1. The Emoji Expression Project
I started a side project last year where I drew emojis as ‘cartoon faces’. It seemed like a fun way to practice drawing Faces, Expressions and Design Principles all in 1 go.
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_7fe65c4bff9644ce941d19eb4b33209emv2-538x1024.jpeg)
I just got back on it and intend to do all 108 expressions (gonna be tough)
Now, this is a side project I’d like to run and use when I don’t have any ideas to draw. (Got this technique from Jake parker who often recommends having side gigs like this running to refresh your work while working on main projects)
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_d2817ffc8a22448481aca055cb2619dfmv2-1024x1024.jpeg)
Here are some questions I’m keeping in mind when picking side projects to flirt around with 🤔
– Is it fun?
– Is it novel/interesting enough to stick with it?
– Does it make money? Or bring more people to your brand?
– Can this live outside of the social media world and still be legitimate?
– Does it add to your body of work?
– Is this a distraction or a good thing to work on?
2. Miyazaki’s Shauna’s Journey
I recently got this little book by Miyazaki and I absolutely love the loose watercolour art in it.
Here are some cool images 👇
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_5590c0d2fa0140b7b425df55afe1d7fcmv2-1024x756.jpeg)
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_154746ee19d946cd83a861c6827d85demv2-1024x1024.jpeg)
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_65f5b2d8d0664923a5abb636f33735cbmv2-1024x720.jpeg)
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_c0ff3da4fd0342d4ad8b94b2a9d84ee3mv2-1024x1024.jpeg)
![](https://keshart.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/1ec1e9_35cfa946b66346849282427305e5a5e5mv2-1024x1024.jpeg)
Apparently, Miyazaki made this book as a prototype for his film Nautica, changing the story, plot and loosely tying out the designs before committing to a full feature film.
That sounds like a solid MVP (minimum Viable Product) to me 🙂
3. Favourite Quote of the Week
“If you assume your time isn’t worth while, what happens is you don’t sit around sort of randomly in a state of responsibility-less bliss. What you do is, you suffer existentially. That seems like a stupid solution.”
– Jordan B Peterson
That’s it for this week folks!
See you in the next one 🙂
Best,
Kesh.
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