001 - Doing 100 day projects: setting rules for projects that work for you
I’ve started a 100 day art project each year, didn’t finish them all though. Here are tips for 100 art projects, and a few thoughts to help you figure out if it is for you.
I’ve started a 100 day art project each year, didn’t finish them all though. Here are tips for 100 art projects, and a few thoughts to help you figure out if it is for you. I also share my previous 100 day projects, the failed ones and the completed ones!
the plan for the article
Since this article is a little of a long read, and with images, I am sharing here a little plan of how it goes so you can follow along.
my first time in 2019: searching for something to call mine
what did I learn during this first 100 day project?
it was the beginning of my own journey into art making
should everyone do a 100 day project?
how to set rules for your project so that it works for you
how much time do you have?
think of a subject that really inspires you
make it simple
prepare in advance
have a few simple rules
throw in some wiggle room
make it an “i want to”, not an “i should do”
start whenever you want!
in the end
my first time in 2019: searching for something to call mine
Time flies! Yes, 2019, 5 years ago.
This was during my first year getting back to art.
A year where I had done so many tutorials to learn techniques and to learn working with watercolors. Many Skillshare classes, lots of youtube step by steps, a number of insta challenges.
Now what? How to start « doing my own art »? How does one do that?
I was following a class by Laura Horn, and there was an exercise I enjoyed so much: making rainbow shapes with a fan brush. I made pages and pages of them.
I asked Laura if I could make art with this, or if is was « hers ». And how to make « my version » of it1. During this conversation (bless insta DMs!), Laura pointed me towards repetition. The only way to make something yours is to « do the work » and repeat over and over and over…. And find your own version of that something.
This 2019 project started with me trying to find « my rainbow ». But it ended up meaning so much more for me.
what did I learn during this first 100 day project?
I learned that I could complete a project on my own, that I could come up with my own ideas, my own objectives and goals. And this was a first for me in terms of art projects.
Self imposed constraints and goals. And I had made it!
I gained so much confidence because I actually completed the project.
The 100 day projects also helped me focus. I had to make this little piece of art everyday. So yes to distractions, but the daily reminder to make a rainbow is a very powerful one.
At the same time, it helped me establish a creative habit. At the time, it was making a little rainbow every evening, after dinner etc. I didn’t know what an art practice was at the time, but this was the true beginning of mine.
The project also helped let go of perfectionism. First off, in the project I outlined, I had to finish a tiny piece every day. Daily means there isn’t time to overthink. It had to get done, and if I was not happy with something, I could always try another version the next day. This totally helped shift my mindset about making the most of a creative session: the goal was to explore, not make something perfect.
And also, as I had prepared all my tiny pieces of paper and numbered them ahead of time, I realized when taking the final picture of all the little pieces together….. I only had 99 tiny watercolor rainbows. That is when Jan, a friend, told me about wabi-sabi and furthered my journey into letting go of perfectionism.
it was the beginning of my own journey into art making
Thinking and writing about this project makes me realize, this was the beginning of my own art journey. The true departure from external prompts and into creating stuff coming from within me.
should everyone do a 100 day project?
Well. No. And yes. Like with everything, there are nuances.
100 day projects can bring amazing results for you. But it can bring frustration or resentment if you do not have the space to welcome it into your life at that moment.
The main thing to remember is this:
You are doing this project for yourself, not for anyone else.
You make up the rules. You choose the space you give it.
It is your project.
If you have the time and space, and are ready to set realistic goals for this project, and perhaps create a little wiggle room for what life will throw at you, I think the answer is yes. Everyone should at some point do this type of project.
But every year might not be the perfect moment for this.
And the moment social media sets for you might not work for you either.
how to set rules for your project so that it works for you
how much time do you have?
First of all, think about the time commitment. Every day, for 3 months. What is a realistic time commitment for you? One hour every day? 5 minutes? Only you can decide, and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. Choose what feels will be doable for you.
I find time constraints such as “I will show up for 5 minutes” helpful to get started. If I have low energy or a super busy day, 5 minutes is always manageable. But if my goal was to show up for an hour each day, I would not make it on those low energy / busy dadys. Most probably, I would abandon my project because of those missed days.
And remember that if you set a 5-10 minutes time frame, it can be a minimum. You can always add more time on days that allow it.
think of a subject that really inspires you
100 days. 100 iterations.
This subject has to be inspiring, right?
You need to choose something you know you won’t get annoyed with after 10 days. This has caused me to stop a couple of projects in the past.
Also, don’t make it too specific. Leave a little space for variations or inspiration in different ways.
Do you have an idea yet?
I have an exercise to test your subject idea. Set a timer for 2 minutes and write down all the ideas you would like to try around your subject.
Go!
The goal here is not to plan out the whole 100 days.
The goal of this exercise is to see if you can come up with many ideas, or if you get stuck after 5. In that case, it might indicate that you could get stuck before the end of your project.
make it simple
Make it simple. Make it so you don’t spend 10 minutes each time you sit down wondering what it is you want to make. Or how to interpret your prompts.
Those 10 minutes are enough to risk not making anything that day. Unless that is part of the fun of the project for you! ;)
prepare in advance
You can prep a few things before you begin. Whether it is your prompts, your ideas, your references or your supplies, prepping a few things might help you out when it is time to sit down and make art.
A project about birds?
Have a list of bird references and a few websites to find inspiration.
A color mixing project?
Have your colors out by your desk.
A project about watercolor paintings?
Cut out 100 papers to have them ready to go.
The idea once again is not to plan everything, put to prep a few things to get you started a little quicker and diminish the friction to actually start making the art. The first 10 days are usually a breeze, but after that, excuses start looking interesting!
have a few simple rules
I abandoned a few projects because they were complicated and wonderful ideas, but they simply were too long to execute for the time I had each day. I maybe could have adapted the projects once I realized this, but when you are in the midst of it all, it isn’t easy to see.
Example of rules that I found helpful:
Decide on the format: in a sketchbook designated for the project, paper cut in advance or using blocks of set sizes.
Picking random colors daily.
10 minute timer (even 5 for this year’s project).
Example of rules that contributed to projects being abandoned:
Too large of a paper (too long to make).
Complicated rules (cutting out a passepartout daily = complicated and time consuming).
Too vague ideas (my 100 tiny art pieces). I need clear constraints to make long term projects work or I spend too much time pondering the subject, not enough making the thing.
You will have to see what works for you. Not for me, or for that artist on instagram you follow. What works for you.
Maybe something broader like “making something” works for you. That is, in itself, an accomplishment and beautiful project to simply show up in your practice for 100 straight days.
Or something super precise, like drawing flowers of the alps with sumi-e ink on a postcard sized paper.
You need to find the right balance for you.
And sometimes, you simply need to try it to know if something works for you. Doesn’t mean you failed, you simply tried something and found out you didn’t like it.
throw in some wiggle room
Decide a few things in advance that you might do if something doesn’t work as intended, or for those days where energy is extra low.
Knowing in advance that you will have wiggle room makes it reassuring. It’s like you are giving permission to your future self to show up differently if something comes up.
Examples of things I’ve told myself:
The goal is 100 pieces, not 1 piece a day. You can finish a little later. You could also give yourself a free day every week or every 10 day to take a break. It is ok to make it more than 100 days.
The goal is to show up every day, not finish a piece everyday. This could mean working on a piece for 100 days, or finish a piece every 2-3 days.
The goal is to show up for 2 minutes minimum. My current wiggle room. If I feel uninspired for a meditative piece, I am allowed to play for simply 2 minutes with a single pencil and make a few lines. All pieces don’t need to have the same level of detail.
A lot of the pieces will be average, even uninteresting in the end. An important reminder. The goal is to show up, not make 100 chef d’oeuvre! Imagine the pressure!
make it an “i want to”, not an “i should do”
If you want to get better at something, yes, you need to practice regularly to get better. But for a 100 day project, if you make it only about learning skills, make sure it is something you really want to learn. Not something you think you should learn or get better at.
Back to my large rainbows. I realized a little too late that while I wanted to challenge myself to make larger paintings, I had no idea if I would enjoy painting larger pieces. And I did not, at that time, enjoy working that large.
It was more an idea that “I should learn to paint larger”, because artists start with small works and then make larger ones.
And those “shoulds” might be good for shorter challenges, to get you to try other things. But 100 days can be very long when you don’t enjoy something.
Once again, it is your project!
start whenever you want!
The instagram account @dothe100dayproject runs a yearly 100 project where many people, including myself, start a 100 day project at the same time.There is something fun in doing it at the same time as other people.
But as much as it can feel good to have the support of a community, it can lead to lots of pressure and FOMO…. So remember this.
It is your project! You get to decide when it starts, when it ends.
There are 365 days in a year (or 366 this year). There is room for you to start whenever! And it doesn’t have to end before the end of the year either.
in the end
The short version is that these 100 projects can give you a structure in which it is easy to show up everyday for 100-ish days.
These challenges, in the good sense of the word, exist to push you out of your comfort zone. Help you push a little further that you might without an explicit objective. But they shouldn’t add too much pressure or make it so you resent showing up in your art practice.
Remember to make it your project, your rules, your timeline.
And why not a 34 days project to begin with? ;)
If you do start a project, let me know, and I’ll come and cheer for you!
With love, remember to play!
Stephanie
This is a recurring preoccupation of mine, not making work that is too close to someone else’s. I even have a work-in-progress e-book I’m writing about this. Be sure to let me know if this is something that interests you.
Loved the post. You are so right in so many things. This was my 1st year starting it and after a week im like, ok im bored ... hahaha but i decided to changed it to something as simple as "make art everyday" in any form. And that works better ... Your post is a MUST read for anyone starting this.