Replies which came to late

I have had a lot of problems getting feedback on my portfolio, recently I've been getting replies from the practitioners I decided to contact but they have come to late.

Miss Wah took a quick look and said she loved the use of colour in my work and how the subject matter is a mix of cute and dark.

Lyn Bannister got back to me but made no real indication that she wanted to meet me at all.

Leo from Identity Printing Manchester got back to me towards the end of last week so it didn't leave me enough time to arrange anything. But I will be going to visit him regardless because I could really use his feedback.

Hopes and fears

In this blog post I will be talking about some of my hopes for what I want to achieve post degree and some of the fears I have.

Unlike some of the others on my course my aim isn’t to go into editorial illustration, instead I’m building a brand which has been the goal even before I took this degree. The course has helped me come up with new ways to do this and has also let me see what alternative paths I could have taken. It sounds like I’m just set in my ways but I can tell you I have given each avenue suggested to me plentiful consideration. I have come to the conclusion building my own brand is the best way to get to get my work to its intended audience and maintain my artistic integrity while doing so. With my style of working I can’t wait around for art directors see that my style does have a place in their publications.

 One of my hopes is that I will become a better salesperson; it’s something I will need to work on. The course has helped me build confidence in my work, now I just need to become more socially confident. One of my fears is I could set up my brand in the wrong way since I don’t know much in terms of registering a business and how small businesses are taxed. To remedy this fear I intend to take a short course in business to help me market and properly set up my brand, since I’m not going down a more traditional illustration route there are gaps in my knowledge that need to be filled.

The course has also helped me step out of my comfort zone before I would have been hesitant to email people but now I find it a lot easier and know that the skill will be necessary to contact stockists.  Due to my anxiety I would often catastrophize things like sending an email or asking someone to give me feedback on my work but through repetition it’s getting easier. This takes me onto a fear of mine I’m afraid my anxiety will get in the way of potential opportunities, there are techniques I have learned to help with my anxiety through the past few years which will hopefully help me in this regard.

Another hope of mine is that through my brand I can help de-stigmatize mental illness and work with mental health charities to help fund services for people suffering from mental illness and raise awareness of what people can do to help those who struggle with mental illness. Mental health is a subject I have often brought forth in my practice and I fully intend to continue to do that outside of university.

I think a lot of people leaving art and design courses have a fear of getting sucked into jobs not related to their preferred field, I can say that in my case I’m not scared of having to pick up a day job to support what I want to do. If anything I’m actually looking forward to having that experience. I don’t think I will ever be able to stop making work which is why I don’t feel threatened by having to do other things to get by. Being an illustrator is not a stable job which scared me a lot at the beginning but I’m not limited to just being an illustrator. With that I don’t fear failure because I will never stop trying and that’s the only true way to fail.

The fear I have had is that my direction is a lot more fluid than others; it can come across as me not knowing where I am going because there is not as many boundaries to what I can do. There is no need for me to limit myself to just doing t-shirts, prints or books. The thing about creating a brand is you can explore many different outcomes under that umbrella instead of limiting myself to just illustrating other peoples book or articles. Creating my own content suits me better otherwise most of the time it feels like I’m forcing my style to match up with content that it doesn’t go with.

Client: Lyn Bannister

Lyn Bannister is a local art director and artist heavily involved in our annual art trail, this year she has managed to secure a piece of Banksy's Dismaland for the festival and art trail. Since she is close by I thought it's worth a shot and if I do get a response from her I will have at very least made myself known to her.

Hi Lyn,

I'm an illustration student living in New Mills. As part of my course I have been asked to contact art directors and gallery owners to get some feedback on my portfolio. Please let me know if you can help me with this. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

19/04/2016
Lyn got back to me she said she could possibly take a look at my portfolio as long as it doesn't require her to write an essay which I reassured her that wasn't the case. So hopefully I'll be able to arrange to meet with Lyn in the next few days.

Contacting artists: Miss Wah

Miss Wah is a manga inspired street artists which I have been a loyal follower of for years and I've seen her grow from being a small artist on youtube to a successful street artist. She has a website where she sells her prints and stickers. It's been very inspiring to see a female street artist gain such an audience.

The email is quite casual since I have actually spoken to her before and she has previously given me advice on how to get into street art legally. So I thought I would contact her again since she was very helpful last time.

Hi,
as part of my course I have been asked to contact artists in a position I aspire to be in to give me a bit of feedback on my portfolio. I have a small PDF portfolio I can show you that isn't very long and won't take much time to look at. I would really appreciate it if you would take a look. I think your work is amazing I have been a follower of yours for years (from before you started doing street art) seeing you grow as an artist has been really inspiring to me, so your feedback would be really appreciated. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

20/04/2016
Miss Wah got back to me unfortunately she is quite busy at the moment so her feedback would be after the blog deadline. I will still send my pdf portfolio to her anyways because I am very interested in what she would think of my work.

Contacting Artists: DestinyBlue

DestinyBlue is an artist I often see at the conventions I attend and occasionally sell my work at. I absolutely love her artwork and would love to be where she is in a few years time. Unfortunately she is quite hard to contact since her facebook messages are closed so I had to leave a wall post instead hoping she'll give me a business email.

Hi Destiny,

I'm a big fan of your work I'm a proud owner of one of your prints and hope to buy more in the future. At university we have been asked to contact artists who are where we aspire to be in 2-3 years time. The aim is to get some feedback on our portfolio's. If you have a business email I could send you my PDF portfolio it's only 6 pieces long so it wouldn't take up much time, so if you could spare a few minutes I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance

Sophie (RaelDanger) 

I will update this post if and when I get a response. 

Client: Art Director Tyler Resty

This client was a bit of a serendipity thing so you won't find him on my lists of potential clients. I post a lot of my artwork on instagram and a user called Tyler Resty would keep popping up and liking my artwork so I checked his profile and it says he is an art director from New York. So I thought why not contact him? He's already expressing an interest in my artwork of his own accord so I might as well give him a try. My email to him is a lot more laid back since I think it fits the situation a bit more than going in with a very formal email.

Hi Tyler,

this is RaelDanger from instagram. My real name is Sophie Stratton and I'm an illustration student from the UK. I noticed you have been liking my artwork and as it happens I have been asked by my university to contact art directors which may be interested in my work to get some feedback on my portfolio. I have a PDF portfolio I can send you it only has 6 pieces of artwork in it so it won't take up much of your time. I would really appreciate it if you could take a look, some of it will probably look familiar to you.  Since you have been expressing an interest in my artwork anyway I thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sophie Stratton (raeldanger)

I will update this post if/when I get a response. 

Contacting Clients: What I have learned

Contacting clients even over email has been one of the most nerve wracking things I have had to do on this course. It's one of those things the more I have done it the easier it has become, and looking back to the first client I personally contacted (because my Dad did contact someone he has connections with on my behalf) the email I sent could have been better.

 I could have sold myself more and been more confident in my work, I could have maybe benefited by being a bit more laid back and not being so straight to the point. I have taken time to look at all of the galleries directors, aims and artwork on display and in their archives, and I have learned how to reflect that in my emails.

It has also been a lesson in rejection, currently I have had no responses but I haven't let that demotivate me if anything it has made me try harder and develop a thicker skin. I stand by my choices on who I have tried to make contact with. I don't doubt that my work would at very least be interesting to them if they would have given me a chance. But I will have to get used to the fact not everyone will give me a chance and if they do my artwork won't be of interest to everyone. It is nothing personal it is just how it is.

The problem I have found in regards to contacting the right people is that what I do is very niche and there's a limit to how many professionals I can find which may be interested in that niche. That is the nature of the beast sadly when you develop a style like mine. Call me stubborn but I'm not going to change my style just so I can have an easier time, my artistic integrity personally is the most important thing to me when it comes to creating work.

It might turn out that I get no responses whatsoever and I don't get the feedback I need. But it hasn't been in vain I have learned a lot about what I should expect and be prepared for when I leave. It may not be the lesson that was intended when this task was set but at least it is something.

Client: Hang-Up Gallery Director Ben Cotten

The hang up gallery prides itself on helping young artists, and with big names like Banksy on their roster of artists who wouldn't want these guys to look at your work. In this email I'm trying to hard sell my work a bit more while still remaining professional and polite.

Dear Ben Cotten,

I'm Sophie a BA Illustration student in my final year at MMU. As part of our course we have been asked to seek out industry professionals which may be interested in our work. I have attached a PDF portfolio to this email it contains 6 pieces of my best pieces work. If you could spare a moment to look at it and give me some feedback it would be much appreciated.

You have an amazing selection of artists such as Takashi Murakami, Invader, Dsceet, Herakut and of course Banksy. And by looking through your roster of artists I feel like my work may interest you, it's in the same vein but at the same time something a little different. Just to make clear I'm not looking to display my work only for you to have a look and see what you think.

I eagerly await your response.
Sophie Stratton (RaelDanger)


I will update this post if/when I get a response.

Client: Phil Harwood ascot studio's

Phil Harwood seems like one of the more approachable art gallery directors I have contacted, he already has some of Chris Pegg's work in his gallery which is manga influenced like my work. So that's already a good indicator that he might be interested in my style of work. With the email I sent to him I thought I would try being a little more informal and making sure he knows I have looked at the work he has on display and what he is about.

Dear Phil,

I'm Sophie a university student studying BA illustration at MMU. I am currently in my final year and we have been asked to contact gallery directors, art directors and other industry professionals to get some feedback on our portfolios. I have a PDF portfolio I could send via email it contains 6 pieces so it won't take up much of your time.

I stumbled across your gallery online and had a browse of the work you have on display and noticed you are displaying some of Chris Pegg's work and feel like my work is in a similar vein.  As an art buyer I would be interested in hearing your take on my work.

I hope to hear from you soon.
Sophie Stratton

I will update this post if /when I receive a response.

Client: Sam Thorne Director of Nottingham Contemporary

This one is pushing the boat out a bit, Sam Thorne is a very experienced as both a critic and gallery director. To be quite honest if he replies I am going to be scared of his response.  

Dear Sam Thorne,

I am Sophie a BA illustration student studying at MMU. I am currently at the end of my final year of my degree, as part of our course we have been asked to contact gallery directors and other industry professionals to give us some feedback on our portfolios. I can send my portfolio via email and it contains 6 pieces of work so it won't take up much of your time. I wanted to contact you because of the varying styles of artwork you display at Nottingham Contemporary and how the gallery is doing a fantastic job of inspiring young up and coming artists.

Kind regards
Sophie Stratton

Will update once I have received a reply.

Client: Stephen Hayles Director of the Upfest Gallery and festival

Today I contacted Stephen Hayles the Director and founder of the Upfest Festival and Gallery in Bristol. I once attended one of the Upfest festivals with my parents and wholeheartedly plan on attending again on my own. My artwork as of late has taken on an urban art feel so I thought I would try my luck.

Dear Stephen Hayles,

I'm Sophie a university student studying BA Illustration at MMU and I'm currently approaching the end of my final year of my degree. As part of our course we are required to seek advice from gallery directors and other industry professionals such as yourself. I have had the pleasure of attending one of your Upfest Festivals and was in awe at the work which was on display and I feel my work is in a similar vain. I wondered if you could take a look my portfolio and give me some feedback, it contains 6 pieces and can be sent over email and won't take up much of your time.

Kind Regards
Sophie Stratton

Will update when I have received a reply.

Client: Identity Printing Manchester

One of the clients I'm approaching is identity printing Manchester, I'm not sure weather it is above board but one of my Dads friends owns identity printing Manchester so he contacted them on my behalf.

Leo the owner created the very iconic "On the sixth day, God created MANchester" and now runs a t-shirt business selling his own and other designers work and printing t-shirts for everyday folk and designers alike. He has worked with many musical talents and with an interest in music and designing merchandise for bands this further convinced me I needed his input on my work and how it could be translated to t-shirts.

Website
http://identitymanchester.com/

I will update this post when I get a reply from Leo.

Update 17/04/16
My Dad drove past Identity Printing today to find they are now just called Identity, so it is possible they have now dropped the printing part of the business which might explain why there has been no replies since I was looking to get some t-shirt samples printed up as well as getting some feedback. But if I get any replies I will update this post but it is looking unlikely.

Client List part 2

So thinking further into my artwork and how it fits into the industry I have decided Art Directors are the wrong people for me personally to be going to. A lot of them are quite adverse to hiring anyone with a manga influenced style. So the next port of call is small independent gallery owners.

Richard Goodall Gallery

I have visited this a gallery in person and felt like my work would fit in with the other artists work. They display one of my favorite artists camilla d'errico who has inspired me a lot through out my degree.

Gallery owner Richard Goodall



Nottingham Contemporary

Looks to display a variety of work on their about us section  they say "We work to attract new, diverse audiences to contemporary art through innovative educational activities, our communications and our events." and that "Our audience is relatively young – around 50% are under 35" which is around the demographic I am aiming at.

Sam Thorne Director


ascot studios

As soon as I looked on the website I saw a manga inspired piece of artwork under the category of urban art.

Gallery Director Phil Harwood

From the website "Phil writes for a number of Arts & Culture Magazines, curates the exhibitions held at the gallery, and represents over 20 artists – including established international painters, mid-career artists & talented emerging artists based in the North West of England. Having gained the respect of international collectors and with an impressive client list here in the United Kingdom, Phil has earned his reputation as one of the most influential and successful art dealers of his generation."

Hang-Up

After searching for urban art galleries this gallery popped up and the art they display seems to be in line with what I do "an East London based contemporary art gallery located in the vibrant and bohemian neighbourhood of Stoke Newington. The gallery presents a dynamic exhibition program of fresh and forward thinking work from our roster of artists, photographers and makers. We show both young artists at the early stages of their careers alongside established names from the art world. We tie it together by seeking out and showing only those who are inherently creative, artists whom in some way break the mould from the traditional, pushing the boundaries either in terms of their work, their message or both."

Gallery Director Ben Cotten 


Upfest Gallery

"Situated on North Street, Bedminster is Bristol’s longest running urban art gallery, with the largest range of spray paint colours and Posca paint pens in Bristol. With regular exhibitions from some of the top Bristol, UK and International graffiti and street artists, the Gallery offers Bristol’s widest selection of Urban, Illustration and Contemporary artwork alongside a bespoke framing service, limited run artist t-shirts, and a fine selection of Street Art, Graffiti & Bristol books." The upfest gallery is another possibility especially since I am considering getting into selling t-shirts.

Gallery and festival Director and Founder Stephen Hayles


Identity Manchester

I have always wanted to branch out into t-shirt design since my A-levels when I printed a t-shirt (via  Identity Manchester) for one of my final pieces. I feel the time has come to revisit Identity Manchester. The owner Leo is a friend of my Dads and for what he doesn't have in qualifications in design he more than makes up with his experience.

Even though a bit unorthodox my Dad sent Leo an email on my behalf he didn't discuss this with me prior otherwise I would have contacted him myself. 



Will definitely looking into more ubran art galleries to contact.

Business card designs and considerations

I started thinking about my business cards back in February, I started by ordering a sample pack from Moo and deciding on their minicards. I loved the feel and look of the luxe minicards but because I wanted to attach a plush character (I call him Clarence) to the cards it would mean having to punch a hole. Even though I really like the luxe it would have probably been to thick to punch a hole through. So I ended up going for the original matte minicards.

Upon further feedback I have decided to match the characters bow to the colouring of the card design, and I have decided to only make 10 cards with plushies attached and to make sure the designs can hold their own.

First draft 

First Draft and Second Draft

Final Clarences (without bows)

For my final Clarences I switched the handmade pom poms out for pre-made ones, making the process a lot faster and the final outcome a lot neater.

For the cards I choose two designs from work I had already done, the design on the left was for my research project but the version put into my research project has been edited further to be a better fit. The second design is from my personal work and I added the purple to make the design fit in more with the other design.

PDP Interview #1 with Jellie Bee

I first discovered Jellie Bee via her YouTube channel after buying some of her artwork I had the pleasure of meeting her at Japan Day 2014 in Manchester. Since Jellie Bee is influenced by very similar things to me I thought she would be interesting to interview.

See the picture on her Facebook page

1. You're work looks anime/cartoon influenced; did standing out from the crowd ever cross your mind when you were developing your style?

Actually, when developing my work, I actually wanted to have my work look more like everyone elses, particularly successful artists. However, people started to compliment me on the fact my work was really recognisable to them and that's when I realised being myself was easier and better all along.

One of Jellie Bee's digital paintings, she often does these on a single layer.

See the picture on her Facebook page

2.When did you start selling your artwork and how long did it take you to build a steady amount of people who buy your work?

I started selling my artwork on stickers from around early 2010 and it picked up quite quickly. I started my own online store in 2011 but it took until 2013 for it to become a lot more steady. Convention selling has kept the interest in my online store going strong.

 3.What is the most interesting medium and/or canvas you have ever worked on?

My absolute favourite canvas is the sketchbooks that I customise. There's a real sense of achievement when I've finished one, because it's original art, but also a useable product. I find it interesting every time, as they always come out more special than I expected.

One of Jellie Bee's custom sketchbooks she sells on storenvy, she sells some pre-made and is often commissioned to do custom designs. 

See the picture on her Facebook page

4. What are your favourite artists? Have they influenced your style?

Massively so. My favourite artists are Lois van Baale (Loish); Marc Brunet (bluefley/Cube Brush); Mary Blair and Victoria Ying.
Each one has inspired me in different ways: Loish represents the skill levels I've always wanted to reach; Marc Brunet's techniques have always pushed me, his tutorials improve me in a way no-one else's ever have. Both of these artists pushed me to try single-layer painting, colour experimentation and portraiture and even though my painting skills are lightyears away, they've helped form who I am today with my digital art.
Mary Blair and Victoria Ying represent the illustrative side to my work, the side I find more relaxing and easier, but also the side I tend to criticise more.

See the picture on her Facebook page

 5. Do you feel your style is still developing?
Oh, always. I had a funny conversation with someone in a livestream recently, who said they felt comfortable with their digital style after only two weeks of experimentation. I said that it's taken me 9 years to become comfortable with my approach and to have more pride in my work. I started in Dec 2005 and it wasn't until Dec 2014 that I really felt connected. It will always develop, because I'm always torn between sticking to one style - painting, or illustrative?
Not only that, but I also like to practice with sumi-e and ukiyo-e style art a lot, so there's a third style I like to do. It's so confusing sometimes, but I'm happy right now with the progress I'm making. I'm just excited to see how I improve over the course of my life!

See the picture on her Facebook page

Want to check out Jellie Bee for yourself?

Here are some of the places you can find her.

Art Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/MorganAmeliaBromage

Business Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/JellieBeeNews

Storenvy

www.storenvy.com/stores/120039-jellie-bee

Overly ambitious

Upon reflection I think I have been way to ambitious with this project, I'm really starting to feel that time isn't on my side. I didn't take into consideration how long it would take to achieve what I want to achieve or the money I have had to put in. This project has grown into something a lot bigger than first expected.

But I still have 12 days if I work really hard and try not to get distracted by my other creative endeavors hopefully I can pull it off. Blame my brain for always coming up with personal projects I really want to do while doing my main project.

Police Cadets and Ethical Issues

While doing the anti bullying animation I had to reconsider a lot of the content I wanted to cover. I wanted to focus on the aftermath of bullying which would be that kids who are bullied are at more at risk to mental health problems such as

Depression
Panic disorder
Anxiety especially Social Anxiety
Body Dysmorphia
Paranoia

and more
Serious cases of bullying have even lead to the victim taking their own life.

But due to the 10-11 age range it would not be suitable for them, I got around this by hinting at it by using metaphors in my animation.

Instead I made a zine that would be for the parents that would talk about some of these issues.

What I am working on

At them moment I am working on a test animation for my university project. The finished animation will be part of a larger animation that will be shown in schools to raise awareness about bullying. This animation will be aimed at 10-11 year olds, as you can imagine we are having to keep the content of our animations tame. I'm doing this by using metaphors.

I am trying to go for a mixed media approach, I want my backgrounds to be mostly traditionally made while my character has been created digitally. I have tried my best with this project to retain my signiture style for the most part which often doesn't come though in my uni projects.

The other thing I am working on in conjunction with the animation is an illustrated booklet/zine to be handed out to the kids as a help guide and will also include an insight to how the animation was made. In this I want to include a section for parents with ways they can help their kids if they are being bullied. Most of my advice has come from real life experience with bullying. Sadly I know without the schools support bullying is hard to combat using non violent means which is unfortunate. The best way to combat bullying is to find the root of the problem and I want to encourage bullies to find other ways of dealing with their frustrations.

Ideas for the booklet

-Statistics
I'm trying to keep these at a minimum as not to bore the kids, but still include enough to inform parents.

-Advice
Things that worked for me, helping the kids stand up for themselves without the need for violence. Giving kids suggestions in how to project their frustrations in more health and constructive ways.

-Unused case studies
I have based my animation on how it feels to be bullied instead of a case study I think it will be more effective. With case studies you have to chose one which isn't too tame but isn't too extreme, I was finding it hard to find a suitable case study so I decided basing it on the emotional struggle would be a better approach since the others working on the project are focusing on case studies.

- Activities
I'm thinking of including activities to help kids express themselves in a none harmful way. And maybe even include activities to encourage children to help out other kids they believe are being bullied.

Looking forward

Recently I have been wondering if markets really are a good platform for selling my artwork. And after a market I had on Saturday, I have decided I should try and sell my work primarily online.

After observing the visitors that look at my stall I have come to the conclusion my artwork is rather niche. And that niche is not present where I am currently doing my stalls.

I think etsy is the best way to go, I know that I am the kind of person who would buy my work. I regularly comb through etsy I think my work would have a better chance at being seen and bought. Since I do a lot of one off pieces my work would still stand out and have appeal.

As for my offline revenue I would like to gear more towards conventions such as Doki Doki, Japan day and MCM Manchester. These will cost me more than my average pitch BUT I think I would do a lot better at those kinds of events, and with less events to worry about it leaves more time for my uni work. Not to mention how many people have told me that my target audience is much more abundant at conventions.

At the moment I have too much to sell and not enough like minded people to sell it to.

So my plan is
-Set up my etsy
-Get my head around shipping prices (maybe only ship within the UK at first)
-List the things I already have before making more artwork

In the future I need to look at
-registering as a small business
-getting a website
-making an online portfolio
-branding

Astigmatism

This is a more personal post but hopefully an insightful one, on Monday the 3rd of November 2014 I went to the opticians for the first time in 8 years. I left it 8 years because up to the age of 12 I had eye tests regularly and never had any problems, up until the last few years when I noticed I was having trouble with bus numbers.

So I booked an appointment and found out I have an Astigmatism. Astigmatisms are common and most don't need any correction but my astigmatism requires correction in the form of glasses or contacts. My astigmatism is 180.00 in my right eye and 5.00 in my left, the optician said this is something I have probably always had but it has gotten worse without correction.

In primary school the teachers were convinced I had dyslexia due to issues with reading, spelling, maths and to some degree just communicating in general. Most of these things I have found through my excessive amounts of googling maybe typical for people who have an uncorrected severe astigmatism. The more I thought about it the more everything fell into place.

• Teachers always commenting that I wasn't paying enough attention.
• My terrible hand eye coordination and balance.
• My troubles with stairs, uneven ground and jumping from small heights.
• How hard it was to focus on reading books and subtitles.
• When my friends pointed out something right infront of my face I could never see it.
• How often I would just feel like all my senses were overloaded.

An astigmatism is caused by the eye/s being more rugby ball shaped rather than spherical, this causes the eye to focus on two different point instead of both eyes focusing on one point. This makes it harder to process information because the brain is taking in two completely different points and trying to fill in the blanks.

One of my first reactions was one of anger, I had been put through so many tests to try and prove I had some form of learning disability, I was put in classes with children who needed extra help which brought down myself esteem. I was told in primary and my first secondary school they didn't expect me to pass a single GCSE due to my unidentified "learning difficulties". And then it turns out all a long if I had been given a proper eye test and an early age that could all have been avoided. People I have spoken to who have the same thing had glasses for it when they were barely out of nappies.

It was a smack in the face in a way, I had been struggling all these years to find out I didn't have to struggle at all. As much as it is a relief to have my glasses and to finally be able to function correctly, it still angers me that none thought to check earlier. Why would you not think to check? If  you think a child isn't taking in information as they should that maybe the eyes could be the key to the problem. 

Now for the exciting things about having my astigmatism corrected.

• I can pay more attention rather than  have my brain trying to make sense of everything I'm seeing at the same time.
• My hand eye coordination and balance will probably get a lot better.
• I have noticed already stairs don't swim around like they used to.
• Reading has become a lot easier.
• I have been a lot less fatigued at the end of the day.
• I have no idea how this will effect my drawings I presume it will effect them in a good way or there maybe some regression before I get the hang of it again. I have already drawn somethings but they haven't been overly complex so I couldn't see much difference. 

I think it will be very interesting to see how I progress now I have my glasses, I have heard people like me who have only had their astigmatism picked up as an adult say that glasses changed their life. I guess I will find out over time if that will be the case.