Illustrated Life
Creativity Matters Podcast (CMP)
Slice of Life Contour (356)
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Slice of Life Contour (356)

Episode 356 of the Creativity Matters Podcast: the 100 day project and a series of simple contour drawings of everyday people.
Episode 356: Slice of Life

Above: a daily page of simple contour drawings from my 2019 #the100dayProject.

Episode 356 of the CMP, a Creativity Matters Podcast

In this episode of the CMP, thoughts on #the100dayproject. For 2019, I am doing a contour-based project with the overarching goal of using a looser line (continuous if possible) than I do in my normal portraits. As part of this series, I am drawing people I pass in my day to day and bringing them into motion on the page with small sets of simplified drawings. I have a few elements in play (beyond “contour” and “figure”), and I am playing each day with some of the elements to see which ones I want to continue. At the moment, the project is proving to be a very good fit for me and something I am really enjoying.

Why listen to this episode? Reminders of:

  1. the value of having a set project

  2. the value of having a project that is really manageable in your time and space

  3. the importance of not getting tripped up comparing

  4. the value of embracing whimsy

The backstory: When I thought through ideas for the 100 Day Project before it started, I nixed this idea as “too simple.” After writing that post, I really thought I was going to do another project (and that would have been a good project, too). But in the days right before the 100 days started, I looked at my photos from the day, and I did a pair of contour drawings. There was simple line. There was pattern. There was a box. (There were a few other things, too, but I am still keeping quiet about the elements I am exploring.) I pulled up photos and repeated the process the next day. It stuck. It has surprised me how much I am enjoying these daily contour drawings and how captivated I am by figures that are so minimal, sometimes wonky, and always lacking in detail.

Note: I will be moving the CMP site over the next few days, and it may cause things to temporarily break and/or be unavailable on the website. I will work to ensure things are back to normal as quickly as I can.

Mentioned in this Episode:

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