A Quick Guide to Support Your Fave Creatives Online

We know the Internet can be a pretty harsh place. And it is sadly quite common for the creative folks to not be taken seriously as professionals online. Off the top of my head, I can enumerate common scenarios in the Interwebs where creative people have been robbed off of fair compensation or at the very least, credit. And I can tell you right now, I’ve personally experienced at least two of these:

Book bloggers being offered free books in exchange for a book marketing campaign (i.e, organizing blog tours and giveaways)

The “All-Mighty Free Exposure” mentality (rolling my eyes)

Uncredited use of a photographer’s work

Companies justifying free stuff as just compensation for a promotional post.

Bloggers’ posts being blatantly copied word for word.

Big brands utilizing contests to cherry-pick their favored artworks when they could just hire people like any other jobs.

Honestly, these all suck.

Just experiencing one of these sucks.

Creatives are found in almost every nook and cranny of every existing industry. You find creatives in the Interwebs, in markets, and in every conceivable department in a corporate office. Yes, even in infamous “boring jobs” like accounting.
Related: Boredom Boosts Creativity. Here’s How.

Most of all, everyone – and I mean everyone – knows (or at the very least has an inkling) of the importance of creativity. Creativity results visually appealing works and amazing designs. Creativity kickstarts awesome ideas. Think of Tesla’s alternating current. Think of Joy Mangano and her Miracle Mop. Think of the Empress Hsi Ling Shi who saw a bunch of worm cocoons and thought, “Ooh! We can make a cloth out of this!”

Creativity could definitely turn the world upside down.

Creativity is responsible for the first step. That spark of an idea that will gradually rise into incredible fireworks. That tiny seedling that will later become an enormous, beautiful tree. The starting point of success.

It all begins with a creative mind or four.

Which is why we should all appreciate a creative’s work. That said, you don’t have to bank out a million dollars to support your creative friend or loved one! Even the smallest acts of kindness can go a long way. Here are a few ways you can support your creative friends with little to no cost.

How to Support Your Fave Creatives with a Few Bucks

Become their Patron

From artists to bloggers, from booktubers to podcasters, there are plenty of creative folks over on Patreon! Patreon is a website where you can support a group or individual through monthly pledges and basically become their Patrons. There are people who have their pledges start at one dollar and go up from there. And in return, you can get Patron-exclusive goodies and behind-the-scenes. Isn’t that fun! 🙂

Support their Kickstarter campaign

Lots of creatives have Kickstarter campaigns to publish a book or launch a video game. It’s kinda like Patreon except your funding for a creative’s one huge project rather than their monthly income. And since the projects are huge, the goodies you get are huge too.

Buy their products

Almost all creatives sell the product of their awesome creativity. And you can find it ANYWHERE. There are those who sell handmade watercolors and other crafts on Etsy, stickers and prints on RedBubble and Society6, and music on iTunes or Google music. Some even have their own shops for their digital products such as eBooks and workbooks. Which goes to say that you have lots of opportunities to buy your fave creatives’ stuff. Isn’t that great!

Buy them coffee

I know not everyone can afford a fifty-dollar Kickstarter campaign pledge. But there are less expensive ways to support your creative friends! Ko-fi is an online platform where you can, well, buy someone coffee. Technically, you donate three dollars to them to show your appreciation for their work. The best thing about this is that Ko-fi does not take a single cent from your money and it goes straight to your Paypal!

How to Support Your Fave Creatives with Zero Cost

Of course, if you are not able to afford financially supporting your creative friends, you can still show your support through other ways that won’t cost you any money.

<3 Credit them for their work

<3 Share or retweet their posts

<3 Tell your friends and family about them

<3 Give them a shoutout

<3 Link back to their posts

<3 Leave a review on their podcasts or books

<3 Leave a comment on their Instagram post or video on YouTube

<3 Stream their music on Spotify or Bandcamp

<3 Recommend them to people you know

<3 Use their affiliate links

<3 Tell them how much you love their work. (Trust me. This boosts self-confidence 100%)

What other ways do you think you can show your support to your creative friends? Share them in the comments below!

xx Kate

Photos from Ivory Mix and Gabrielle Cole

July 28, 2018 8 Comments

5 Autumn-Inspired Watercolor Graphics I’m Loving Right Now (+ A Freebie!)

This post contains affiliate links. I only promote products I think are awesome + all opinions are 100% my own 🙂

Have I ever told you how much I looove design? And graphics? Especially handmade graphics???

I do. Like a lot.

Which is probably why I really enjoy the formatting part of writing a blog post and I LOVE playing around in the Customizer page. And in case you don’t know, I obsess over color combinations.

One thing I really like about autumn is how everything seems to be dying but there are still sooo many interesting bursts of colors and it’s just, it’s plain amazing. (Of course I haven’t experienced autumn firsthand because I’m a girl from the tropics haha)

I’ve been practicing making my own watercolor graphics (and I just like scrolling for pretty graphics and illustrations, ok??) And while I was scouring the Interwebs for inspiration, I found some really cool autumn-inspired watercolor graphic bundles. They’re all gorgeous and I love how they made use of the orange + purple color combo because I really like that color combo <3

AND! AND! I have a freebie made by yours truly at the end so don’t miss that out! 😉

Note: The following images are not mine and I don’t claim them as mine.

Fall Watercolor Clipart Autumn

This one makes use mostly of oranges and reds. But what’s interesting to me are the curvy-ness of the branches and leaves, I found that really helps in making wreaths easily.

Autumn Leaf Fall Watercolor

Ugh. This one’s pretty. I LOVE the muted shades but somehow there’s still vibrancy. I also like how she used a different color to line the leaves (And is that digital?)

I kiiinda tried that with color pencil in mine and it didn’t work hehe

Watercolor Wonderful Leaves

Ohmigosh ohmigosh. This one’s PRETTY. This is also #goals for me. I love how delicate those leaves look and also how she used more purple shades than oranges.

Fall Is In The Air

Okay, this one’s kinda similar to the first one in color scheme, except she also added in a little bit browns ans greens and yellows which makes them less monochromatic in a way. Looking at these really reminded me of a ground fully covered of dried leaves that I often see in Instagram.

Autumn Forest

This is the same artist who made the purple leaves above and gahhh I’m such a fan of her now. I’ll probably look her up on Instagram after writing this hahaha

I love that dark and muted shade of green she used in some of her individual leaves and I tried making leaves in that color too. They’re really good to pair with oranges and reds.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on creating watercolor paintings that I wanted to turn into graphic elements.

I’ve been really interested with the concept ever since two years ago, when I discovered Freepik and other glorious spectabulous websites that offer handmade drawings as digital elements. In my eyes, tHEY’RE THE FREAKIN RAINBOW UNICORN OF THE DESIGN WORLD.

I’m such a nerd, I know hehe

Anyway, I did say that I was gonna practice on painting plants and other pretty graphic-worthy thingies from now on. And I did! Eep!

Now here’s the thing. I actually made 39 individual elements.

But for some reason, they have white jagged outline around each element even if I made them transparent. I only learned how to fix the white thingy last week so I’ll slooowly fix each elements and won’t be able to share them with y’all.

Until then, here are 5 watercolor graphic elements I made for fun using some of the individual elements 😀

These are already transparent and in .PNG format. They’re great on white background or any other light colored background. To download, simply click the image above and it should download directly! 🙂

And I guess that’s it for now! I’ll see you all again next Saturday!

YOUR TURN: How are you? <3 Do you have any creative projects you’re currently doing? Would you mind sharing? 😉

Ooh! Also guys: I’m thinking of making either textured patterns or tribal-inspired watercolor graphics next. Which one would you like to see?

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October 28, 2017 11 Comments

8 Gorgeous Color Combinations I’m Loving Right Now

I don’t have any favorite colors. I like all colors equally. I believe that all colors are beautiful in their own little ways.

So once in a while, I’m gonna share with you guys the awesome color combinations I discovered and make a neat little list of them with pretty collages of pictures using these colors. This isn’t gonna be a regular feature, by the way. Just whenever I find a handful of gorgeous color combos. Okay? Okay! Let’s go!

But first, a disclaimer: None of the images I used in the collages below are mine and I will never claim them as mine. I found all of these via Pinterest and have made a board exclusively for this post. Please check out my Pinterest board if you want to know where I got them.
If any of the images below are yours and would like for me to take them down, please contact me through this page and I will do it as soon as possible. 🙂

Lagoon + Baby Pink

This is the more pastel-y version of my blog’s color scheme. (Also, notice how I used it in my headings and subheadings like with this post? 😉 ) I’ve been in love with this color pair ever since my blog revamp last year. Together, they create this light and fluffy feminine atmosphere and that’s exactly how I want my blog to feel. Also they kinda look like candies, right???

Cerulean + Mandarin

I wasn’t usually into dark and bold color combinations. And this color combination is super bold. I mean, look at those shades of blue and orange. They’re vivid and they contrast each other. But that somehow works because the orange pops against the blue. And I really really (really) like it when one of the color pair pops out and the other simply helps. It’s like a dance, don’t you think? 😀

Maroon + Gold

This is also a bold color combo but where the cerulean and mandarin has this heavy atmosphere, maroon and gold is more elegant. I mean, doesn’t that color combo remind you of royalty? It reminds me of that. Also GRYFFINDOR COLORS! (I mean, I’m a Ravenclaw. #AndProud. But still.)

Navy Blue + Rose

UGH I LOVE THIS COLOR COMBO SO MUCH I CAN’T EVEN asdkjefghsnml

This is a color combo I would wear in a heartbeat. Because I really like how the feminine feel of the rose color balances out with the masculine-ish feel of navy blue. Also light and dark shades. They contrast.

Purple + Dandelion

If you’ve noticed, all of my collages above have some kind of food included in them. And, I’ve checked, the rest below have too. Only this collage doesn’t and I regret not looking for a purple ice cream or cake *sheds a tear*

Anyway. Purple and yellow are the secondary colors of my blog color scheme (as you probably notice their “secondary presence” in my design). I added them several months after choosing my main colors. I love this color pair because they’re bright. And their brightness keeps the airy feel of my teal + pink main color pair grounded.

Baby Blue + Lemon Yellow

I don’t know why but when I see this color combo, it reminds me of a super cute doll house. DOESN’T IT OR IS THAT JUST ME? Like lagoon and baby pink, it’s a light color combo but it looks a teeeeny tiny bit less feminine and more youthful. For me at least. This is definitely the kind of color combination I like to use for a youthful and happy illustration.

Tumbleweed + Mustard

Don’t you just love earthy tones for fall??? I do. I do a HECK lot.

Honestly, mustard was one of those colors that I find hard to like. It reminded me of… well, mustard. And I don’t like mustard. (I’m a ketchup kind of girl ok??) But I remember seeing someone mix mustard with a earthy colors like meadow green and tumbleweed and that’s when I realized it’s actually a pretty color!

Not to mention, one of my favorite artists, Taryn (aka @taryndraws) absolutely makes mustard and other earthy tones loveable every chance she gets.

Dusky Cedar + Olive

AHHHHH ever since I discovered dusky cedar last year, I have been in love with it! It’s one of those colors perfect for autumn and with olive green, it’s much much better! I really like pairing different shades of red with different shades of green. They’re just pretty to look at <3

I had so much fun making the collages for this and I loved looking at the variety of color combinations I have here.

Your turn: Do you have a favorite color? What color combinations are YOU loving right now? I’m on a personal hunt for pretty color combinations so share your faves below!

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September 16, 2017 18 Comments