PPP Prep: Looe

Over the past week I’ve been in Looe, a small coastal town in south-east Cornwall with my girlfriends family. Since getting here, other than taking reference photos of places (which I have become quite accustomed to do), I’m ashamed to say I’ve completely switched off.

I think when I'm getting old I'd like to live here (providing it's not under the sea by then).

PPP Prep: Beyond La La Land - The Complete 1st Issue

Beyond La La Land - The Complete 1st Issue

Today I finished Beyond La La Land #1 and posted it on Gumroad for £1.50. Until I can afford to print this comic/zine, Gumroad is my only point of sale. Today however, I managed to sell 5 copies! All those hours of hard work really paid off - £7.50! Hazzah! I’ve removed the first two parts of the story as they aren't necessary any more.

With my girlfriend finishing work tomorrow for the summer and a holiday planned, I’m going to have a little break, however when I return I will begin working on Part 2! Whoop etc.

PPP Prep: Snowdon

Today I scaled a mountain - not a metaphorical one, an actual mountain - Snowdon in North Wales. It was an amazing experience and I want to do more stuff like this! It was a good day for it, however it was cloudy when we reached the top. I’m not sure whether thats a bad thing though as I think I’d have had a heart attack being able to see so far down.

I’m feeling inspired! I managed to grab many photos on the way too for reference use too! Here are some of the pics! Including the one of my girlfriend and I at Snowdon’s summit!

PPP Prep: Beyond La La Land - Part 2

Today I posted the 2nd part of Beyond La La Land. I’ve managed to sell one issue of Part #1 so I’m hoping the addition of this second part arouses some interest. I’ve been making a lot of noise on social medias in the hope of gaining some potential customers!

PPP Prep: Whitby - Home of Dracula!

My girlfriends grandparents (and their dog) visited The North this week and yesterday took us to Whitby - home of Dracula! We went on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway - a steam train railway that passes through the moors! We saw so many beautiful sights (that I unfortunately couldn’t capture on camera) before stopping off at Goathland - home of Heartbeat! After this it continued to Whitby. I was a bit disappointed by Whitby as it came across as a generic seaside town with little in the way of capitalising on it’s history. However we did up to the Abbey and took in some sights regardless.

The day has also got me thinking about the comic I made in my first year about Dracula and his Yoyo... I may go back to it as I feel it could work as a good zine for Thought Bubble.

Anyway, it was a lovely day and the perfect start to my summer trips!

PPP Prep: Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

With so much free time not having to attend tutor led sessions and such I’ve had a few extra hours per week to work out! I feel that a healthy body is just as important as my illustrative skills so I’m happy to have the time to do it now (mostly because I had developed a bit of a belly recently). I’m mostly jogging at the moment as my bike has broken and I can’t afford to fix it. Additionally I’m lifting about 20kg weights until I get used to working out again.

PPP Prep: Gumroad!

I have posted the first part of my zine on Gumroad! Having decided to do so after seeing Jack Teagle tweet about his products there on Twitter. I highly doubt anyone will buy it but its out there and in the world for people to have now. I plan on introducing the second part as I work towards completing the zine. Once all three parts are ready, I’ll release a complete version and remove the initial two parts. Should someone buy the first two parts they will receive a discount on the complete issue.

I think Gumroad is a pretty neat service as they don't charge you a percentage for your sales. However I have noticed that the site isn't very user friendly. I attempted a test download and really struggled to understand how to do download and open the file using different mediums (Laptop, iPad and smartphone).

PPP Prep: This Time Next Year

It’s slowly beginning to dawn on me that this time next year I’m not going to be a degree student any more. I’d ideally like to go onto a masters but A. I don’t think I have to skill to, and B. I can’t stand the prospect of another year or two of near financial poverty. 

With this in mind, over the last few days I’ve been searching for Illustrative jobs in Leeds through websites such as, indeed.co.uk, totaljobs.com and uk/jooble.org most of the jobs however seem to be targeted more at Graphics Designers. This worries me to a degree as I don’t think I have the skills to work for any of these such companies. For now I’m going to focus on my zine and try not to think about such scary things as having a job that pays money.