I blogged about my daily doodle challenge for this year and I’m still going strong posting (almost) daily on instagram. There have been busy days when I forget or get to busy, but I can quickly pick up the habit again or sometimes I’m just not able to post but I still create my doodle.
It’s really not a revolutionary practice since my doodles are pretty simple and it might seem repetitive even if I try to shake it up. I can’t help but draw cute girls and I thought it would make it easy on me to have this constraint of drawing a girl and a word.
It’s interesting how constraints make it easier. You would think we want ultimate freedom, but that usually just means we get frozen in the possibility of too many options! So if you even get stuck wanting to do something, try putting down some rules – oddly enough it makes it all easier!
Of course, I do allow myself the freedom to join in on other creative challenges and prompts offered out there in the instagram world. It’s fun to riff off the prompts of other creative challenges, but I don’t commit to joining them indefinitely… I just go with whatever inspires me that day.
I’ve realized how easy it is to create more using these creative challenges. Again, you would think with total freedom, an artist should be able to create an amazing portfolio. But we need something to springboard off of… at least I do. It’s so much easier for me and I’m thinking… how can I make everything I do this approachable? Right now I’m creating quick doodles and they don’t really become any type of completed artwork… but what if they can become more?
I’m thinking that creative challenges can easily become creative habits and if that translates to final artwork, it would be a hop skip and a jump… an amazingly fun process instead of more trudgery. Usually, I find it very difficult to finalize things – that is my week point. I have a million ideas, but need to finalize them if they will do any good out in the real world. Otherwise, it’s just a million sketches after all!
Do you have creative habits just for the sake of “exercising” or do they often become something more “final” for you? Obviously there is something to be said about warm ups, exercise and just practice… but at some point you do have to deliver!
I would love to hear what or how others approach this type of situation and what creative practices and habits you have in place. Please do share!
In the meantime, I’ll be continuing my daily doodles for sure and will be thinking about how to apply the simplicity of it to all that I do… because it doesn’t seem so hard to be prolific, afterall.
