How I migrated from live illustration to digital scribing
I wanted to share with you how my business and process have changed and where I’m at a year after the pandemic kicked in. Let me know if anything resonates with you, I’d love to know what you think so feel free to reply by email or chat on social media.
The last time I stood at an event drawing discussions live was on Friday 6th March 2020 when I was capturing discussions for a charity who support people with substance misuse issues. The previous day I had been to an event in London and I remember feeling a bit scared and quite uncomfortable traveling on trains and the Tube. The lockdown was announced from 12th March onwards and all my events got cancelled.
For the next month and for the first time in my freelance career I found myself with no work at all. I have always had a mix of live events and studio commissions but it was like everyone was in a bit of a shock and things just… went quiet. No calls, no emails.
The first thing I did was to get in touch with recent clients and those who cancelled just to say I am here to help and listed some ways in which I could support what they do. The second thing I started to do was to have a look at how everyone else was adapting: it didn’t take long for companies to start sharing best practices for online meetings and tools. I gathered resources and links into a blog post and drew a little summary to go with it.
It was this blog post that caught the eye of a new client on Twitter and they ended up hiring me for a commission. I drew a rich landscape visual and other assets for their online event and it was a good way to get more familiar with digital tools on my iPad. I had used the iPad occasionally in the past but I started to try out different apps to work out what could be best for me. The answer is: Procreate is amazing and Adobe Fresco comes a valid second for studio commissions.
New tools and training
I also searched for any training opportunities: I found Skillshare really useful for specific apps and processes such as drawing lettering in Procreate which really helped me build speed and confidence in working digitally. But one thing still worried me above all else: what about live illustration? Could I do remote digital illustration at all?
Luckily I came across Visuality who had spotted an opportunity to run training sessions on online visual methods for facilitating group sessions and capturing discussions digitally. This was the push I needed to realise that I had enough of a handle on the digital tools and the remote event process to go and try it out. I practiced with a free webinar first and then started to tell clients about this new offer.
The last important part of training was investing in coaching for my business for the first time. I did a three month group coaching programme with Ruth Poundwhite who supports quietly ambitious humans. Her approach really resonated with me and the process really helped me check my values, goals and how to develop things in my way.
When remote scribing rocks - and when it sucks
Fast forward to today and I have fully migrated my scribing practice to a remote, digital workflow. It hasn’t turned out quite how I expected: most of the time my clients have not wanted a live feed and see the illustration develop but rather have me as a bystander drawing visual summaries to help with engagement after the event. I have done some events where my iPad has been plugged in to a Zoom call and displayed there but mostly I have worked on the visuals during and after the event. This suits me well as my approach is less about scribing text and more about drawing the key ideas.
Pros of remote scribing
More options: I can offer different packages depending on the level of detail the client wants and what is appropriate for the event.
No availability on the event date? No problem! Well, usually. As most organisers record online events I can be super flexible and still create fab visuals.
Crisp and clean visuals: as I draw digitally the output is a bit tidier by default. No more scruffy marker lines!
A wider variety of visual support: As everyone is working on digital platforms there’s a need for to help cut down the clutter. I am now creating much more than live graphic recording: social media campaign assets, presentation visuals, case studies, journey and process visuals, you name it!
I can be more sustainable: I don’t have to travel to events so there are no taxis, physical materials, takeaway lunch packaging etc. To be honest I don’t know how to measure the difference in emissions comparing that to using more digital tools and servers to power my work.
No more busy socialising at events: As an introvert I am happy to work alone and from the comfort of my home or studio. It’s not that I hate the socialising at events but it takes a massive toll on my brain to do the live work and chat with people – I was often exhausted after full day events.
Cons of remote work
Not so speedy: I have to admit I can’t work as quickly digitally. It’s just not the same as having marker pens to quickly swap pen type and colour.
Atmosphere is… lacking: it’s really a bit dull to sit through Zoom events, right? You don’t get to experience the same buzz as in physical spaces and during coffee break chats. It’s also not the same thing to read a room to pick up on what resonates with people.
Live illustration feed can be too much: during online events your attention is funnelled to a small screen so the live illustration can make it harder to focus rather than help digest the content. It really depends on what the event is trying to do. Saying that there are events where the format can really benefit from a live feed.
Tech issues! So many things can stop working. Enough said.
I miss seeing new places: I did like some of the travel and train journeys – it gave me inspiration seeing new places and headspace to reflect.
Sad marker pens: they sit in drawers, neglected and unused. I miss drawing by hand, a digital pen just can’t produce the same lively strokes.
What now?
This spring something interesting has come to pass: I have had less events on a regular basis and more commissions to work on over a longer period of time. One of my business pain points has always been being booked last minute and not knowing what I’ll be working on in a month’s time. Over the last couple of months I realised I was booked up several months ahead and it lifted quite a lot of pressure off me.
I still want to do events but I’m also loving the bigger commissions I’ve been working on, ranging from Instagram campaigns and presentation visual to animation (more learning for me). I am in no rush to get back to the way things were and I will keep remote work as a core of my business in the future. I do see myself standing up with marker pens at an event in the future but I think it will be a selected few events instead of constant travel. I am certainly happier to spend more of my time on other things.