The Invitation
About
This was a personal challenge project to do a pen and ink illustration each day for a month and combine them all into a short illustrated story.
The story itself is told in the second person point of view with the intention of drawing the reader in as quickly as possible, implicating them into the character's actions from the outset.
Creating art with traditional mediums is very important to me. I love the capabilities that computers offer, and this project was completed digitally, but I'm firmly in the camp of embracing physical art mediums.
Tools
Methods
Pen and Ink
Character Design
Creative Writing
Storytelling
Book Design
Challenges
The biggest challenge was the time-frame I set for myself. Completing a project of this scope, while doable, proved to be hurdle that I'm very proud of overcoming. The basic workflow didn't get established until a week into the project when I realized that working on it "whenever I had time" needed to be much more defined. So I sat down one day, mapped out all of my commitments between my relationship, my social life, and work. With all of that in view, I knew where the gaps were that could be filled with digging into this project. Then I made a very specific list of deliverables and deadlines for each of them. It was tight, and there's always that little voice that says I could have done this or that, but I did accomplish my goal, and I look back fondly on this project.
Deliverables
Impact and Learning
Seeing this project to completion is one of my most cherished accomplishments because it taught me so much. Firstly, I learned how important a very specific plan can be for big projects, especially if you want to actually see them to completion. The bigger the project, the more moving parts, the more specific this plan needs to be. Secondly, I gained a lot of self respect in seeing myself finish something that I had planned. It's enormously satisfying when you can sit back and admire a completed project.