Creatives and artists often talk about how certain projects serve as valuable learning experiences. But WNW Member Mark McCormick's ongoing project, Word is Drawn, is literally that. And not the misuse of "literally" that people are often tossing around. Five years ago, during a creative dry spell, Mark decided to hone his skills as a lettering artist and designer by subscribing to Dictionary.com's daily email and drawing whichever word it threw at him. Mark's resulting renderings manage to perfectly blend the word's definition and a good bit of humor. In short, they're both fun and educational.
Read MoreONE THOUSAND DAYS OF DRAWING WITH CHRIS PIASCIK
ONE THOUSAND DAYS OF DRAWING WITH CHRIS PIASCIK
It has been fun to watch the evolving skills and styles of WNW Member #1168 Chris Piascik. A main contributor to this constant motion is Chris's commitment to posting a daily drawing to his blog every Monday-Friday, since 2007. In case you're out of the loop, and haven't been keeping up on Chris's blog, or following Chris on Instagram, he's generously compiled a nice round number of them in his second collection, titled Another 1000 Days of Drawing. You can buy a copy here.
Check out last year's Free Range interview with Chris, where he discusses his daily drawings and the ways he has benefitted from this commitment.
Are you a WNW Member with new work, exhibits, products, or news to share? Email us!
HOW I CHANGED MY LIFE: CHRIS PIASCIK
HOW I CHANGED MY LIFE:
CHRIS PIASCIK
In our continuous pursuit to uncover the keys to productivity, we turned to WNW Member #1168 Chris Piascik. He's an accomplished illustrator who has posted a total of 2,000 original works since 2007. If anyone can teach us how to be disciplined, its Chris.
Not only has he inspired folks like Josh LaFayette along the way, he's changed his own life. Chris credits his daily posts with granting him the freedom to go independent. His work ethic is inspiring and his work? Fucking awesome.
How’d you start? Why?
I spent the majority of my childhood drawing all the time and that continued all through school. Drawing new packaging for the albums around my house made me think I wanted to be a graphic designer. So I went to art school, majored in graphic design and became a graphic designer. After a few years I realized I wasn’t drawing as much as I used to. The only drawing I was really doing was sketches for the projects I was working on. That realization kind of freaked me out, so I decided to make it a point to start drawing more. Being an obsessive, workaholic I decided the only thing to do would be to post a new drawing on my site everyday. That was at the end of 2007.
Did you declare that you were going to post every day or were you doing this anyway and then declared it?
I actually posted, "I have set myself a goal to spend a few minutes each day drawing something (anything) in my sketchbook."
How did you choose Instagram as your medium?
I wouldn’t say Instagram is my medium, it just happened to be a popular outlet for viewing my drawings. I’ve always used social media to share my daily drawings and when Instagram came out it was a good fit for me. I started my daily drawings pretty long before Instagram was around.
Do you stockpile a few in advance?
Once in a while, I wish I did more. I really only stockpile if I am going to be traveling and won’t have time. Even then, I often find myself working in a hotel room late at night getting a new post ready.
Did you ever almost quit? How’d you keep going?
Nope, I really enjoy doing a new drawing each day. Sometimes it’s a struggle, but once I am drawing it’s usually all good. I like the process and support/feedback I get on social media.
How have you seen your work change?
My illustrations have vastly improved and I’ve gotten faster, smoother, and more consistent.
What’s the hardest part?
Coming up with ideas. I used to be more willy-nilly with what I drew, more random nonsense. At some point, I raised the bar for myself. In the early days, my dailies were just quick doodles in a sketchbook. Now each drawing has become a finished illustration.
Who else is doing this that you admire?
It’s been great watching my friend Josh LaFayette grow through his daily drawing series. His drawings are the best and he always makes me laugh.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in doing this?
Doing something everyday definitely pays off! My daily drawing series literally changed my life. When I started I was a staff designer at a small studio, a year into my dailies I started getting commissioned client work based on my drawings. A couple years later I was a fully independent illustrator. I’ve been working for myself doing exclusively illustration since 2010, I never would have imagined that would be possible.
Tell us about 1000 Days of Drawing: did you always intend to do a book? How'd you decide that 1,000 postings was enough to make a book?
I had no plans for my dailies when I first started. I wish I did because it would have saved me a lot of work digging through sketchbooks trying to wrangle and scan each of them. After I got to around 500 I started thinking it would be cool to do a book. To me, 1,000 seemed like the magic number. I’m getting close to 2,000 now and I’m planning on doing a second book.
More Daily Drawings
If you have tips to share on how to be productive...Email us!
ON DISCIPLINE: THIS IS HOW I GET WORK
ON DISCIPLINE: THIS IS HOW I GET WORK
Discipline. So necessary yet can be so elusive. It's integral to developing craft (or getting anything done, for that matter); yet in our world, it can sometimes be hard to come by. "Discipline" is defined as "the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience." No wonder we don't like it.
One of our goals for the new year is to learn as much as we can from our super-smart and talented community. Adopting better practices of discipline was top on our list and we thought, who better to learn from than members who've committed to posting daily work?
Meet WNW Member #1169 Josh LaFayette. Josh is a Boston-based illustrator who has worked for clients that include Nike, Oscar Meyer, Atlantic Records, New Balance, and BMG/Sony. He credits daily drawings for his development and success as a freelance illustrator. "I’ve learned that idea generation is a skill that can be practiced and sharpened just like anything else." Check out our interview with Josh below and make sure to visit his blog.
How’d you start?
My close pal and mentor, Chris Piascik, definitely influenced my decision to start. I’ve been making things and putting them on the Internet since I got my first computer in college, but I decided to make it “a thing” in 2011.
Why?
I used to be very bad at doing things consistently and I wanted to change that about myself. Also, I knew that I eventually wanted to be an independent artist and to do that I figured I would need a following. I had seen how much of a following Chris had gotten from posting everyday, so I went for it, too.
Did you declare that you were going to post every day or were you doing this anyway and then declared it?
In 2008, I made a blog post about how I was going to post everyday. I made it exactly 2 days into the project before I failed. Then in 2011, I quietly started posting every weekday (after a pep talk from Chris that went something like, “Dude, just do it. Just draw something right now and start today.”) Then on Jan 1 2012, I “announced” that I was doing a drawing everyday that year, and I succeeded. In 2013, I switched to only weekdays, and I’ve been going ever since. Just posted #961 tonight!
How did you choose Instagram as your medium?
Well, I post to a ton of social media sites everyday—flickr, Society6, tumblr, dribbble, twitter, my blog, and Instagram (I used to do Pinterest, but Pinterest is ungood for self promotion). Instagram has proven to be the most beneficial as far as connections and gaining clients.
Do you stockpile a few in advance?
Sometimes if I’m going on vacation or something. But that’s rare. I usually do them sometime between 7–11pm, every Sunday night through Thursday night.
Did you ever almost quit? How’d you keep going?
I’ve said out loud, “AGH I WANNA QUIT!” like 100 times, but I’ve never actually almost quit. This is how I get work. Stopping would be v bad and ungood for my life and career.
How have you seen your work change?
My work has gotten outrageously better. Not only my technique and ability to render more like I want to, but my ability to come up with ideas. I’ve learned that idea generation is a skill that can be practiced and sharpened just like anything else.
What’s the hardest part?
Coming up with ideas, for sure. Sometimes the thinking of the idea takes much longer than doing the actual drawing.
Who else is doing this that you admire?
Have I mentioned Chris Piascik? DR. ME in Manchester, UK is in the middle of project called 365 Days of Collage that I’m really into. Tim Bontan in Rotterdam, The Netherlands just wrapped a 365 days of lettering project that is just incredible. I just learned of Marta Ryczko who recently did 1000 days of drawing and started an Everyday Letter project this year that’s great. Also, though technically not everyday, Mikey Burton’s Barrel Body project is outta sight.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in doing this?
I used to feel straight up awful at drawing. Now I feel not-awful at drawing, and other people pay me to draw for them. That is a direct result of drawing everyday. Perseverance, consistency, and honesty with yourself will result in improvement. You can’t get worse—you can only get better.