How to Survive the 100 Day Project: an Illustrated Guide

Plus, lots of ideas to get you started if you want to join but don't know what you want to do for 100 days!

Before we get to the comic, I just wanted to mention that I’m just a participant of the 100 Day Project and this comic represents my thoughts and interpretations of the project, for more information about the project, the creators behind it, and the official guidelines check out their Substack here (there’s lots and lots of great info!):

30 Ideas for a 100 Day Project (do the activity every day for 100 days):

1. Film a short video

2. Draw an animal

3. Draw something from life

4. Fill a page in your sketchbook

5. Practice with a particular material (maybe gouache or watercolor)

6. Draw for at least 15 minutes, in ink, in your sketchbook

7. Take a nice photo

8. Spend 15 minutes watching a class or learning a new skill

9. Make a color palette

10. Create a motif for a pattern

11. Create an entire pattern (higher difficulty level!)

12. Do a study from reference

13. Write a one sentence story

14. Draw your day in your journal

15. Paint a landscape in your sketchbook

16. Practice basic drawing exercises for 10-30 minutes (lines, circles, ellipses, boxes, etc.)

17. Research and find potential clients for your work for 15-30 minutes

18. Draw a face

19. Draw your face

20. Draw with your non-dominant hand for 5-10 minutes

21. Come up with a new idea and write it down in an idea journal (for an art piece, a substack post, a youtube video, a picture book—you can think of ideas in any or all categories!)

22. Draw a background or environment

23. Come up with a new character and sketch it

24. Make a short comic

25. Hand letter a word of the day

26. Practice drawing expressions for 10 minutes

27. Read 30 pages of a non-fiction book

28. Illustrate a quote

29. Do anatomy studies for 10-30 minutes

30. Make a list of 100 things you want to draw and draw one item each day

Please note suggested times are just a starting point, you can choose any amount of time for any activity for your project. Like it said in the comic, you’re in charge!

Do any of those ideas resonate with you? Are you wishing I had included Ratchet’s suggestions after all? 😂

---

I did the 100 day project for the first time last year and I really enjoyed it. It was so good for my creative practice, and it even led to me writing and creating comics here on Substack! You can read more about what I did last year here:

100 Days of Ink

The official project kicks off in just a few days on February 23rd.

Probably time for me to pick an idea, isn’t it?

I’m debating between a few ideas at the moment but haven’t settled on one yet. What about you? Are you planning to join the project this year? What will you be doing? Let us know in the comments!

Want more creative inspiration and guidance?

I just launched paid subscriptions on Tiny Leaf Press, where I’ll be sharing monthly creative projects, bonus tutorials, and exclusive resources designed to keep you inspired and help your creative practice thrive.

You can learn more and find out how to get a free month trial below!

And if you’re ready to try it out and dive into the first one, you can find the full project here:

Creative Project 001: Illustrated Recipe