In this episode of Extra Lean, Rob and Jerzy discuss trust, assumptions we make when looking at others jobs, and question the assumption that getting work done isn't supposed to be fun. What triggered the conversation: an article full of animated gifs and venting jokes about the challenges consulting illustrators face.
In this episode of Extra Lean, Rob and Jerzy discuss how sometimes project research can get out of hand yet how can it not while you're learning new things while creating your project. When does all that preparation amass useful material versus being just a big old pile.
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy and Rob reflect on framing choices and how for each of us our twenties was when we learned how to take on different philosophies for new perspectives.
In this episode of Extra Lean, Rob and Jerzy discuss improving and recognizing both emotional honesty and blind spots in our creative projects.
Rob and Jerzy discuss sitting versus standing at the desk and the cumulative affect of experimenting with ways to be a little more active throughout the day. Also: how that thinking leads to gathering other tweaks and improvements to your gear.
Jerzy and Rob start this episode with a conversation about working in situations where skills are appreciated over roles. Then we close with the topic of intellectual bullying and wonder if or how "using the force" is a form of intellectual bullying.
In this Extra Lean Jerzy is fired-up and shares an annecdote with Rob about how a coffee shop conversation about classic cartoons leads to awkwardness. The kind of awkwardness where one earnest stranger loves the subject matter and when another is more interested in making fun. Tastes vary, yet two people with differing tastes have the option to find a way to connect via understanding one another's earnestness.
That description may be too mellow so I'll mention again: JERZY IS FIRED UP!
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy and Rob discuss tracking your sleep, lack of sleep, and how tracking different activities can lead to a new perspective on what you do whether that's sleep or art desk related.
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy shares a rebuttle and expansion with Rob about the recent Lean Into Art Cast "Everyone Doubts". Along the way we touch on how anyone can feel like an outsider, some take-aways form Jerzy's trip to TCAF.
Along the way, Jerzy shares a highly quotable observation as a strategy about where to begin facing the outsiderness once you've made something to share: "Put it in a place where people can find it".
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy and Rob discuss sincerity and wonder if there are things we're really supposed to outgrow as we grow older.
Jerzy and Rob discuss how Jerzy recently took LIA Quest 6: An A-Team of Your Own into his classroom. Rob wonders if we can also make use of this kind of game-like exercise in business situations. How can we engage in conflict with ourselves and others with more fun and less focus on fear and scarcity? Losing in public can be a scary thing.
Then as a very related bonus topic, we delve into practicing teaching. How do we practice the material, what happens when the material gets too familiar, how do we discover ways of presenting the material that works for the different audiences we work with?
Jerzy and Rob discuss services like see.me, gumroad, the idea of micro-patronage, and interesting uses of it. Were Scott McCloud's Reinventing Comics predictions right after all? Then we delve into understanding the value that we share with audiences as artists and different outlooks on asking for support: "help me!" vs. "be part of this!".
Why does the word "failure" carry such negative power? Many of us understand intuitively that failing is part of the process of learning, yet acknowledging failure out loud often makes us or others uncomfortable. This time Rob and Jerzy wonder aloud about the motives and assumptions behind our reactions to this divisive word, as well as the importance of choosing our battles wisely when helping others who are encountering their own failures.
Links mentioned:
What's the line between ranting and leading with passion? Jerzy and Rob discuss how a combination of thoughtful consideration and passion for a subject can be a useful recipe for leadership on one's field.
Jerzy and Rob wonder: "How do you not sound cold while trying to quickly answer an email?". This an other questions are the topic of the latest Extra Lean!
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy and Rob discuss client expectations, collaboration, and being way too sleepy to be at the grocery store.
In this episode of Extra Lean, Jerzy and Rob consider old choices and reflect on calling those choices "stupid" for a time, only to later think maybe they were just appropriate for the time. Special focus: brash choices of youth, forgiving ourselves, and how good hair mousse can be considered a reward.
Is it a trick or is it just a shift in point of view? Rob and Jerzy discuss ways to look at the tension between the creative person's classic stress management challenge: day job energy and night gig creative project effort.
Many creative projects get stuck in a definition-creation feedback loop. Rob and Jerzy chat about projects that find their voice mid stream, realistic anatomy in comics, and how Rob's a bit sad about Nintendo seeming a bit lost.
Rob picks Jerzy's brain for ideas about facilitation when you're way out-numbered in a classroom.