This is a question I asked myself lately. Right now, I am overwhelmed by work and I can't show anything because it's client work. The problem is : I don't want to look "inactive". I want to be able to contact potential new clients and say "hey look, I painted new things!". Or show my work on social media, or to you, here, on the blog.
And there is only one solution to this problem : Work. More.
In my mind, challenges are a very fun way to work even if they are also very hard. There are a lot of different challenges but the one I decided to focus on is : a drawing a day for "insert the number you want" days.
During a week, I decided to produce a painting every day, and I chose to work on food illustrations. So I sat at my desk (with the usual cup of coffee) and started to think of the best way to approach this challenge. And here is what I found :
It's very important to have a little something that will motivate you to work every day. I chose to work on food for my first challenge. It is something that I love, so it's not very difficult for me to be motivated.
+ WHY ?
The first thing you need to think about is what are your motivations to make this challenge. Even if it's for 3 days, you'll need to draw every single day so it's very important to have a good motivation to star with. For me, the challenge is more something that motivates me to work in a way I can have fun, so it's a bit tweaked. But it can also be...
- For practice. Focus on something you want to be better at. For exemple, I really suck at composition so I could totally make a challenge about this. But it can be perspective, drawing people, animals or bicycle (they are so hard to draw!).
- To test. Challenge is also a good way to try new things and explore your creativity. You can pick a theme then test techniques and different media.
+ FIND SOMETHING THAT INSPIRES YOU.
It's very important to have a little something that will motivate you to work every day. I chose to work on food for my first challenge. It is something that I love, so it's not very difficult for me to be motivated.
But if you have to draw something that is not very... inspiring and is a lot more challenging, you maybe will need to find something that makes you feel inspired and consequently, motivated. For exemple if you decided to draw people, you can focus on people you like : friends, family, your favorite band etc...
Or maybe you need a kind of "immediate reward" that will motivates you. In that case, you can go work somewhere else. Changing your work space may be a good motivation to work every day. You can go to a coffee shop, to a work space, a park, at a friend home etc...
You can also take part to a challenge that is already existing like the Inktober, created Jake Parker. Or make this challenge with friends or even open your own challenge to anyone who wish to enter. Being part of a group in a great source of motivation and inspiration!
Anyway, the thing is to find a little plus that will help you to create and be motivated every day.
Challenges, in any shape it can come, is a very demanding task. You don't want to stop in the middle because you've seen it too big. Being consistant is already really hard because, as everyone, you will have days where you don't feel like drawing at all. But being consistant during a long period is even harder! Be realistic on your capacity and the time you can assign to make a drawing on a daily basis. Starting small is a very good way to grow your confidence.
I have to tall that I use to suck AF at challenges. Every year I was like " Yeah ! I am totally doing this month drawing challenge !". And guess what ? I failed. Every. Single. Time. Because I wasn't prepared at all and I wasn't really determined. And to be honest, after all those fails, the idea to start a challenge again freaked me out.
So for this challenge, I started little. I think one week is a good amount of time. It's not to much, but enough to produce a consistant work.
In my opinion, being organized is a very good key to go through a challenge. If you prepare your challenge before to actually make it, it will be much easier. Star by defining a day to start and a day to end it. If you want to share it on social media, you can actually start a day before in case you really can't make it one day.
One thing that really helps is to plan your illustrations. You want to know which illustration you're going to work on, for every day of the challenge, so when the day comes, there's no surprise. For that, you can write ideas or pitchs in your agenda or make a list. You can also prepare some references, if needed, so you don't lose any time (and motivation) at the moment of actually make the drawing.
Planning your illustration is also a good way to keep you motivated because of course some illustrations will inspire you more than others and you will be happy to make them.
Or maybe you need a kind of "immediate reward" that will motivates you. In that case, you can go work somewhere else. Changing your work space may be a good motivation to work every day. You can go to a coffee shop, to a work space, a park, at a friend home etc...
You can also take part to a challenge that is already existing like the Inktober, created Jake Parker. Or make this challenge with friends or even open your own challenge to anyone who wish to enter. Being part of a group in a great source of motivation and inspiration!
Anyway, the thing is to find a little plus that will help you to create and be motivated every day.
+ DON'T GET GREEDY.
Challenges, in any shape it can come, is a very demanding task. You don't want to stop in the middle because you've seen it too big. Being consistant is already really hard because, as everyone, you will have days where you don't feel like drawing at all. But being consistant during a long period is even harder! Be realistic on your capacity and the time you can assign to make a drawing on a daily basis. Starting small is a very good way to grow your confidence.
I have to tall that I use to suck AF at challenges. Every year I was like " Yeah ! I am totally doing this month drawing challenge !". And guess what ? I failed. Every. Single. Time. Because I wasn't prepared at all and I wasn't really determined. And to be honest, after all those fails, the idea to start a challenge again freaked me out.
So for this challenge, I started little. I think one week is a good amount of time. It's not to much, but enough to produce a consistant work.
+ PLAN YOUR CHALLENGE.
In my opinion, being organized is a very good key to go through a challenge. If you prepare your challenge before to actually make it, it will be much easier. Star by defining a day to start and a day to end it. If you want to share it on social media, you can actually start a day before in case you really can't make it one day.
One thing that really helps is to plan your illustrations. You want to know which illustration you're going to work on, for every day of the challenge, so when the day comes, there's no surprise. For that, you can write ideas or pitchs in your agenda or make a list. You can also prepare some references, if needed, so you don't lose any time (and motivation) at the moment of actually make the drawing.
Planning your illustration is also a good way to keep you motivated because of course some illustrations will inspire you more than others and you will be happy to make them.
+ TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.
It may sound stupid but I think it's very important for a challenge or in life in general. And this is something I realized few months ago. You have to take your work and yourself seriously.
And it's a big help during a challenge, trust me. I don't mean this in the way "hey, be serious!" but more in a way "be consistant".
Of course, no one will blame you if you miss one day. But you'll break the pattern you've spend hard time to build and I think that having a working pattern is so good for self-satisfaction! I mean... I am super proud of myself each time I finish my painting. I go to bed knowing that I've done it and that, my friend... is the best feeling! Each day, it helps me to be a bit more confident.
So if one day of your challenge you feel down, which is totally normal and ok, you can be nice with yourself and make it very quick simple. And even if it's not your best piece, it will be something because you've made it.
Something wonderful with daily challenge is that.. it changes every day ! So please don't worry too much.
And I think this is all for now. So far, I applied all of these advices for my actual challenge and for now it is going pretty well. If you have any other tips, please feel free to share. I would love to hear about your experiences as well!
I will post all the illustrations at the end of the challenge. Meanwhile, here is one, plus some steps through it. I wish you a wonderful week-end! x x x
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