As I’m about to launch a new small collection of dinosaur birthday cards in my shop, I thought that it would be fun to say a few words about the story behind the products.
It’s May 2021 as I write and the truth is: I’ve been thinking of creating a collection of dinosaur cards for quite some time. In fact this birthday collection has been in the making for nearly a year!
As you can see from this photo, I did my original brainstorming in June 2020!
So why did it take so long to create, you ask?
Well these dinosaur cards are a typical example of what happens when I’m really excited by an idea, then get other plans, milestones and deadlines I need to take care of, then procrastinate, don’t schedule in the work in my diary, and procrastinate some more.
Yes, I was originally very excited about drawing dinosaurs my way. I’d drawn dinosaurs before, which had been fun, but since it was for a client who wanted their dinosaurs to look fairly realistic I didn’t know what a dinosaur drawn in my style looked like. And the longer I waited the more scared I got of ‘not getting it right’ (silly, I know, but the brain is not all logical). If I’m honest with myself (and now with you) I think that’s the real reason why I procrastinated for so long. I was just scared. And a bit lazy too maybe.
When I finally realised what the real block was, I picked up my sketchbook and a black felt tip pen (my recipe for just drawing and not obsessing over mistakes and imperfections), and I started drawing. It also helped that it was between Christmas and New Year’s and that I was taking a short break from work as I felt more relaxed and more inclined to play.
Around that time I was planning for the year ahead and what I wanted to accomplish, and I gave myself a deadline… which I should have done from the start because in less than a week the work was done! (Lesson learned!)
I won’t lie, I had to force myself a little at first. But once I actually got into the process of designing, I started having fun and remembered the excitement I’d felt at the idea originally.
My new collection of dinosaur birthday cards includes 6 designs and will launch in my shop for Dinosaur Day on the 1st of June 2021.
If you’d like to get notified when the cards are in the shop sign up to my email list now.
