Visual I.D.E.A.s Newsletter
Posts
What most people get wrong about how to stand out as a creator

What most people get wrong about how to stand out as a creator

In this issue: Why perfection isn't the goal, how to make visuals more cinematic, why comparison isn't helpful, and why "hard work" is just the start

PJ Milani
May 14, 2024

🤔 INTERESTING

Join the conversation on LinkedIn

Friendly reminder: Perfection shouldn’t even be the goal.

This is at the heart of my creator philosophy:

One perfect circle looks just like any other perfect circle. Most people think they can’t draw because they’re comparing their drawings to what they believe it SHOULD look like.

But if you want to make stuff that stands out, it’s less important to be accurate and more important to be interesting.

📐 DESIGN

I’ve been teaching film & animation for 20 years, and I try to bring filmmaking concepts into my visuals whenever I can. One of my favorite things to play with is movement!

Now how do we add movement to a static image?
Motion Lines.

There are 3 main types:

From the book “Whoosh: 250 Ways To Get Motion Into Your Drawings” by Carlos Gomes Cabral

Try it yourself! Here’s a simple exercise to make straight motion:

Draw a simple circle

And make some straight lines over it!

It’s as simple as that!

And by the way, if you’re keen to learn how to make visual metaphors, enrollment for Thinking in Visual Metaphors is open for another week! 28 students have already enrolled in Cohort 5!

Screenshot of Zoom Calls from 4 cohorts of Thinkig in Visual Metaphors taught by PJ MIilani (aka milanicreative)

Four Cohorts of Thinking in Visual Metaphors!

🔮 ENCHANTING

Join the conversation on LinkedIn

Brick by brick, we'll make it.

🧠 ANALOGY

Visual metaphor illustration depicting the difference between expectation and reality of what “hard work” accomplishes. The top half labeled 'Expectation' shows a straight road from start to goal, with the goal at the end symbolized by a diamond. This indicates that all you need to succeed is hard work. The bottom half labeled 'Reality' displays a Hard Work as opening a door that then leads to complex, winding road with obstacles such as 'Wrong Way,' 'Detour,' and 'Road Closed' signs, emphasizing the challenges and unexpected turns in the pursuit of success. The reality implies hard work opens the door but doesn’t lead to a straight success. On the bottom right reads the artist’s name: @milanicreative as well as the website to get more information - milanicreative.art.

Join the conversation on LinkedIn

The price of admission for success.

🤓 WHAT I’M READING NOW

“Making Comics” by Lynda Barry

Lynda Barry is a legendary teacher and visual thinker at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who teaches students from all disciplines, both graduate and undergraduate, how to make comics and be creative.

This book is pretty much her class in a nutshell. And if you’ve never read any of Lynda Barry’s books, it’s a visual treat for the eyes. It’s messy, it’s imperfect, it’s interesting!

🦋 BONUS

I don’t normally post visuals I haven’t created myself but I was recently highlighted on the Beehiiv Creator Spotlight newsletter.

In it was this neat collaboration by the author, Francis Zierer, and the designer, Laura Calle Puerta from the Beehiiv team.

Created by Francis Zierer and Laura Calle Puerta

It’s pretty surreal to see your entire creator journey wrapped up in a single visual. In case you’re interested, here’s the entire audio interview on the Creator Spotlight (Podcast).

Rate this week's newsletter:

Your feedback helps shape the best visual newsletter possible.

🔥 Loved it! | 👍 Solid. | 🫣 Could be better.

Say hi 👋🏻 on Twitter or LinkedIn

If you'd like to join the 16,365 subscribers getting Visual I.D.E.A.s straight into their inbox, subscribe below:

Thanks for reading! Reply any time with feedback or questions.

I made this newsletter with beehiiv, my favorite tool for easily creating and growing a newsletter.

When you’re ready, I’ve built a course to teach Thinking in Visual Metaphors: enrollment for Cohort 5 is open!

*By making a purchase through any of our affiliate links, we receive a very small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps us on our mission to provide quality visuals and education. Thank you for your support!

Reply

or to participate.