What I've learnt from participating in #the100dayproject

I challenged myself to participate and complete #the100dayproject and I did it. Sure, there were moments of doubt and dread along the way but I pushed through and drew 100 eye sketches in 100 days. Okay, technically speaking, I did it in less than 100 days because I just wanted to get it out of the way but you know, give or take a few days. *winks*

Now lots of people have successfully completed #the100dayproject over the years but it's my first time so here's a summary of what I've learnt from participating in #the100dayproject in 2019.

Eye sketch 100/100

1. Being specific in your creative project will help you to keep on track.

Initially, I thought that I should just challenge myself to be creative for 100 days straight. Not be too hard on myself. Keep the stress levels down. You know, slacker mentality. *LOL*

I suppose that would work if you don't create that often but I was already challenging myself everyday to be creative in other aspects of my life so my goal needed to be really specific for me to achieve a breakthrough. Of some sort. So I went with something I loved doing, was already doing but amped it up to see if I could improve dramatically in 100 days.

Eye sketch 22/100

2. Your goal should be challenging but totally doable if you work at it.

I'm not one to shy away from hard work but I decided to work with small eye sketches so that the task at hand won't seem too daunting, I can really work on the details and can totally catch up if I missed any days. This format also made it portable for me to work on it on-the-go especially when I was travelling.

Sketch 6/100

3. Be kind to yourself.

Not every piece needs to be a masterpiece.

There were days I was just too tired at the end of the day to work on something challenging so I "cheated" and did a quick sketch just to keep up with the scheduled days. Not my finest work for sure.

As time progressed, I realized that I shouldn't be so hard on myself on a daily basis. I decided that I didn't want to do lacklustre sketches that do nothing to improve my drawings so I gave myself permission to "skip" days and catch up later with somewhat decent pieces at the very least. And that worked out much better. I planned ahead and got a headstart on sketches when I had free time. It's amazing how not starting with a blank piece of paper can just push you forward.

Sketch 54/100

4. Keep it fun and interesting for you.

Let's keep it real. Drawing the same subject matter repeatedly gets stale fast. And you do not want muscle memory to set in and for every piece to end up looking suspiciously like the last one.

For me, I went in with different art supplies, tried out different eye angles, worked with different paper substrates and experimented with various colour combos to "force" myself to learn with every sketch. I'm proud to say that I did not waste a single sheet of paper throughout the whole process. Even when things went awry, I did my best to "salvage" the drawing and make it look somewhat decent. *Gives self pat on the back...Mother Earth smiles in approval...triumphant music plays in the background*

Sketch 25/100

Sketch 41/100

Sketch 87/100

5. Learn from your "mistakes" and try again.

There were some eye angles that I struggled with but I tried to improve on them by working on the same reference photos but tweaking the colours and varying the angles slightly. Working on different substrates also yielded different results.

Sketch 71/100

6. I didn't expect to fall back in love with old art supplies.

I didn't buy any new art supplies for this endeavour but chose to revisit supplies I already own, challenging myself to use them in new ways. In the process, I learnt to love them again. Like Copic Markers. And now I can say that I've used every single Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils I own at least ONCE. Yes, 150 of them.

In summation, I think that #the100dayproject is a great creative challenge to try. Sure, you can do it at anytime but knowing that thousands of creatives are doing it at the same time is like having a personal cheering team behind you. I think I might just do it again in 2020. Probably not eye sketches though. Maybe dessert drawings...I have so many references on my phone. *hehehe*

Will you join me in #the100dayproject in 2020? 

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This week's #the100dayproject update

Here we are again with the weekly update on #the100dayproject. :)

81/100. Currently enjoying using my Copic Markers for drawing the eye and adding the base colours, using my Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils to blend it all in and Posca paint marker for the highlights.

Struggled with 82/100 because I went in a little too hard with the purple. Tried to salvage it somehow...SpongeBob thinks I did an okay job. *winks*

Really wanted to get the iris to look glassy for 83/100.

Attempted another bloody eye for 84/100.

Practising another eye angle for 85/100.

86/100. Another eye I had to salvage after I went in too heavy-handed with the blues in the iris.

Had fun with the highlights for 87/100. :)


13 more to go....I'm pretty excited!*winks*

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Weekly update on #the100dayproject

Hello there friends! Ready for another run of eye sketches? *winks*

75/100. These days I no longer sketch my eyes with a graphite pencil. I just go straight in with whatever media I want to use. At first, it was just pure laziness. Then I realized that I didn't need to pencil sketch first. Guess it happens when you keep drawing eyes. *LOL*

For this one, I started bold strokes with my Copic Markers. And went in with Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils to refine the details and a white pen for highlights.

76/100. Okay...this looks like a really tired eye. It was really the overzealous use of a hot pink coloured pencil. *hehehe*

For 77/100, I challenged myself not to use black at all. I could do dark brown, dark blue, dark purple but no black. It was hard. I like to use black.

For 78/100, I struggled a bit to get the iris looking right. I cheated by blurring out the edges and adding highlights.

A sad crying eye for 79/100, reflecting an emotionally draining day I had. Nothing like having a crying "feeling sorry for yourself" session to let out the frustration, right?

Still trying to figure out the eye angle for 80/100.

OMG. Can you believe it? 20 more eye sketches to go!!!!

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This week's update on #the100dayproject

Another week, another update on #the100dayproject.

Going for the blues for 67/100.

Playing with neutrals (sort of) for 68/100.

Back to my comfort zone for 69/100.

Tried to be adventurous for 70/100. Yes, the pastels came out to play...along with the fixative spray and lots of mess to clean up. But it was fun and challenged me a little.

Tried a different paper (Canson Mi-Teintes) with Copic Markers and Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils for 71/100.

Apparently I love blue eyes...72/100.

This one was actually done much earlier (yep...a spare eye in case I couldn't find time that day) but I posted it as my 73/100.

A monochromatic purple eye for 74/100.

It was a fun week of eye drawing.and showing some love to my art supplies. :)
Happy weekend friends!

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A quick update on #the100dayproject

So it took me a super loooooong time to compile the last update on my eye sketches for #the100dayproject. I've decided to do a weekly update instead. Officially we are on Day 66 so I can see a glimpse of light at the distant end of the tunnel! *winks*

Here is 55/100.

Now I really hated this mixed media paper from Canson so I forced myself to use the pad up for #the100dayproject. It is supposed to take wet and dry media well but every time I used it, it peeled and I would have little bits of paper fiber coming off (I was using mostly watersoluble media). Well, I've since changed my mind because apparently, it works wonders with Copic markers! The paper likes alcohol ink markers! 

Of course, with my new-found discovery, I had to test it out a little bit more for 56/100, right? I mean, that's how we learn...*winks*

More testing for 57/100. ;)

Took a break from the Copic markers for 58/100.

Went with some watersoluble markers for 59/100.

Back to Copics for 60/100.

Worked on a different eye angle for 61/100.

Hmmm..another one with Copic markers and coloured pencils for 62/100.

Attempted another eye angle for 63/100.

A little purple obsessed...64/100.

Tried a bloodshot eye. Very challenging. 65/100.

And last but not last, watersoluble markers and coloured pencils for 66/100.

Happy weekend friends!

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Has it been a month? My progress on #the100dayproject

Apparently it has been a month since my last update on #the100dayproject.

I don't want to lie. There were some days when I got inspired and did a few sketches at a go while there were blah days when I just didn't work on any eye sketches at all.

You might want to grab a drink or a snack because this is a long one. 28 eye sketches. *winks*

This was 29/100.

30/100. The one where I went a little crazy with the blues. ;)

31/100. I was at home when I did this so I went with a little wet media for the background.

I decided to play with my Derwent Graphitint pencils for 32/100.

Went a little overboard with the purple on 33/100.

A sleepy eye for 34/100.

This one took a while because of the angle. 35/100.

I challenged myself to work with some different supplies that I brought with me on my trip for 36/100.

Clearly in a blue eye phase...37/100.

A muted eye for 38/100.

Inspired by my eye makeup for 39/100.

Crazy blue eye for 40/100.

Played with purples and pinks for 41/100.

Clearly channeling my nail colour for 42/100.

A grey eye for 43/100.

Played with browns and oranges for 44/100.

Back to purple for 45/100.

I went with green for 46/100.

Tried to do t47/100 with watercolour pens but had to save it with coloured pencils. 

A monochromatic eye for 48/100.

I took a couple of days off before working on 49/100.

Fun with highlights for 50/100.

Tried to make 51/100 a little more 3D.

52/100. Trying a different angle.

A tired eye for 53/100.

Used my leftover paint from a canvas project on the background for 54/100.

There you have it. 28 eye sketches. More than halfway there. I think I might actually complete this project. ;)

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