I've decided to do a 30 day drawing challenge to cover some areas that I've been meaning to explore recently. Everyday in May 2020 I will create something on the day prompted by these topics, maximum working time of 30 minutes. I'm a new mum and so I've got to manage my expectations of how much time I will have spare.
I'm excited to see where this takes me, I've never done a drawing challenge before and I hope I can find the time each day to give each prompt the attention it deserves!
It seems that I have turned many of these illustrations into GIFs. See my Giphy account here.
1 May 2020: Eyes I've seen so many eyes on Instagram, and of course, with the algorithm, it just shows me more eyes! So I thought it would only be fitting to do an eye as my first drawing a day. I'm happy with it!
2 May 2020: Shadows
This was a tough one for me, I actually did it and then redid it, is that allowed? Well it's my challenge so I'm going to say yes it is. I'm liking the little colour accents on the monstera leaf but I don't think you could guess the theme from the picture. But an interesting theme to work through! Bring on tomorrow!
3 May 2020: Hands
I really enjoyed this one. I'm loving the freedom to create without an end goal in mind and I think it's helping my creativity! I'm really feeling this print, It feels like batique for some reason.. I think its the dots. I'm a fan of the colours too. I could definitely see this one as a series! Maybe I'll return to visit this theme later!
4 May 2020: Portrait
This is scary for me! I haven't done a portrait in probably close to 10 years. I'm still not sure if I like it but I could go on tweaking it for hours. I like the colours and I like the direction I was going in. I think it needs a lot more time to develop the details. I did spend over an hour on this as I was figuring it all out.
5 May 2020: Birds
This image was inspired by a designer called Sara Gisabella and an image of her cranes. It was a fun one and felt very natural. I only spent half an hour on this one too so I am happy with the result! I can see feathers as a theme I might explore in the future. I've got a feather tattoo that I got when I turned 21 so I've clearly always been drawn to them.
6 May 2020: Baby
Two portraits in 3 days! I've drawn one of my favourite photos of my little boy Jacob. I find it hard with portraits I always feel like more detail is needed. Forever! But I'm glad I'm happy enough with it to publish it, even if he looks like the Joker from Batman. I enjoyed drawing his clothes, I like creating the depth and movement.
7 May 2020: Cats
As the proud mother of two fur-babies, this was fun! I stayed within the 30 minutes too which was ideal. I quite like the bold, graphic shapes as well as the colours. I find it quite fun and uplifting.
8 May 2020: Home
This was fun, I can see this being a lovely wrapping paper! I enjoyed illustrating all the little houses and of course I had to add a couple feline friends in there!
9 May 2020: Magic
Another completely new style for me. I actually used the eyes from a failed idea from day 1 for inside the fortune tellers crystal ball. I enjoyed drawing the hands and the tattoos! Maybe Tattoos a promo by itself for the future..
10 May 2020: Food
A pear and some orange segments. This illustration felt really natural for me so I think I might revisit this topic in the future! I also made it into a couple GIFs which should be soon available to use on Instagram Stories, as soon as my Giphy Account becomes verified!
11 May 2020: Bees
I have a love hate relationship with bees. I love their aesthetic, but I am actually terrified of bees in real life. The buzzing sound really scares me! It was fun to combine something very life like with something as abstract as the hexagons. I could stay within the 30 minutes for artwork, and I'm actually a big fan of the GIF I made from it too!
12 May 2020: Geometric
This was a tough one for me. I love to draw free hand, and trying to convey my style through geometric shapes didn't feel natural for me. This might be my least favourite drawing to date in the challenge but I quite like the stripes, it reminds me of a retro font.
13 May 2020: Quote
I haven't illustrated a quote for a long time, and it was a lot of fun. I love clashing colours and this is probably my most classic combo, a strong teal and a mustard yellow. I wanted it to be uplifting because of everything that's going on at the moment, someone might really need to read it.
14 May 2020: Ghost
The cutest ghosts I've seen in a while! I love Halloween and dressing up, however I haven't taken it seriously since uni! Now that I've got a little one I know I'll be able to properly get into it again. If anyone has seen Modern Family I aspire to be Claire on Halloween #mumgoals
15 May 2020: Elephant
This style is a little bit different to what I usually go for but it's been good to try something different. I'm officially at the halfway mark which is really exciting for me. I'm proud of what I've done so far and honestly there are a few themes that I will definitely be revisiting!
16 May 2020: Typography
It was fun to create this illustration as this is very clearly within my comfort zone. But it was fun to do something completely different within my usual parameters. It's nice to know that although this is my niche, there's still a lot more for me to explore, and that I still enjoy it!
17 May 2020: Rainbow
This was a good chance for me to explore a theme I have been seeing everywhere on instagram since lockdown. I'm a big fan of the colour scheme here. It makes me feel relaxed. The baba's taken ages to go down to sleep today so I haven't had as much time as I'd like.
18 May 2020: Memory
Today's prompt was challenging, I wanted to do something completely new for me which I have, not sure entirely how I feel about it! I felt like doing versions of myself, and for someone who hates drawing portraits, multiple self portraits seemed to be the obvious choice!
19 May 2020: Nature
I had a bit of a mental block for this one and I hope it's not that obvious in the quality of my illustration. I guess I just didn't have a strong vision, up until now I've already kind of known what I would draw. I like the negative space - it elevated my very average illustration. But there you go! If I refused to publish images that I wasn't 100% on, I'd probably only have half of these images to show you all!
20 May 2020: Sport
All of my nursery prints I design are unisex as I strongly believe that nurseries shouldn't be themed according to gender, so it seemed appropriate for this prompt to have girls and boys playing football! I can see this working as a fun wrapping paper!
21 May 2020: Seasons
This was an odd process for me but I'm really happy with how it turned out. The leaves look very oriental, and with the colours, it feels very Japanese. Which I like! It was nice to include some composition with the type too. Maybe I'll do that for future entries too. I also think this will make a nice GIF when I get around to it!
22 May 2020: Movement
I thought it would be appropriate to create a GIF for this prompt and include some actual movement. It's got seaside feels, I like the colours! Kept within the 30 minutes too which is ideal because I'm knackered!
23 May 2020: Freedom
I knew what I wanted to draw when this prompt came up. Being in lockdown in Wales at the moment means even going outside to meet someone at a social distance isn't allowed. So this is supposed to be a hug, if you can tell..!
24 May 2020: Baked Goods
I drew what I wanted to eat. A glazed (Krispy Kreme) Doughnut. Does anyone else buy twice as many treats during their weekly shop in fear that they will run out while at home? Here I am drawing Homer Simpson's dreams. Big Simpson fan!
25 May 2020: Jewellery
Recently I have come across Claire Hill Designs - she makes jewellery which I absolutely love. I haven't bought any of her items but I will be doing so soon!
26 May 2020: Emotion
This piece was something that just came to mind. As a mum, wife, sister, daughter, friend, employee (on Maternity Leave) and a general creative, I sometimes feel like I'm being pulled in all directions. As a perfectionist, I feel under pressure to do everything right, ALL of the time, day in day out. Making the most of every minute. I love it, but it's full on.
27 May 2020: Parenting
This is something a friend said to me while I was pregnant. I couldn't comprehend what she meant until I was covered in baby sick, battling with breastfeeding and didn't know what day it was when my friends turned up (because I had invited them over and forgotten). That's when I finally realised what she meant.
28 May 2020: Hats
Probably the most random prompt to date. I was clearly scraping the barrel for ideas at this point! Based on an Istock photo that I saw on Pinterest.
29 May 2020: 00s
For some reason Tie Dye popped into my mind for this one. Illustrating Tie Dye is hard! So I decided to do my own interpretation instead. Tie Dye was big in the 00's and it seems to be making a comeback. Come to think of it, a Tie Dye nursery could look really cool!
30 May 2020: Water
The last day in my 30 day Drawing Challenge. And what a 30 days it's been! a few weeks ago I felt like I had all this creative energy but I didn't know where to put it. Now I've got a long list of experiments, tests and strategies to explore with my social media presence.
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