my desk that some of you might be interested in. I checked in with the organisers yesterday and they are still looking. Now I can’t vouch for the event as I’ve never been, but I know at least one of the speakers is definitely worth a listen, so I’ve no reason to doubt it will be good.
The Never Done Before Festival is a 2 day festival for facilitators and trainers. It is virtual and global and there is a call out for Europe-based graphic recorders to help scribe some sessions. Here’s what they put out:
To make this festival even more special, we’re looking for volunteer scribes to do graphic recordings of the workshops. If you’re interested in capturing the essence of these unique sessions in real-time, we’d love to have you on board! In exchange, you’ll receive full access to the festival. If that sounds like you, simply reply to this email and let us know.
So there you have it! Email info@neverdonebefore.org to find out more, but act fast because it’s next week (w/b 11 November 2024)!
2. The JOTT
I’ve started a new visual journalling habit (it’s not my first and won’t be my last), also on Substack, called The JOTT.
The Journal of Tiny Things (JOTT) is a weekly hand drawn note to myself and to you if you want to follow along. Each week I will be sharing a visual note of something I found curious, interesting or joyful.
3. Is it too early to mention Christmas?
I thought not!
Here’s a gift idea that also rewards you, the thoughtful present giver, because we all deserve a bit of self care right now. We have an exclusive newsletter offer: buy yourself a Draw a Visual Journal course and get a FREE Draw a Visual Journal course (usually half price) to gift to someone you love… or like quite a lot. Or agree with a friend to do the buy one get one free and pay half price each!
To redeem this offer, go to our Draw a Visual Journal page. At checkout click the add a gift offer button, then copy and paste code VISEDITGIFT24 into the Discount Code area. We’ll send you a nicely worded voucher code email you can forward or print out as a present! Offer expires on 5th January 2025.
Right that’s it for this month.
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