Tag: doodle

21andsensory Colouring Sheets

 

✨ LITTLE ANNOUNCEMENT  ✨

Something a bit different, I’ve decided to make some colouring sheets from my illustrations! Every week I am going to be putting a downloadable colouring sheet of one of my illustrations live on this dedicated page on my website. The first one that is live right now is the ‘Self Isolation Achievements’ (Autistic / Sensory Edition) please let me know if you colour them in and I’d LOVE to see photos – feel free to send to me / tag me and I’ll be sure to share! Pop them up as posters to remind yourself of your fab achievements.

I would super appreciate a small donation if you would like to download the printable PDF’s (I appreciate we are in a pandemic currently and totally understand if you are not able to donate – the PDF is still downloadable) there is a link to my newly created kofi account on the page.

 

Self Isolation Achievements ✅

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Hello everyone, I’m back again, this time with an illustration of some self isolation achievements. I know that all the news on TV and online seems to be constantly swirling around and being updated continually (which is fine) but it can be really difficult not to get anxious, stressed, upset and triggered by it all. I’m trying to hold on to the small positives each day and the little autistic and sensory achievements I have been making along the way.

Why not comment down below any wins or things you’ve done with your time (they can be big or small – everything counts).

I hope you are all doing okay and staying safe (as much as you can be with all this going on).

Doodling Session and Q+A ✏️

Hi everyone! This is a video of an Instagram Live drawing session I did during the week. I’ll be doing more Instagram Live drawing sessions where you can ask me questions – so go follow me over there too!

https://www.instagram.com/21andsensory/

ALSO:

Here is a link to another Instagram Live drawing session, this time I did it with the lovely Sophie from @curiosophie (8th May) and had a very chilled colouring session live ✏️

We coloured in each other’s artwork which was great fun. We thought it would be cool to hangout it acts as a lil’ distraction from everything that’s going on right now 🌍

We had some livestream issues – our connection kept dropping so this is the edited best bits!

Be sure to follow Sophie on her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/curiosophie/

Why shops can cause sensory overload…🛒

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Hi everyone I’m back again with a lil’ illustration…’Why shops can cause sensory overload’ 👀 I (secretly) struggle quite a lot in shops and supermarkets (when I say secretly I mean I’ve perfected the art of ‘masking’ my struggles!). There’s always SO much sensory input to deal with in shops and I wanted to try and mention a few of the things that can be overwhelming. Bigger supermarkets especially can be quite disorientating when so much is being thrown at me sensory-wise.

Every sense is sort of attacked all at once?! This means it can be very difficult to find the things you need as you have to visually wade through colourful shelves, deal with all sorts of noise, queues and crowds, smelly food counters…the list goes on!

I know there’s lots of good tips and tricks to helping with these busy environments such as using ear defenders or headphones, wearing a sunflower lanyard (UK initiative – to subtly let staff know you might need some extra help / consideration), using distractions like stim toys, etc…but do you have any other tips for surviving shops? Comment down below!

What design stuff I carry everyday: notebooks, stationary and tech!

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I thought I’d do a post on the everyday bits and pieces I carry around and the journal and notebook I use. I currently have a Vinyl cover weekly/monthly diary A6 size from MUJI – the Left page shows one week while the right page has a grid pattern for taking notes which I love, I usually set up to-do lists on the right side and plan out my days on the left side. I love doing little doodles on the grid side.

I also have a black A5 Moleskine journal with cream blank paper as my notebook / sketchbook. This is where I do all my @21andsensory illustrations in before I then recreate them in Procreate on my iPad Pro (10.5 inch) with my Apple Pencil. I love this little set-up. For my daily design work I use my MacBook Pro (Late 2013 – 13 inch) with the Adobe Creative Cloud suite (Adobe CC).

I have a slight obsession with fine liner pens – my current favs are the muji gel ink ballpoint pen (0.38pt) which you can buy refills for and the Uniball eye ub-157. I also have a ridiculous collection of STABILO black and coloured fineliners too in a range of point sizes.

My clear glasses (London Retro River – Crystal) are from Glasses Direct and they are a new addition to my glasses collection (I have another tortoise shell pair from Glasses direct and a pair I wear daily from Specsavers.)

My little apple earphones are what I use most days, as people stop by my desk at work alot and I can quickly take them out and hear people calling my name (I have a little mirror set up on my desk so I can see people coming so they don’t tap me on the shoulder!) I use my Sony WH-1000XM3 noise cancelling headphones sometimes although they pinch my glasses!

What do you carry along with you daily? Share in the comments down below!

Surviving the Festive / Social / Party Season!🎄

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Another little doodle from me: this time just some quick little tips on how to survive this extremely festive/social/party season!🎄

If I’m truly honest I find this particular time of year difficult due to my sensory difficulties and because I am autistic. I find family gatherings quite hard so I like to go hide in the toilet every so often to keep myself calm and stop myself from getting overwhelmed.

I’ve also learnt to say no to a lot more events this festive season (obviously in a nice/ polite way!) so I’ve avoided the work Christmas party and work team party (why so many parties?!). As I result I have been questioned beyond belief (eye roll) by certain colleagues but I’ve stood my ground. I don’t do parties or large social gatherings – never have, never will. And that’s okay.

I hope you have a lovely Christmas / festive season and thank you so much for all your support this year – it’s really meant a lot to me!

Public Transport Doodle ✏️

Coming back at you with another doodle, this time about coping on public transport! 🚌

I’ve had 3 (day long) training courses in London throughout November (you might have seen some photos on my Instagram Stories which are now under my ‘London Trip’ highlight) 🇬🇧Commuting is hard like generally (I don’t think anybody truly loves commuting especially not long distances) but commuting can be just that bit more difficult for those who have sensory issues and are autistic.

It can be loud (like underground tubes seem to squeal on the tracks in London 24/7…listen below!

Add to that the change in smells, proximity to other people and just general rush everyone in it can be very overwhelming. It’s disorientating at the best of times trying to find your way around train stations, bus stations, airports etc!

So my doodle above includes some things that have helped me before. Of course (as always) I can’t include everything in one small drawing and these thing may not help everyone but I thought I’d share the sensory aids I use. Any top tips for using (or just generally surviving) public transport? 🚃

Products from my doodle:

It’s that time of the year again: Halloween 🎃

It’s that time of the year again: Halloween 🎃 I hope everyone has a Halloween that suits them – whether you are going all out and dressing up, trick or treating or even partying (or if you’re just having a nice quiet night in with a book and a bath!)

I’ve done a little doodle above describing some of the things we autistic / sensory people struggle with when it gets to this time of year 🍂 It can be quite an overwhelming season (Halloween, Bonfire / Firework Night and then the Christmas festivities 😱) it all seems to follow one another in quick succession!

What is stimming? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi everyone 👋 this is a post in collaboration with the wonderful @agonyautie. Sara suggested working together on a post together all about stimming and what it looks like visually. Here are some wise words from @agonyautie:

‘Stop shaming stimming. Stimulate yourself through your senses. Have fun, Stim freely, be respectful of others and Stim Shame Free. Make sure to stim safely and stim boldly!’

I’ve tried to visually represent in my two illustrations ✏️ the wide variety of things that can be referred to as stims (which is short for self-regulatory behaviour). Stimming helps a person to self calm and process overwhelming environments. Some stims can be quite subtle such as hair twirling or chewing whereas others are more noticeable and can be destructive such as skin picking (dermatillomania) or hair pulling (Trichotillomania) which can cause damage.

It’s important to recognise that stimming safely (whether you are a child or adult) is okay and not something to ever be ashamed of. It should not be looked down on or discouraged. Go forth and stim freely! 🙌

Link to my original Instagram post here

Badges from Etsy! 🛍

I recently had a ‘lil look on @etsy as I wanted to get some cool badges I could wear on my hoodies and jackets that might represent me and maybe also highlight to other people about my sensory needs. Also I wanted to support some independent shops / artists and I always hear such good things about Etsy shops. So I somehow stumbled across these two lovely shops:

@Okaydoodle does the CUTEST badges 😍 I’m obsessed with the little speech bubble designs 💬 they are bold and simple and I really like the size of them – they don’t feel heavy and look great on a denim jacket!

@Doodlepeople make the beautiful badges that start with ‘Hello I am’ and come with so many different options! There really is something for everyone and I was so so impressed to find a badge relating to sensory issues 😍 and the suspected autistic one as well is lovely as you don’t feel like you have to have a diagnosis (or if your on a waiting list for an assessment) it just works really well.

Honestly recommend checking out both these shops (click on their links below!) postage was super fast for both shops and I really would recommend them! Have a little look at the badges in the slideshow below…

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