SERIES: #100DaysofOutfitSketches
A part of #The100DayProject initiative by @elleluna and @thegreatdiscontent
HOW THE PROJECT CAME ABOUT
A lot of my artist and designer friends have been posting about #The100DayProject by Elle Luna and The Great Discontent. I knew about the project already almost a week late and I realized it was the perfect excuse to force myself to commit and finally start a long overdue personal project.
FINDING THE INSPIRATION
Thinking about the theme was the tricky part; it had to be something I love, something that changes every day to keep things interesting at the very least, and something know I won’t get tired of doing every day for 100 days.
I work as a graphic designer at a small startup design studio. Apart from design, my dream has always been fashion-related. I wanted to make something other than the current work I do for work—I wanted to make a project that’s something for myself.
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I've been doing rough sketches of what I wear every day
on my planner since the start of the year so I don't get
to repeat an outfit every month.
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I wanted to challenge myself with
#100DaysofOutfitSketches
#100DaysofOutfitSketches
convincing myself that I can go on 3 months
without repeating an outfit!
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PROJECT PROCESS
It was already about a week into the project that I decided to start doing it. I had notes on my journal about what I wore a couple days back, so knowing what items to draw wasn’t a problem. The bigger challenge I had was deciding on the illustration style and the time it would take me to finish an entry, as it would dictate how I’d go on with the next few entries.
Picking to draw my outfits every day was a huge challenge for me. I barely knew how to determine correct body proportions, let alone to illustrate them properly. I remember having a small notepad, and I would sit on the couch and start drawing clothes when I was about 8 or 9, and I’ve been dreaming about learning how to sew so I can make them come to life.
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EXPERIMENTING WITH STYLE AND COLORS
I don’t remember how I settled on a specific illustration style. I figured I’d just do one entry first, test it if it’ll look okay, and try to make sense of it along the way. All I knew was that I wanted to try using some of Kyle T Webster’s Photoshop brushes.
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I've been so used to drawing with plain strokes for my
other attempts at illustrating, so I decided to
take the challenge and avoid using it for this project.
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I don’t really know if there is a proper way to draw, like starting with shapes or anything, but I just start with lines, pick out a color palette, color the items in, and draw the lines. I remember doing 6 outfit sketches on one weekend so I could catch up with everyone else.
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CHALLENGES
About 10 entries into the project, I started doubting how I would be able to keep it up for the next 90 days, thinking that maybe people would think it is a bit narcissistic. And I realize that it is! But I continued with it anyway because one thing I promised myself when I signed up for this is that I would keep up with it no matter what happens because I’m doing something for myself for a change.
DEATH BY PATTERNS
For the most part, recreating the patterns of the clothes I wore was difficult for me. I seemed to have underestimated how intricate they are until I tried drawing them. I had to find the time for more intricate patterns because I usually take about an hour or more.
SLEEPOVERS AND OUTINGS
Planning for beach trips or sleepovers was quite a challenge for me. I had to take note what I would wear for the next 2-3 days, and drawing them all at once when I get back home.
Being the control freak that I am, it's also been a challenge for me to choose what I wear carefully, making sure that the colors I wore yesterday wouldn’t clash with what I would wear today, also that I don’t repeat any outfit.
It was fun and rewarding to see things unfold entry after entry, and finally creating something I am proud of definitely took the toll from all the things I had to put off for a while to create these drawings.
WORKING FROM HOME
In the middle of the project, we started working from home so I didn’t have to dress up for the day. It was a bit embarrassing to have to draw what I wear at home as it isn’t as put-together.
All of these are hand-me-downs from my mom, but the patterns kept things interesting and I wanted to share it with people as well. Most of these go with a shirt-and-shorts pair, but I wanted to mix things up so it was fun to dress up even at home.
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TRUST THE PROCESS
Taking this alongside work too has been a bit of a challenge. I was convinced that it was getting in the way of accomplishing tasks, but looking back, creating these has become my safe place, my short break from reality and doing something I've always wanted to do for myself.
It's been both a fun and tough learning experience, embracing the idea that not everything has to be perfect. Own your flaws; that's what makes you you. There will always be good days and bad days; keep an open mind and an understanding heart. And you'll never know something works unless you at least try to make it work.
Having a very supportive Instagram community of 100 Day Project makers was incredibly surprising for me. I didn’t know I’d get that much support and encouraging words when I started the project. All I wanted to do was to draw clothes, which I didn’t have the chance to do for the last 10-15 years.
Remembering the reasons I why I started the project in the first place was what pushed me to finish the project. It’s been roughly about 4 months since I finished the project, and I still remember the rush, the stress, the struggles, and the support I’ve gotten that pushed me towards finishing it.
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