#8. How to turn an art challenge into a homemade comic?

Read the whole comic below the section 'The Result'

M

Memory

Here, you can see one of my favourite pages of my homemade comic, ' A Bee’s Journey’. You can digitally read the entire story below the section ‘The Result.’

Several art challenges are available on the Internet and social media each year.

In 2023, I decided to challenge myself by participating in Peachtober. Not only did I think of creative ways to draw the 31 prompts, but I also created my own story to paint.

In this article, I share how you can maximise the experience of participating in an art challenge while creating a meaningful piece(s) of work by the end of it, fostering creativity and improving art skills.

_____

O

Objectives

This homemade graphic novel was born to improve my creative and storytelling skills. I also wanted to use a fun notebook to create comics I found during a road trip in the South of France in 2022. In addition, I was searching for an excuse to draw/paint consistently.

This is the notebook I bought during my road trip in 2022. It was created by Gwenaille Trollez, which was a lovely discovery, by the way.

M

Method and materials 

Although I sometimes used reference images to draw the insects, I tried to use my imagination to create as many different images as possible.

For the art supplies, I used Arrtx gouaches, Holbein brushes, a white Posca marker, a black fine liner, and a golden tube painting.

Regarding the story, as you can see in one of the images below, I wrote down each word to draw and imagined a story to connect them. I must admit it was not always easy, and at times, it jumped slightly unnaturally from one place to another.

Some images to show you the process: top left is the storyline I used to create the thumbnails; top right, a photo of the art supplies I used; bottom left, I often used the provided grids as a starting point; other times, I completely ignored them and painted the entire page; bottom right, the prompts of the Peachtober art challenge, created by illustrator Sha’an d’Anthes (the prompt list inspires creatives to make something every day and share it online during October).

_____

E

Experimentation

• Drawing from imagination was challenging at times, but it helped me to loosen my art practice, have fun and adopt a beginner’s attitude by reminiscing how I would have drawn something as a child.
• It was handy to limit my art supplies; these included selecting a few colours and having a template with grids to draw each page, although, at times, I went freestyle.
• Regarding social media and posting my work as I was doing it, I decided not to go for that option and focus on something I would do for the sake of it.

_____

N

Not-so-cool aspects to consider

• Time constraints: This art challenge was conceived to be done in a month. Unfortunately, I couldn’t adapt to such a rigid schedule.
• At times, I could hear the critical voice being too hard with what I was doing and questioning my purpose. I had to detach myself from judging my work and avoid using qualifying adjectives. I was more focused on getting the 31 drawings and the story done.

_____

T

The result, a.k.a the final reveal
Voilà, the masterpiece :-)
I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed creating it.

A Bee’s Journey by Natasha-Gonzalez, 2024*:

*No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by any means without the author's prior written consent. All artwork, unless stated otherwise, is copyright ©Natasha-Gonzalez.

_____

O

Observations, findings, and lessons learned

• It took me longer than expected: six months, to be exact, and that’s ok!
• I’m proud of myself for finishing and having a final piece of work to share (plus my first mini-graphic novel!!!).
• It was freeing to create a story from imagination, tailor this challenge to what I needed to learn and adapt it to my constraints.
• At times (especially after months passed), committing to finishing the book and finding the motivation was difficult.
• Because it took me six months to complete, at times, there are inconsistencies between the first paintings and the last ones; I prefer to call them ‘evolution of style’ ;-)

_____

S

Sharing is caring

If you can relate to any of my struggles with creativity, here are a few e-courses I've taken in the past months that I highly recommend:

• Creative Confidence: Learn to Overcome the Critical Voice || part of The Inner Critic Series by Lucy Lambriex. 15-min class on Skillshare
• From Botanical Drawings to Narrative Illustration by Illustrator Elizabeth Builes Carmona, e-course available on Domestika.

_____

Did you read 'A Bee’s Journey'? If you did, please share your thoughts in the comments!

Also, what do you think of this new format of M.O.M.E.N.T.O.S?

Until next time :-)

Happily,

Natasha