Day 7 of the 100 Day Project. Via my Instagram.
[dc]L[/dc]ast week, I decided to take part in The 100 Day Project. As the name implies, it’s a creative project lasting 100 days.
What Is The 100 Day Project?
The goal is to make/do something every day for 100 days, and more importantly, to get in the habit of making something every day (like the book I’ve used, Art Before Breakfast).
My darling wife Stephanie brought the project to my attention and suggested I give it a shot. I hesitated at first, because similar projects, like Inktober, caused me to burn out in the past and led to stress (I didn’t finish in 2015, and I didn’t even try Inktober in 2016).
I realized what actually caused all of that stress, however: posting the Inktober updates here. Daily blog updates are a lot of work, especially compared to the speed and ease of social media (thanks to a few taps on my phone). A blog post here is a lot more work than a blog post on Patreon or a quick photo on Instagram.
So, I decided all of my 100 Day Project Updates would be on social media only (at least for now). The updates start on Instagram, and then go to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr at the same time. (all tagged with #the100dayproject and #100positivethings)
A quick note: if you look in the right sidebar of clattertron.com, you will see I added an Instagram Feed plugin, which shows my latest update.
What is My 100 Day Project?
I wanted to keep my 100 Day Project simple, and I knew it would be drawing. But what would I draw? And what could I stretch out for 100 days? Stephanie suggested I split the 100 days between drawing and inking comics, but the thought of doing so gave me hives (and I worried Foxes & Boxes would suffer).
Inspiration came while I was meditating using a guided mediation with positive affirmations: I would draw a character saying a positive message.
My thinking was, if I force myself to write out something positive every day, I can offset any stress of the project. This is more about attitude adjustment and confidence building than wishing for good things to happen because I keep thinking they will.
So Far, So Positive
Those who know me personally probably find it funny I’m writing and sharing positive messages each day. That is not lost on me. I have not missed a day yet, and I’m enjoying the project so far. If anything, it’s helped me up my Instagram game (and netted me more followers).
Day 6 of #100positivethings.
What’s Next?
I had thoughts of selling the drawings at shows this summer, but I decided I will keep all the drawings for now. I might scan all 100 drawings and make them into a PDF book for sale on Gumroad, as a pay-what-you-what thing.
It’s not too late to start your own 100 Day Project. I didn’t actually start until the second official day. As long as you do 100 things in the end, who cares?
You can follow along with the #the100dayproject tag on Instagram, and follow me too, @clattertron. Make sure to check out Stephanie’s own 100 Day Project: she’s making paintings. Keep making art!
