Yesterday, I posted a few prints from this year’s 100 Day Project. This concluded the first week of the project and I wanted to write about my experience doing this challenge. It’s a challenge that has helped me through creative droughts and introduced me to many other artists.
The 100 Day Project is a creative challenge where someone creates something every day for 100 days. I am sure there is more to it, but that is my simple interpretation.
It’s a bit of a slog, has its peaks and valleys, and is worth doing at least once.
Artist Cards (2016)
The first 100 Day Project in 2016, I had no theme other than artist cards and markers. If I learned anything from this one, having a theme helps. When I started to work through the major arcana and face cards, it helped having those figured out.
Short Music for Short People (2017)
Learning from my first go around, I picked a theme and remembered an album from high school that had the right amount of songs. Technically, one more than necessary, but whatever. Having the whole project planned in order was nice, even when the songs were, “meh,” at best.
I used this project to use Copic markers and various liners.
99 Red Baboons (2018)
Having one subject was a challenge unto itself, but it’s fun to look and see the variations of a somewhat tight artistic scope. It’s a joy to see certain baboons and think about what some of those were inspired by.
Lastly, this was when I became cool with missing a day or batch printing.
In retrospect, I didn’t need to do multiples of each the way that I did. I still have too many!
Breaks and False Starts (2019-2021)
My art practices changed, focused on some different things at this time. I also realized, no point in forcing this project if your heart isn’t in it. A lesson I stuck to later on when there legitimately was no desire to work on the challenge.
No need to force art.
Pastel Cards (2022)
I used this as a way to play with pastels. I can look at many of these and remember what inspired many of them. Others were a fun way to play with color and dropping line art from my works.
100 Square Inches (2023)
I wanted to practice making stamps again. I decided 100 1″x1″ stamps was a challenge enough. The problem, no real theme other than medium and canvas limit.
Learning from the first time of doing stamps, I only printed a proof on a sticky note and with a simple ink pad. No serious inking.
100 Creatures (2026)
I was admiring the birds in my backyard and the various creatures I’d find in the garden. I thought creating an illustration of one of these creatures would be a great theme for the challenge.
Am I having fun? Yes.
Do I have a theme? Yes.
Should I have planned out the creatures? Maybe. Drawing 100 creatures is a lot harder than 100 drawings of one creature. Sometimes it’s useful to be able to reexamine your subject. Drawing the “creature of the day” somehow feels too much like a blank sheet of paper.
The big question is, what animal kingdom will take the largest share of drawings?
