A 100 Day Challenge

100 Doors started out as a simple daily challenge to get myself back into drawing practice during a period of creative stagnancy. The idea was to draw something consistently for 100 days and post my work on instagram everyday as accountability. I wanted to get some practice drawing in Procreate on my iPad, and I decided this would be a good way to do it.

I am passionate about drawing architectural forms in imperfect lines and intricate patterns, so I settled on doors. The decision to draw the same thing everyday made it easy to get started without having to think about what I was going to draw, but it also made the challenge tougher, because I needed to make every door unique and different from the last. 

Having to post on social media every single day for a hundred days was not easy. It's one thing to show up for yourself everyday - it's completely different to show up everyday for the general public. I struggled internally with questions about being interesting, meaningful or relevant, but at the end of the day, it all boiled down to being consistent and practicing a skill everyday. The knowledge that I would have a full body of work to be proud of at the end of about 3 months, and a consistently supportive audience were the things that kept me going.

You can find the doors on instagram using #100imaginairydoors

Growth

Doors are symbolic in that they are transitions or passageways to one’s next stage in life. This project not only helped me hone my digital drawing skills, but it showed me how to be consistent and accountable, how to break through creative blocks, and how to follow my passion even when things get rough. It has marked another stage of growth in my life as I move onwards and upwards from here.

I wanted to compile this project as visual proof of the growth that comes with trying and practicing something consistently - growth that is clearly visible as you scroll through the doors. I want this compilation to serve as inspiration for myself, and for anyone else that may feel like they have reached a creative plateau. There is no such thing; there is always more to learn, and more to create. There are always new directions, and new creative facets within us that we may never find if we never go exploring. 

This is the lesson I want to remember.

Tools 

iPad Pro
Apple Pencil
Procreate

Timeline

April - July 2018

Fun Facts

102 DOORS

I was participating in a 100 day challenge - but I ended up drawing 102 doors to even out my 3-column instagram grid.

TIMELAPSE

My favorite thing about posting these online was being able to show people the timelapse videos of my digital drawings through Procreate. Every image posted was accompanied by the process video and a close-up view of the illustration. 

DRAWING IN THE DARK

The only reason I managed to get this project done was the fact that I was drawing on a tablet - I drew almost all of these doors sitting in a recliner in a dark room while putting my toddler to sleep.