Sketchplanations
@sketchplanations.bsky.social
Explaining the world one sketch at a time, i.e. very slowly, but steadily. By Jono Hey
All the things: sketchplanations.com
All the things: sketchplanations.com
A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.
— G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
James Clear, in his latest 3-2-1 newsletter, may have found for me the source of this “Only dead fish go with the flow”
My previous attribution was “a sign in a pub in Wales” =)
— G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
James Clear, in his latest 3-2-1 newsletter, may have found for me the source of this “Only dead fish go with the flow”
My previous attribution was “a sign in a pub in Wales” =)
January 26, 2026 at 3:56 PM
A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.
— G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
James Clear, in his latest 3-2-1 newsletter, may have found for me the source of this “Only dead fish go with the flow”
My previous attribution was “a sign in a pub in Wales” =)
— G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man
James Clear, in his latest 3-2-1 newsletter, may have found for me the source of this “Only dead fish go with the flow”
My previous attribution was “a sign in a pub in Wales” =)
For an all-seeing, all-knowing being, the future is as clear as the past
From Pierre-Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities
From Pierre-Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities
January 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM
For an all-seeing, all-knowing being, the future is as clear as the past
From Pierre-Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities
From Pierre-Simon Laplace, A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities
Seems like a reasonable time to share our friend Mercator and its effect on Greenland.
Excerpt from Big Ideas Little Pictures
Excerpt from Big Ideas Little Pictures
January 22, 2026 at 2:38 PM
Seems like a reasonable time to share our friend Mercator and its effect on Greenland.
Excerpt from Big Ideas Little Pictures
Excerpt from Big Ideas Little Pictures
I released some new pieces recently. Something calming and peace-ful to listen to in case, like me, you're in need of it.
You can listen on all platforms and here:
ditto.fm/foundling-re...
Hope you like it!
You can listen on all platforms and here:
ditto.fm/foundling-re...
Hope you like it!
January 21, 2026 at 11:41 AM
I released some new pieces recently. Something calming and peace-ful to listen to in case, like me, you're in need of it.
You can listen on all platforms and here:
ditto.fm/foundling-re...
Hope you like it!
You can listen on all platforms and here:
ditto.fm/foundling-re...
Hope you like it!
Never look at dunes in the same way again.
And other fun geography-related sketches.
And other fun geography-related sketches.
January 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Never look at dunes in the same way again.
And other fun geography-related sketches.
And other fun geography-related sketches.
"Got a pile of books by the bed? Stack of unreads staring at you from the shelves? This is one of my favourite 'when there’s a word for something very specific' cases: tsundoku"
sketchplanations.substack.com/p/tsundoku-a...
Inspiration from the brilliant: @tomgauld.bsky.social
sketchplanations.substack.com/p/tsundoku-a...
Inspiration from the brilliant: @tomgauld.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 10:13 AM
"Got a pile of books by the bed? Stack of unreads staring at you from the shelves? This is one of my favourite 'when there’s a word for something very specific' cases: tsundoku"
sketchplanations.substack.com/p/tsundoku-a...
Inspiration from the brilliant: @tomgauld.bsky.social
sketchplanations.substack.com/p/tsundoku-a...
Inspiration from the brilliant: @tomgauld.bsky.social
Contentment is what you have relative to what you want.
— @morganhousel.bsky.social
From his book The Art of Spending Money
— @morganhousel.bsky.social
From his book The Art of Spending Money
January 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Contentment is what you have relative to what you want.
— @morganhousel.bsky.social
From his book The Art of Spending Money
— @morganhousel.bsky.social
From his book The Art of Spending Money
Plan ahead
Plan ahead and avoid mistakes like this.
Writing a card? Try air-writing first.
'Plan ahead' is also a nice example of a pleonasm.
And I've lost count of how many times I've found this technique useful to draw a bike.
Plan ahead and avoid mistakes like this.
Writing a card? Try air-writing first.
'Plan ahead' is also a nice example of a pleonasm.
And I've lost count of how many times I've found this technique useful to draw a bike.
January 7, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Plan ahead
Plan ahead and avoid mistakes like this.
Writing a card? Try air-writing first.
'Plan ahead' is also a nice example of a pleonasm.
And I've lost count of how many times I've found this technique useful to draw a bike.
Plan ahead and avoid mistakes like this.
Writing a card? Try air-writing first.
'Plan ahead' is also a nice example of a pleonasm.
And I've lost count of how many times I've found this technique useful to draw a bike.
Some thoughts and prompts for goal-setting and reflection at the start of the year.
More about SMART goals in this week's newsletter.
Wishing you a smashing 2026.
Jono
More about SMART goals in this week's newsletter.
Wishing you a smashing 2026.
Jono
January 4, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Some thoughts and prompts for goal-setting and reflection at the start of the year.
More about SMART goals in this week's newsletter.
Wishing you a smashing 2026.
Jono
More about SMART goals in this week's newsletter.
Wishing you a smashing 2026.
Jono
An often-quoted adage goes: Doing business without marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but no one else does.
December 31, 2025 at 11:55 AM
An often-quoted adage goes: Doing business without marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but no one else does.
How do you balance having two big stars in your film? Diagonal billing, that's how.
December 28, 2025 at 2:01 PM
How do you balance having two big stars in your film? Diagonal billing, that's how.
Are you passionate about something? Do you know something inside out where others barely give it a glance?
Prints:
www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1693...
Prints:
www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1693...
December 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Are you passionate about something? Do you know something inside out where others barely give it a glance?
Prints:
www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1693...
Prints:
www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1693...
And if it's not a tradition, well, it should be 🎁 📚 ☕️
December 24, 2025 at 10:40 AM
And if it's not a tradition, well, it should be 🎁 📚 ☕️
In the N hemisphere I love yesterday’s solstice as it signals the lowest point for the sun starting back towards the higher—towards longer days and more sunlight. But then I love the summer solstice for its wonderful long days too. We win either way!
December 22, 2025 at 3:56 PM
In the N hemisphere I love yesterday’s solstice as it signals the lowest point for the sun starting back towards the higher—towards longer days and more sunlight. But then I love the summer solstice for its wonderful long days too. We win either way!
Cream first or jam first?
As someone with more ties to Devon, I’ve always gone the cream then jam route. But I know that some people swear by the other way. Either way, I can vouch for both ways being delicious.
Which way do you go? Cream first or jam first?
As someone with more ties to Devon, I’ve always gone the cream then jam route. But I know that some people swear by the other way. Either way, I can vouch for both ways being delicious.
Which way do you go? Cream first or jam first?
December 21, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Cream first or jam first?
As someone with more ties to Devon, I’ve always gone the cream then jam route. But I know that some people swear by the other way. Either way, I can vouch for both ways being delicious.
Which way do you go? Cream first or jam first?
As someone with more ties to Devon, I’ve always gone the cream then jam route. But I know that some people swear by the other way. Either way, I can vouch for both ways being delicious.
Which way do you go? Cream first or jam first?
It's disability history month in the UK. Here's my favourite sketch and something to think about.
December 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM
It's disability history month in the UK. Here's my favourite sketch and something to think about.
Creative people display contradictory personality traits. This finding has stuck with me since I read it over 20 years ago in psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.
December 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Creative people display contradictory personality traits. This finding has stuck with me since I read it over 20 years ago in psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.
Hear from “probably the UK’s greatest statistician”, and author of The Art of Uncertainty, Sir David Spiegelhalter.
This episode was so fun and interesting I’ve listened to it twice and enjoyed it the second time as much as the first. Find it here:
podcast.sketchplanations.com/microlives-t...
This episode was so fun and interesting I’ve listened to it twice and enjoyed it the second time as much as the first. Find it here:
podcast.sketchplanations.com/microlives-t...
December 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Hear from “probably the UK’s greatest statistician”, and author of The Art of Uncertainty, Sir David Spiegelhalter.
This episode was so fun and interesting I’ve listened to it twice and enjoyed it the second time as much as the first. Find it here:
podcast.sketchplanations.com/microlives-t...
This episode was so fun and interesting I’ve listened to it twice and enjoyed it the second time as much as the first. Find it here:
podcast.sketchplanations.com/microlives-t...
Latitude and longitude: How to remember which is which
December 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Latitude and longitude: How to remember which is which
Not too late as an idea?
Concept from Pragmatic Parent
Concept from Pragmatic Parent
December 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Not too late as an idea?
Concept from Pragmatic Parent
Concept from Pragmatic Parent
"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."
Ideas are different from things. They're additive and abundant.
Ideas are different from things. They're additive and abundant.
November 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM
"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas."
Ideas are different from things. They're additive and abundant.
Ideas are different from things. They're additive and abundant.
It's National Tree Week. Here are some sketches about trees.
November 26, 2025 at 11:55 AM
It's National Tree Week. Here are some sketches about trees.
"somewhere between that abstract red square, and the real kind of butcher heart, is the graphic shape that kind of looks like that, and kind of looks like that, and it's just right to transport this idea of a symbol for love."
— Christoph Niemann, from Abstract
@christophniemann.bsky.social
— Christoph Niemann, from Abstract
@christophniemann.bsky.social
November 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"somewhere between that abstract red square, and the real kind of butcher heart, is the graphic shape that kind of looks like that, and kind of looks like that, and it's just right to transport this idea of a symbol for love."
— Christoph Niemann, from Abstract
@christophniemann.bsky.social
— Christoph Niemann, from Abstract
@christophniemann.bsky.social
"Pillars of Hope" is a tongue-in-cheek name for steel starter bars, also known as starter rods or rebar extensions, that protrude from the roofs of houses after construction.
November 19, 2025 at 11:55 AM
"Pillars of Hope" is a tongue-in-cheek name for steel starter bars, also known as starter rods or rebar extensions, that protrude from the roofs of houses after construction.
Write a newsletter? Perhaps you can relate.
Don't lose heart.
PS You can subscribe at sketchplanations.com/subscribe
Don't lose heart.
PS You can subscribe at sketchplanations.com/subscribe
November 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Write a newsletter? Perhaps you can relate.
Don't lose heart.
PS You can subscribe at sketchplanations.com/subscribe
Don't lose heart.
PS You can subscribe at sketchplanations.com/subscribe