Every year I somehow stumble upon The #100 day project.
And every year I swear I’m going to do it … next year.
I’ve talked before about how I am no fan of summer. The entire season is too hot, sticky and buzzy buggy for my tastes. For unknown reasons, I never noticed all the marketing around the concept of 99 days of unofficial summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day), but this year I saw it and it really sparked something …
If a 100-day project appears to daunting to join, how about a 99-day “tester” project. It’s like “charm pricing” – you know where $3.00 is too much to pay for something but if it’s $2.99 just take my money?
And thus, the SuzerSpace 99 Days of Summer Drawing Ordinary Objects Edition project launched.
I started on Memorial Day Monday by drawing an empty Tequila bottle. It was easy – it was on the table to be recycled, it was a day off from work and I have a new mechanical pencil. Because I like small things, I cut down a forgotten watercolor pad to 3 x 3 squares and got a little box to keep my collection safe.
On Tuesday at work, I sketched out my glass jar full of markers.. Much better time spent than doom scrolling at lunch.
On Wednesday? My very favorite bag.
On Thursday, it was my facial tissue box that caught my attention. Even added the background on that one.
And so I’ve been rolling ever since.
At first I was just working in pencil, but then I went back and started coloring in some items using a set of watercolor pencils. That was fun, but I only have a few of those.
So when it appeared I was going to keep at this for a bit, I treated myself to box of 50 Crayola Colored Pencils (this is similar, non-affiliate link). I liked the price, the variety seems pretty good and they are soft to draw with (you can tell I’m not a colored pencil snob). But the annoying thing about them (and most colored pencils and markers) is that it’s hard to tell what color they are going to be when you use them. It doesn’t always match the tip that shows or the color they decided to coat the sides with.
At work I rely on my trusty Pantone Guide for choosing or matching colors for print work. So I figured I’d make myself a Crayola Swatch deck. It was fun to make, and I’m sharing the work. All you need to do is download the file and print it out, and color in the squares. Cut them and out and bind them however you like. I have a slightly too large binding screw holding mine together with plans to hunt down a binder ring or keyring to make it a little easier to use.
So now I sketch out my ordinary object on my 3 x 3 square in plain pencil, and then come back and colorize it in the evening while watching TV. If the object is something at work, I take a photo to help with the color matching with my swatch deck.
Today’s in process drawing? Glad you asked:
