Roy Blumenthal is The Drawing Monkey

In the Sunday Times of 1 May 2016, Margaret Harris wrote a profile on Kevin Clarence. As director at Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre, he’s a conference maven. I figured the article was evocative, and would be cool to interpret as a sketchnote. Here’s the article… I picked the information Kevin spoke about that I thought was most pertinent. In my work as a visual facilitator, I have to listen very accurately to what’s being said in any particular room. I can’t draw EVERYTHING…Continue Reading “My sketchnote of a profile of Kevin Clarence of Birchwood Hotel” →

If you want to see your business differently, or help your clients see their business differently, I invite you to do a VALUE PROPOSITION DESIGN mini workshop with me. We’ll do three sessions of between half-an-hour and an hour each. The first session embraces what you offer. The second session embraces what your customers need. The third session looks at the intersection between your offer and their need. (The third session is where the magic happens.) This workshop is based on the book, VALUE PROPOSITION…Continue Reading “A new mini workshop for you to find a new way to understand your offer… Value Proposition Design” →

People are curious about how I make art digitally. This is my setup. When I work at conferences and workshops, I generally have my machine on my easel. What I’ve left off this picture is my little magic gadget that I plug into the venue’s video projector… a Miracast Dongle. It turns the projector into a wireless receiver, which allows me to replicate my desktop onto a massive screen… with absolutely no wires! I love my technology. And so do my clients. Makes it reallllllly…Continue Reading “The technological powerhouse behind my digital artmaking” →

As usual, my trusty Cintiq Companion 2 was on my lap desk in the front row at The Market Theatre (http://markettheatre.co.za/). NiceWork (http://www.nicework.co.za/nice-blog/), Ross Drakes’s company, puts on all of the Creative Mornings events in Johannesburg. So, of course, their team were there bright and early. Coffee was made by the third best barista in South Africa. Tasted like the best to me, not third best. But Ross explained that it’s only cos she hasn’t been entering the competition for very long. So chances are…Continue Reading “#jhb_cm My sketchnotes of today’s #CreativeMornings talk by Fiona Ramsay: “Language — Giving Voice to Souls”” →

This is an info sheet I ask people at events to fill out for me when they’re in my caricaturing queue. It makes it really easy for me to avoid that awkward gazing into their eyes to find out what colour their wondrous orbs are. And it also ensures that I have their email address, and the proper spelling of their names.

On Tuesday 3 November 2015, I headed off to Bedford Centre, carrying my trusty Moleskine. I was heading for Bennigan’s, a restaurant one floor above Exclusive Books. The event was something I’ve never attended… some sort of bookish chat by publishers to people interested in such things. For R35 entry fee, everyone gets a cup of coffee (or tea), and a generous slice of cake. I had no idea what to expect. What I saw was loads of books. And loads of book club members….Continue Reading “Exclusive Books “Coffee Mornings” — November” →

If a client wants me to do an animated caricature, there are a few things I need from them. So I prepared this checksheet to make it easy for them to collect the right stuff. I need a variety of photographs to use as reference. I need them to write a script, and give me a copy of that script. And I need them to record themselves reading the script three separate times, each time giving it a slightly different slant. I then take all…Continue Reading “I’ve created an “Animated Caricature Needs Sheet” for my clients who want me to make animated avatars of them” →

On Friday morning, as part of the Johannesburg chapter of the worldwide phenomenon, CREATIVE MORNINGS, John Vlismas talked about “Shock”. He’s one of South Africa’s top stand up comedians. He’s also a painter. And a businessperson. (Find him on Twitter. He’s @FortyShort.) I was in the front row at The Market Theatre with my Cintiq Companion 2 on my lap desk, recording some of his key points.

“4 Questions — Roy’s Briefing Worksheet”. This is something my clients and I fill in during our briefing meeting. It’s a tool to ensure that we both understand the communications objectives of the thing I’ve been hired to create. When I get hired by a client to make a visual communication — whether it’s an illustration, or a visual facilitation of a conference — I like to have a clear brief. It’s important both for me AND my client to be able to measure my…Continue Reading “The Four Questions I Ask in a Briefing Session” →