We've all heard the advice "practice makes better" and "show up every day". But I believe there are more factors that go into mastering a craft. One thing that I was missing out on was getting outside and exploring new places.

I needed real life experiences to draw from.

To push past this, I came up with an idea for a new personal project. I challenged myself to go out with my sketchbook and draw in a new place every weekend. I would let the environment tell me what and how to draw.

Setting up a productive workspace is no easy task. Maybe you have a desk where you do your creative work, but you still get distracted all the time and don't getting as much done as you want to. If you want to make your space more efficient for freelance & personal work, you'll love this post.

I asked a few of my most talented friends, lettering artists, and creative freelancers to bring me behind the scenes into their workspaces.

I screwed up. Big time.

About five years ago, I took on my first freelance client as a sophomore design student at Drexel University in Philly. I made so many mistakes. Lets face it. I had no idea what I was doing.

What happened since?

Two weeks ago, I launched The Optimist Project.

A few people have asked me about how it all came together, so this week I wanted to share a little peek behind the curtain. This is the story behind the story.

Today marks one year since the scariest, most intense day of my life. 

In one morning, I lost everything I owned and nearly escaped death. Now that it's been a full year, I wanted to share the story of what happened and what I've learned over the past year.

Why lettering? Is there a deeper reason behind this passion? What is it about drawing letters that is so satisfying? I've devoted thousands of hours into this pursuit. Clearly I should know this.

I started lettering because my past decisions and experiences led me to it. Duh. But why do I stick with it?

I don't have a single answer, but I did my best to break down the reasons why I continue in this pursuit.

Side projects are one of the best ways to improve your skills. The best thing about them is that you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself to get them done. Not to mention, you have complete creative freedom in this type of work, which is nearly impossible (and not always appropriate) for most paid jobs.

This is not to say that side projects are easy. In fact, around this time last year I was really struggling with staying on top of my personal work...

I knew I wanted to put in the time and focus on the work, but I didn't like the idea of sacrificing my precious summer sitting indoors at my desk. After all, in my region the beautiful weather only comes around for a brief window of time.

Every time I would go out to enjoy the weather, I would feel a bit guilty because I knew I was going back on my commitment. On the other hand, these adventures were necessary to inspire my creative work in the first place. It was quite the catch 22.

Instead of trying relentlessly to find that perfect balance of work and relaxation, I came up with the idea for a new series that would strive to blend the two seamlessly.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'm never satisfied with the first sketch of a lettering piece, so it's pretty obvious why refinement is such a crucial step. But why do I choose to do it this away from the computer?

Simply put, I make better, more confident decisions when working with my hands. It's just easier for me to solve the problems well by hand than having to start dealing with anchor points in Illustrator.

That's not to say I have never used a computer for refining my lettering. Sometimes I'll draw the skeleton for my lettering crooked by accident, so I'll scan it in and correct this in Photoshop. But then I typically print it back out and keep working by hand. I use the computer for what it's good for, and use my hands for everything else.

Sketching and refining by hand also tends to result in more happy accidents that really enhance the piece.

Sure, I'm not able to undo or tweak things as easily with my hands, but sometimes it's best not to have a million options. Also, drawing letters by hand helps me to better understand the letterforms and how they were created in the first place.