Welcome To The Not-So-Secret Blog Of Aurelia Nobleia

A fan writes in with a question:

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"I have come across your page and have fallen in love!! Are you open to custom designs?"

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I get this question every week. And if you’ve ever wrote in asking me this, then you know the answer is…

… umm…

… no.

But it reminds me of a story hubby once told me of when he was working as a graphic designer a long, long time ago.

His clients used to ask him to create these designs for them.

And after he was done, they’d take a look and go…

"Umm… I’m not sure… could you change this around, this around, this around?"

And my hubby’d reluctantly change it.

Because each progression would make the work uglier and uglier.

But when you’re working with a client, you don’t really have much choice.

And after he was done with that, he’d show the corporate client, who is a high ranking executive at a well-known company, again… and they would say…

"Umm… I’m not sure… let me ask my mom. Oh, my mom says she doesn’t like it. Could you change this around, this around, this around?"

And eventually, the design became so convoluted and full of unicorns and rainbows and kitties that my hubby would hate himself for creating it.

And that’s how he went to sleep every night.

Full of self-loathing and doubt.

Anyways, 10 other reasons why I don’t do any custom work:

1. I can’t create great art if I’m not creating something I want and like.

2. I don’t want to do stuff that doesn’t excite me.

3. I don’t want to have to change up the art I create, making it worse every time.

4. I don’t really care about money. Well, I do… a bit. But not that much.

5. I know that I’m going to procrastinate on it and take forever to finish.

6. It takes time away from other projects I’d rather do.

7. It gives me something to write about. 😉

8. Some clients are good. But some of them are mean. I don’t want to spend time filtering out the meanies.

9. I can’t really be as creative as I want to be.

10. I want to go to bed at night knowing that I did my best work.

Well…

While I don’t do custom work.

I do take suggestions. And interesting ideas.

So if you have any have ideas you’d like to see and buy in the store, feel free to send me a message and…

… if your idea strikes lightning and inspiration into my soul and fills me with divine revelations…

… I might think about it. 🙂

He he.

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Sloth Bunny No Work"

Dear Friend,

Here’s a little story to brighten up your new year…

A while back:

I was reading a biography about Walt Disney.

And in the book, it mentioned how there was this time at Disney’s peak where…

… they were having massive success with their movies.

And everything was going well revenue-wise.

But not health-wise for Walt.

Because of all the years of long sleepless nights, nerve-wracking work, and mental over-exertions, he was at the end of his rope.

So…

I don’t remember who, but I think it was his wife who told him to take a year of vacation and just get away from it all.

So he took the vacation.

And…

Traveled.

Experienced new things.

New places. New people. And…

Took up some new hobbies!

For example:

He unexpectedly discovered that he was fascinated with trains.

So he eventually went to a train parts manufacturing factory and spent lots of time there watching them build the parts.

They eventually gave Walt the chance to build some of the parts himself.

And everyone was shocked at how amazingly talented he was at it.

Along the way…

Walt discovered that he actually loved making mechanical stuff way more than he enjoyed drawing and animation.

So when he went back home:

He got himself some train tracks. And set them up all around the house. And he got himself a small train too.

He put everything together and started playing with his real-life "train set" every day… riding it around and around while relaxing and watching life go by…

He worked on it…

… and tweaked it…

… and made it better daily…

… and just had the time of his life playing with his life-size "toy" train.

He used to have these dinner parties where he’d invite all his friends and neighbors.

And they’d come to his house along with all the kids.

And ride on the train.

Food was served. Ice cream. Hot dogs. Burgers.

And they just had the time of their lives.

And so did Walt Disney.

That year actually became a major turning point in his life.

Because it re-ignited the fire in him, and this was the "starter fluid" that inspired the birth of…

… Disneyland!

Which went on to become, in many ways, even bigger than a lot of the Disney movies.

And it all started because Walt took a year to get away from it all… connect with himself again… and discover new things he truly enjoyed.

So, wanna have the year of your life this year?

Even if you’ve been bordering on burnout the last few years?

Spend more time reconnecting and rediscovering yourself.

Find new things and activities you truly love.

Healthy things, of course.

And just have fun enjoying them while happily watching the days go by.

You never know.

You might just create the next Disneyland.

Oh, and if you need art to decorate your new attraction?

I’ve been having fun doing what I love too. 🙂

Lots of new drawings up in the store now:

https://turnip.co/store

Sincerely,
aurelia nobleia
"future disneyland decorator"

P.S. I hope you enjoyed the free gifts I sent you for Christmas last week. 🙂

I’ve gotten a few emails gushing about how cute they are, and how much people like them!

If you didn’t see them, they might have fallen through the cracks into your spam folder…

*tap* *tap* *tap*

My hubby turned his head.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

I looked up with a smile.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

I continued tapping away…

… on my phone.

"Whatcha doing?" hubby asked.

I shifted in my seat. My paws slowly turned the phone around so he could see. And his eyes widened instantly.

"OH… MY… GOSH!!! You made this yourself?!?"

I nodded my head vigorously.

"This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. You can actually draw your own smartphone wallpaper? OMG, OMG, OMG!"

I nodded my head even more vigorously.

"Wow. I wish I could draw my own smartphone wallpaper. It would be so cool. It would have lots of robots and dinosaurs and everything. And they would fight. And tear the screen apart. And everything would be messy and nice. Hey, should we draw lots of these incredible smartphone wallpapers and give them away as Christmas gifts? Maybe lots of people would like them."

By this time, I had nodded my head so much, it had almost fallen off my head.

Oooff….

Good ol’ hubby.

He’s quiet and reserved most of the time. But when he sees lovely art he likes, he can’t stop gushing like a fountain.

Even now, he’s still randomly taking my phone over in his paws and looking at the screen, mesmerized.

He he.

Anyway:

This is why I love being able to draw.

You can literally draw yourself anything. You can draw your own wallpaper. You can draw on your walls (which I actually do). You can draw on your sneakers. You can even draw on your food (with ketchup).

But if you can’t draw?

Well…

… I guess…

… that’s what my store is for, but…

… hey, don’t worry about that, because…

Me and hubby put a few lovely wallpaper illustrations together for you as a Christmas gift!

Just to say thank you for all your support this year.

I drew them all myself.

Thanks so much for supporting my art! I appreciate it so much! :O

So:

I drew 1 for smartphones.

And 1 for desktop computers.

The one for smartphones comes in two colors – black and blue.

I hope you enjoy them! 🙂

I’m using them on my smartphone and computer right now, by the way.

And I love the way they look.

I hope you do too!

Yay!

Oh, right…

The links, the links:

– Click here to download my hand-drawn Christmas smartphone wallpaper in black

– Click here to download my hand-drawn Christmas smartphone wallpaper in blue

– Click here to download my hand-drawn Christmas desktop computer wallpaper.

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with all your family and friends!

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Bunny Who Can Draw"

P.S. They’re for personal use only. Don’t be selling them. LOL! 😛

My lips curl upwards.

A flood of sales flashes across the screen.

Messages pop up ceaselessly as I man the store front alone. The barrage of questions overwhelms my soul.

Ah….

The wonders…

… of last minute gift getting…

Happiness continues to curl my lips. Higher, yet higher.

I smile not because of the never-ending stream of sales. But because they remind me… of how much I love last minute gift getting too.

The pumping of my bunny heart against the sound of the ticking clock.

The churning of mental gears within my furry head.

The dinging of new email receipts hitting my inbox soon after.

Last minute gift getting…

… the ultimate fun!

Yet sometimes so lonely.

No, not for me. But for those who miss out. Who got all their gifts so early.

Poor you. 🙁

Well, worry not…

I didn’t forget.

I prepared a last minute gift for you too.

It’s something incredibly delightful…

… that you can carry around with you everywhere you go, as you ride your reindeer sleigh through the cold winter days.

It’ll warm your heart every time you see it. And those around you too.

Yet it captures the essence of the cold…

A special gift just for you:

I’ll give it to you tomorrow.

On Christmas day. 🙂

So be sure to check your mail…

Or your spam folder if you don’t find it…

Now back I go… to my gift getting flow… so I can spread holiday cheer… even though I have no reindeer…

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
“Master Procrastinator”

In the depths of Noble Bunny Manor…

… lies a little brown door.

Made of wood, the door handle has long become rusty. It is apparent that this door has not been in use for a long time.

It’s a door that I never open.

Nor does my hubby open it.

But you may be wondering:

"What’s inside?"

And the answer to that may shock you.

Within that tiny little room, behind that tiny little door, lies hundreds and hundreds of ugly little spiders who have made the room their abode.

But that’s not all that’s in the room.

Originally, the room was meant as a substitute attic (since we don’t have an attic), and was used to store antique furniture that we never used.

That furniture is still in that room today.

Since the furniture is antique, could they be possibly worth a lot?

No one knows.

Because… over the years… because of disuse… too many spiders started taking over the room.

And since we’re scared of most bugs, eventually there was no one brave enough to open the door and take the furniture out for appraisal.

So within that room…

… perhaps lies a fortune.

Or maybe not?

No one knows.

Because no one is brave enough to open the door and check.

But one thing’s for sure:

If you ever visit my store, and you notice me selling furniture there…

… know that…

… someone was brave enough to walk into that tiny little room at last…

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Arachnophobic Artist"

P.S. It won’t be me! That’s for sure.

Have you ever slaved away for hours, and days, and weeks, and months over a single project…

… and you put it out to the world, maybe in your store…

… and all you hear is crickets?

While on the other hand:

Sometimes you just sloppily release something quick for fun, and put it out there.

And…

*BOOM*

It explodes.

Everyone loves it.

And it becomes an almost instant bestseller.

Ever had that happen to you?

Yeah, it happens to me a lot.

But this always reminds me that it’s not about how much effort you put into a piece. Sometimes, for some reason, things just click.

And sometimes they don’t.

Who knows why?

It reminds me of a talk by world famous music entrepreneur, Derek Sivers.

In the talk, he mentions how when he first got started in his career as a musician, he released albums of his songs, and did everything he could to get his music famous. He performed live events, knocked on doors, made connections, did all the marketing he could.

For years.

Crickets.

No bite.

No response.

Until one day, he decided to just throw in the towel.

And switch to a new project.

Within days of that new beginning?

*BOOM*

It was like an overnight bestseller.

People kept throwing money at him. Non-stop. For years. And his new musical project, a website called CD Baby, became known throughout the world.

The moral of the story:

We are often told that we should persist, keep on going, and never give up. But it’s not about persistently and stubbornly doing the same things over and over again. In the words of Einstein, that would be insanity.

Rather, it’s about persistently experimenting and improving until you get the results you want.

So if you’re putting your work out there…

… and you’re not getting the attention you want…

… and all you hear is crickets…

… maybe it’s time to make some adjustments.

Perhaps it’s time for a new experiment.

Perhaps a change of pace, or a change of direction.

Maybe even a new project.

Just remember.

In the words of well-known Disney and National Geographic artist Lee White:

"Don’t try to polish a turd."

Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Chameleon-Bunny Hybrid"

P.S. This masterpiece has been one of my most recent overnight bestsellers. I really enjoyed making it. But never expected the response I’ve been getting. Wow!