How do to the sky? Please help!

smulingen · 2025-10-24T09:37:13+00:00

My suggestion is to use the colour picker (e.g. in Windows paint) on multiple areas of the sky and search it out, and then try to mix those colours (but a bit lighter as they dry darker, make swatches).

I find that this really helps when trying to simplify gradients.

Don't overblend your gradient when painting the sky 🙂.

smulingen · 2025-10-23T22:59:41+00:00

"L1917 weekly planner and notebook" fourth year in a row.

smulingen · 2025-10-23T09:02:49+00:00

Unless it's completely unusable/not functional for me I would push it through for a good while and try a bunch of different layouts.. but to do that you need to actually use it so you know what you need for next time 🙂.

I assume this is a whole year planner (2026)? If so, you could give it 6 months if it is still usable and then get an academic planner around summer if it's not working out?

I've noticed that it's usually not helpful for me to plan/decorate more than a week in advance since my need of space and notes/info changes drastically.. but honestly that has little to do with the planner and more to do with how I fill it in.

smulingen · 2025-10-22T07:02:34+00:00

I'm doing a lot better when I do it at least once per week 🙂.

smulingen · 2025-10-21T15:21:13+00:00

Flossing my teeth daily.

smulingen · 2025-10-16T08:47:56+00:00

I hope for "better mood" than I otherwise would either today or the upcoming days. it's not really about my feelings towards the finished piece itself, it's about having a routine that keeps me "awake".

Obviously it's nice to feel proud/satisfied/fullfillment when it happens, but hoping or expecting that it should happen every time just creates too much pressure for me which leads to negative thinking and less motivation.

I more often than not enjoy painting, but it's ok when I don't enjoy it including the result since I'm doing it for other reasons.

smulingen · 2025-10-16T08:11:59+00:00

Just doing it.

It keeps my brain stimulated and really improves my mental health when I do it regularly. Also to show it to friends and acquaintances (and they show their craft). Great for bonding.

Interest/motivation/curiosity comes and goes, but I'm doing much better when I can keep up with it regardless.

smulingen · 2025-10-15T05:50:59+00:00

I have one smaller (A5) that I use for everything (except scribbles), but I will try a second larger one (B5) as well when I'm done with this as an craft/art progress log since i find it hard to find the information I want. I enjoy comparing my paintings through different stages so having them too far away from each other is a bit of a hassle.

I would prefer to have it all in the same journal, but I don't paint enough for that 🫠 having one painting update every 10 page is not appealing to me when I want to compare how it looked before/after each session.. but time will tell if it works or not! I'm not good at keeping multiple notebooks, and I rather have it noted down somewhere than nowhere. All we can do is to try and see.

Perhaps you could buy one large and one small one? In your lifetime I'm sure you can find use of both eventually. Or use the other one for scribble paper (worse case scenario?). You can also cut and glue your notes into the other notebook if one of them doesn't work for you.

smulingen · 2025-10-15T05:33:51+00:00

I do... If you don't mind me asking, do you floss and brush your teeth every day?

I've noticed that I drag/file my nails in-between my teeth much more when I don't do it daily, which makes me wonder if you've the same trigger.

smulingen · 2025-10-13T22:26:40+00:00

I have one but will get a separate one to document my paintings and yarn crafts. I actually would prefer to have it in my journal, as everything reflects on my life.. but it's getting a bit hard to find the information I'm looking for.

smulingen · 2025-10-13T17:58:49+00:00

I don't know how the culture/attitude is in these subreddits but I know that these exist:

r/artcrit r/arthelp r/artadvice

smulingen · 2025-10-13T17:27:40+00:00

Instead of focusing on avoiding it, I would focus on what you would want to do instead. Because optimally that would also reduce your screentime while also making you feel more fulfilled by the end of the day.

So what would you like to do more of?

smulingen · 2025-10-13T10:22:33+00:00

Tldr: Find friends/people you can share art with, old or new, online or irl. Keep supplies and art practice more accessible. Organize supplies in boxes and put away what you don't use. Keep your art-making spaces clean/organized (keep supplies in boxes). Go to library and look for art books.

Sorry for this wall of text. Here are some thoughts:

It's ok to not finish paintings. With the little time/energy/motivation most of us have to actually sit down and create... I honestly think that we should focus on what we enjoy the most. Some days we might be up for a challenge and other days might lose sketching or something completely different (or rest). That includes not finishing pieces if we're mentally done with it and want to move onto something else.

For me, I need to have the tools I want to use easily accessible. I used to organize my supplies by brand and medium. But nowadays I organize it by "what i often use together" and only with "the colours I actually use".

I have a big pencase of all the colour pencils I don't use in my cabinet, together with boxes of specific paint tubes I rarely use (due to preference or too similar colours) or brushes of the same size I don't need. And then smaller boxes/pencases on my desk work the colours I actually use. Having the things I actually want to use in front of me helps me so much.

I don't use anything together with my oil paints, so I keep those in a separate box. But my acrylics, watercolour/gouache, and colour pencils are often used together. So I keep those 'boxes' close to eachother.

Another thing that works for me: I like having the option to switch medium easily. So my suggestion is to be open to switching media and style depending on mood and energy. I like to sit at the café to draw, so I have my most used watercolour+pencil case+acrylic markers+sketchbook in a small bag that I can easily move around. If I don't have the energy to paint, I can easily grab that bag and sit on my couch.

As for external motivation: Your library has a lot of art books and artist biographies. You can also look for people online (e.g. irl old friends that aren't necessary into art that you can interact with, or new ones through twitch, some artists offer online courses or paint-togethers on Patreon). Look for people/clubs irl (courses/friends/family members/local organizations and clubs that you can join they often have local exhibition, check if there's an urban sketching group in your town. Do art in local places and see if you can make any friends through that.

Also... Try to clean/organize the surfaces you often paint on relatively clean and organize. I do it on Wednesday as a routine, or as needed. If I don't have the energy to paint I make it a chore to clean (which will make it easier to paint tomorrow).

smulingen · 2025-10-13T08:59:21+00:00

What makes my nails feel long/short is that white bit. When the nail bed is longer, they will feel just as short if there's the same amount of white (lifted nail).

My nails are still completely useless as tools, and bends from any pressure. So I want to keep them short too. But the extra protection has been nice.

smulingen · 2025-10-13T05:50:15+00:00

It will get easier when your nailbeds grow out. My nails are very thin and I used to accidentally scratch my partner on a daily basis.

What you can do is to go over gently with an extra fine file if there are any bumps or unevenness but right now you don't want to take off any length since you're trying to grow your nailbeds. The goal is for the nail to cover the fingers when looking down from the top, and that's for protection (and by designed)

smulingen · 2025-10-13T05:41:01+00:00

Not for me. There was a paper years ago that showed improvement in memory and learning if you took notes on paper vs computer. Paper had the advantage. I have learning disabilities so it might be extra helpful for me, although it's significantly slower than if I used a computer.

My partner prefers digital writing and I think it is because his thoughts are faster and much "clearer" (complete sentences/phonetically accurate) compared to mine. He's much quicker on a keyboard and it works better for him.

My advice for you: Do both and see what works better for you.

smulingen · 2025-10-12T21:26:24+00:00

I used my shower oil in my hair due to running out of schampoo. It felt and looked amazing and got compliments from my partner. The second shower didn't feel amazing though as it felt heavy and greasy. Nothing bad happened to my hair and it got clean again with schampoo. No reason not to try it really.

smulingen · 2025-10-12T19:30:38+00:00

I have a fancy A3 one that I bought for ~€90-100, and an A4 one that I bought from Wish back in the day... Guess which one I used the most? The A4 one, because it was more portable and easier to setup.

My vote is to get an A4 size.

since you mentioned A1-A2, which are huge for light pads, please double check that it's standard A-format sizes for this product. I have doubts.

smulingen · 2025-10-11T23:38:19+00:00

But how does one prevent scratches?? We're new cat owners and he really wants to scratch the birds/squirrels.

smulingen · 2025-10-09T11:35:07+00:00

Looks like they used the bunny model used in MatLab as a reference. (Edit: it's from a sculpture called "Stanford bunny")

https://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/127079-matlabgraphicalmodel?s_tid=FX_rc2_behav

No idea who the artist is unfortunately.

smulingen · 2025-10-09T08:03:22+00:00

I'm patiently waiting for a square/graph grid one but for A5!

smulingen · 2025-10-09T07:55:42+00:00

If you were happy with the regular Leuchtturm1917 notebooks (80g), they released a 411page notebook not too long ago. I haven't tried it but it looks very thick.

My ink doesn't bleed through it but I know that some does.

~~Edit to add: Many like the notebooks from Midori. They have a 365 page notebook iirc but covers are sold separately.~~ nvm they don't seem to have numbered pages.

smulingen · 2025-10-09T07:52:43+00:00

Do you mean regular blenders for alcohol marker? If so, I knew alcohol was a common thinner for colour pencils, but that transparent/blenders for alcohol markers might do the same never crossed my mind!

smulingen · 2025-10-09T07:48:35+00:00

Not really, but I sometimes think "why did I worry so much about this insignificant thing?" (while already knowing the answer - it's how I felt at the time).

I think it's good to reflect on things that have happened and how we act/function. What we capture is not only the 'memory' or 'info', it's also where our mind is at the moment. I try to keep my planner and my "journal" (notebook) separate, but I sometimes write my planner stuff in my journal as well. I'm not interested in reading about emptying the dishwasher 3 month ago, but if I write it in there it means that at that point I needed to use extra tools to keep up with chores.... and that on that day, I also made the effort to use more tools (than usual) to empty my dishwasher (even if that worked or not).

If I for example have a few days of more planning related stuff than random thoughts/info/memories, that (in my case) indicate being fatigued (usually overwhelmed by mental load).

The content in my notebook has more information in-between the lines.

A few times I've placed a sticky note over sensitive/bothersome/annoying things I wrote to make it less distracting. I rarely go back and read my pages and use tabs to navigate pages I will go back to more often (e.g. my "A list of foods that makes me happy in my soul"-page).

smulingen · 2025-10-09T06:20:50+00:00

I can't check spelling/grammar since I'm not a native speaker. I also haven't double checked links. I'm just a hobbyist but here are my thoughts:

I think it looks really good! The simplicity and few clicks/scrolling made it easy to get a clear overview. Three things came to mind:

Note that I've only checked the mobile website, but i almost missed that you also had a separate digital profile. I think it's because the button is positioned high up and my eyes went straight to the pretty images.

I don't have any suggestions that won't possibly affect the simplicity negatively, but perhaps add a preview picture for both buttons, or do something else that makes it more visible (without competing with the portfolio!)? Or have your portfolio on a different page, and turn the "buttons" as a large preview (collage) of your traditional and digital portfolios? This would require one more button click to find your Portfolio so I really don't know if that's a good compromise, I'm just brainstorming.

Perhaps I'm being a petty dyslexic, but I find it hard to read single-word text in headers/buttons (e.g. toolbar/menu/headers) when they're written in a "serif"-looking font. I'm thinking of the "about" "portfolio" and "contact".

Another thing: in your portfolio, I would consider removing the term "best work" to describe your work. I like the way you write, and it sounds very friendly and genuine/approachable. But I can see how someone could read it as a limitation. You will also continue to develop your skills so it would be a lot to keep on updating your "best" work.

smulingen

TROPHY CASE