Learning from limitations

An exercise to choose materials with unpredictability

My final illustration and model of the 100-day challenge.

Using too many materials can feel like you’re stuck at a crowded nightclub way past your bedtime. A limited palette can be like an intimate gathering with close friends.

Making 100 drawings using only three materials¹ taught me to be a bit more considerate in my color choices. I have a whole new appreciation for the color yellow! Mixing yellow makes me feel like I just took a bite of lemon pound cake.

3 Materials Greatest Hits: Week 1

Hard parts of the 3 Materials Challenge

Making something for Instagram every day: It’s the WORST. I’d rather make a birthday card for my worst enemy. Making art specifically for social media sucks the joy from it. I took the pressure off by making 2 or 3 illustrations for fun, instead of creating a single drawing to post.

3 Materials Greatest Hits

Committing to materials: I spent more time swatching supplies than drawing some days. I'd close my eyes and pick something to get the ball rolling, then base my other two choices on the random grab. Here’s a short & sweet supply list I made for you!

3 Materials Greatest Hits

Sharing my work: Remembering to shoot a photo and post it every day takes a backseat to client work. If you find the photography part challenging, here's a post I made about it!

Prompt

Next time you sit down to draw, close your eyes to choose your first material. No peeking! Then make your next choices based on what you picked without looking. I’d love to know what you picked and why you chose the next colors!

P.S. I intended to make the video below viewable for all members, but the drawings were so bad that I paywalled them. Why do I paywall bad drawings? Can we all agree that ugly drawings are special and valuable to who we are as artists? They teach us so much! It seems fair to save those moments for the kind folks who invest in my practice. There will be chances to win free membership in the live session on Sunday, as well as stickers and pins!