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Grimoire-Des-Reves

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New Year!

5 min read
I hope that everyone had a great New Year. I'm sick...so not the best start to things, but oh well! =). I'm making this journal more for myself than anyone else, but I thought I'd make a list of art goals for myself. I don't believe in New Year's resolutions...I find that for most people, they tend to have a counter-productive effect. I think setting a HUGE list of things that you absolutely will do before next year CAN be a tad unreasonable, especially if those goals are 'Find a new job' 'Move house' 'become the best artist ever to exist' 'reinvent the wheel'. Or they often end up being the things we know we SHOULD do (exercise for a whole hour EVERY.SINGLE.DAY and if you're sick or just don't feel like it one day then you've absolutely failed at life and should give up and just go and eat that cake you've been saving in the fridge...) but we actually don't WANT to do...so I say, what's the point? It's been a long time since I've made any, "resolutions" but last year, I made a list of 'Achievable Goals' for myself. 

This was my list of achievable goals for 2017:
:bulletblack: Start a portfolio
:bulletblack: Go to the Harry Potter Studios
:bulletblack: Get hair dyed blue
:bulletblack: Buy Prismacolor Pencils
:bulletblack: Go to a Zumba Class
:bulletblack: Go to a Yoga Class
:bulletblack:  Make a Butterbeer Pie
:bulletblack: Do an Art collab
:bulletblack: Watch Fantastic Beasts again
:bulletblack: Take a trip on the train
:bulletblack: Make plans to move
:bulletblack: Play Cards Against Humanity
:bulletblack: Have a Pumpkin Spiced Frappuccino
:bulletblack: Make a wand
:bulletblack: Make a new Marauders Map
:bulletblack: Finish My Sketchbook
:bulletblack: Have a Movie Night with Mum
:bulletblack: Start a blog

The things with a line through them are things I managed to achieve (which you probably already guessed =P). The things without I didn't end up doing, but that said, it doesn't mean that I can't still do them this year ;). Do you see how many of those are crossed off? Even though some of those are SO simple, they all made me really happy =D. So I'll hopefully be making another list like this for 2018. Some of these are obviously bigger than others, such as 'make plans to move', that's obviously bigger than 'watch Fantastic Beasts again' xD. It was great to have this variety though, and on the days when I couldn't face any big future planning sessions, doing something small like having a movie night with my mum was a great way to cheer me up, and I would highly recommend doing something like this, particularly if you're not one for New Year's resolutions, or if you suffer from depression and anxiety and need a quick pick me up =).

Anyway, moving on!

I want to make a separate list of art goals for the year! =) Nothing too ambitious, but just some things to be getting on with. This year, I'd really like to:
:bulletblack: Learn how to use watercolours a bit better!
:bulletblack: Attempt to do some more storybook style illustrations
:bulletblack: Practice drawing hands and feet
:bulletblack: Work on digital art when I have time and if I feel like it =P
:bulletblack: Upload at least four art videos to my Youtube channel
:bulletblack: Work on creating stronger compositions

I could add more, and I may well do that as the year progresses, but this is a good start =).

Do you have any goals for the year? They don't necessarily have to be art ones! I'm going to go and make a new board of achievable goals for myself! =)

Happy New Year!
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Merry Christmas!

10 min read
Pixel - Xmas Box Bar by firstfear Pixel - Xmas Box Bar by firstfear

Merry Christmas! :love:

I hope that everyone has had a really lovely day =)

I was considering doing a 'year in review' type journal, but given the fact that I'm not often active on here nowadays, it seems a bit pointless to be honest. I might do one closer to New Year's, if the mood takes me =).

In any case, every year, I like to share a list of everything I received for Christmas (I used to do this for my birthday as well xD). It seems a shame to break a tradition, so I thought that I'd do that again this year =). Just a disclaimer, I am in no way trying to brag, I personally love to read about the gifts everyone received for Christmas! I find it fun =), I also enjoy looking back on these journals myself and remembering all of the kind and thoughtful gifts I was lucky enough to receive. If you're not a fan of these particular journals, then feel free to stop reading here. I hope that you have a truly wonderful Christmas, and I wish you all the best for the New Year =).

...If anyone is still here xD, this is what I was lucky enough to receive this Christmas:
:bulletred: A Gryffindor Notebook from one of my best friends 
:bulletgreen: An Eddie Redmayne calendar
:bulletwhite: An owl handbag
:bulletred: Some candy scented lip glosses
:bulletgreen: A Daily Planner
:bulletwhite: Raspberry and Cacao tea
:bulletred: A chocolate penguin
:bulletgreen: Some fluffy socks
:bulletwhite: Some boot socks
:bulletred: Some slippers
:bulletgreen: A set of new pyjamas
:bulletwhite: A Gryffindor Qudditch pyjama shirt
:bulletred: Cookie Dough scented Bubble Bath :love:
:bulletgreen: A leather journal
:bulletwhite: A tiny Fantastic Beasts suitcase that makes Niffler sounds xD
:bulletred: Wand-shaped makeup brushes
:bulletgreen: A Jacob Kowalski pop figure
:bulletwhite: A Demiguise Pop Figure
:bulletred: Spectrum Noir glitter pens
:bulletgreen: An Eddie Redmayne Biography
:bulletwhite: 'How to be an Illustrator' by Darrel Rees
:bulletred: Prismacolor colourless blenders
:bulletgreen: Derwent Graphik Sepia Fine liners
:bulletwhite: The Illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
:bulletred: The Illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Pixel - Xmas Box Bar by firstfear Pixel - Xmas Box Bar by firstfear
 
Now it's time to share some beautiful Christmas art! :love: 

<da:thumb id="721783042"/> Secret Santa 2017 vol 2 by kiko-sempai Usagi New Year Angel by SkivTheGreatSecret Santa for Darkprincess8 by chiyako92 Feels Like Christmas by PerryWhiteUnder Starlight by Nightrizer Snow Miku by Hsk0254Hogsmeade by LatteaChatteConfection Cuties!: Merry Christmas! 2017 by Yuni-Naoki Merry Christmas! by NiceBirthdayLittle sandy clauses  by DarkmatterNova Light by DAV-19 Fire Emblem Christmas Feh by Chibivi-Linearts Christmas ID 2017 - Selin by tiffanymarsou Merry Chistmas !! Harry and Ron by Reveusedoucefrance<da:thumb id="721835316"/> Merry Xmas by Parororo<da:thumb id="721687011"/> Happy Niff Year by sofiko-chan Merry Christmas by PatPaige Someone want's a kiss by LoyaldisAll I Want For Winter by KIY0UWinter by Natello Magical Christmas by blueocean01

If I don't end up making a journal before New Year, then I hope that everyone has a fun and relaxing holiday period, and that 2018 brings you all of the things you're hoping for =).

Merry Christmas!
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Hello! I'm sorry this isn't really an update, but I have a question for digital artists in particular:

Which computers would you recommend for creating digital art? 
Which computers would you recommend avoiding?

I'd like to start creating more digital art. I want to try and get into an art career, as you may know from previous journal entries, and while I've been working very hard to improve my traditional work, I know that I need to start working on my digital skills as well. Before anyone tells me this: I know that having the best art supplies won't make you the best artist, I understand that completely, and don't believe that by buying the best equipment and programs that I'll become a professional overnight. Please understand that I've been saving for over a year now to be in a good position to study and to buy decent equipment, and while I'm in that position, I'd like to make the most of it and buy a decent computer and potentially a better tablet, so that they'll last well, and so that I can make the learning process as pleasant as possible. 

I'd really appreciate any recommendations =)

Thank you!
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Update

4 min read
Hello, I thought I would give you all a brief update on what I'm doing at the moment!

Artwise, I'm currently still working on my portfolio, while just doing some sketches for fun to keep me going as well, that's why there's so much unfinished work in my gallery at the moment, and I apologise for that. I've been trying to make the sketches relatively polished by shading them, it's also good practice for me anyway =)

I'm also working on a collaboration with :iconthemsgothgirl:, so I'll post that at some point.
""
I actually posted another Youtube video! For the first time in months :'). As I've mentioned before, I work full time, and I only have three hours when I get home in the evening to eat, work on my portfolio, and have any kind of social life, so Saturdays are really the only days I have to record and edit, that's one of the main reasons I just can't upload to my Youtube account as often as I'd like. As well as that, my laptop struggles with the video editing process, making it slow, and frustrating, so that's another issue. I'm hoping to save up for a mac, or a higher quality pc so that I can do digital artwork, and edit videos more easily, but that won't be for a while yet. Until then, I'm going to TRY and upload more often, but I apologise for being unable to keep to a fixed schedule, and hope that you understand :heart:. I've pr-recorded a second sketchbook tour, and an artwork tour, and due to the nature of these, they require minimal editing, meaning that I should be able to get these uploaded much more quickly than a regular art video. I'm hoping to get that uploaded on Sunday, or sometime next week. I'm attempting to work to a bi-weekly schedule, but I won't promise that I'll be able to stick to it.

In other news, I've finally put a new website together for myself...and a blog! Again, I don't have as much time as I would like to work on the blog either, but as I mentioned in a previous journal entry, I have more time to work on blog posts than videos, so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to update that a bit more often!

I don't have a fixed theme for my blog, I'll be writing about whatever takes my interest really. About issues I'm passionate about, and I'm hoping to write some reviews on art supplies, books, TV series, a variety of things. I'm really excited about this because I don't feel like I HAVE to focus on one area, it gives me a lot of freedom to talk about whatever I like. Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to review, or talk about, I have a list of ideas, but I wouldn't say no to more!

I've currently only posted one entry, and it's an introduction, just explaining a little bit about myself, and what I'm hoping to achieve with this blog. Please feel free to give it a read if you'd like :aww: you can find it here: truequeenoficeands.wixsite.com…

Thank you to everyone who is still following me. I apologise for not being as active on here as I once was. I'm afraid I'm struggling to set a strict schedule for myself, as my job is obviously my priority. I try to post daily on Instagram, so if you have an account, you can follow me on there GrimoireDesReves, to those of you who don't, thank you for your continued support on here, and on Youtube. I hope that I can make more content soon =).
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Hello again! Another social media based question for you all! (Or for anyone who uses Pinterest at least!)

I have a Pinterest account, but I don't usually share it with anyone. I don't post my artwork on Pinterest, so it seemed a bit pointless. That said...I'm curious if you have a Pinterest account, do you follow anyone on there? If you do, what do follow them for? Is it because they post their own work? Or do you like the boards they put together?

Personally, I just use Pinterest for inspiration and more natural references and ideas, so  I don't actually follow anyone on there, but I'm beginning to see how it could be really useful to follow other artists on there! I'm thinking of putting some boards together that artists might find useful, just pinning things that could be helpful, such as tutorials or inspiration for a particular theme, I'm not sure yet! Since I put a lot of these boards together for myself, I thought I might as well share them with other people, maybe they could find them useful as well!
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Featured

New Year! by Grimoire-Des-Reves, journal

Merry Christmas! by Grimoire-Des-Reves, journal

Question for digital artists! by Grimoire-Des-Reves, journal

Update by Grimoire-Des-Reves, journal

What do you use Pinterest for? by Grimoire-Des-Reves, journal