WEEK 1 - Your very first HOMwork assignment is here!
Welcome to the first week of HOMwork! This first challenge is my absolute favorite.
No really, it’s a list of my favorite things! To kick things off, your assignment this week is to letter your beautiful name surrounded by words that describe your favorite things.
These could be bands, foods, activities, feelings, places, and more - it’s completely up to you! Whatever comes to mind when you think of things that bring you joy or pleasure in life is exactly what I want you to put onto paper.
For your eyes only, I recorded a time lapse video of the creation of my piece shown above! You can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/250731983/384e5a6cbb
I hope it provides some helpful reference for how I laid out this piece. I always start with my guidelines and rough shapes for where words will go and then start sketching with pencil (erasing and adjusting often, as you can see!). Feel free to mimic this technique and layout for your assignment or go ahead and create your own.
So why start with your favorite things? Well, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How did you find your voice & style as an artist?”
I think a great place to look for inspiration for your work is in the things you enjoy outside of your creative work. You know, the stuff you naturally gravitate towards, the things that bring a smile to your face.
For example: if you look at my drawing above, I love lettering, travel, and creativity...so two years ago, I turned those loves into the project No Photos Please. I went on a year long trip around the world and decided to give myself a fun creative challenge: instead of taking pictures to commemorate my trip, I would document each place I visited through lettering pieces in my sketchbook.
By creating a large volume of work around this specific theme, I started becoming known for my travel sketchbook pieces, which helped establish what I’m all about as a designer (AKA my voice). It also forced me to practice hand lettering nonstop for a year, which is my answer to the second part of that frequently asked question. While you can strategically create work around specific topics that interest you to find your voice, the only way to really define your style and skillset is to practice your craft regularly and experiment often.
By signing up for HOMwork, you’ve already taken a step towards accomplishing both - go you!
After you complete the assignment, the second part of the challenge is to snap a photo of your drawing and post it on Instagram with the hashtag #HOMwork so we can see what everyone created. This assignment also acts as a mini introduction to the rest of the group, so in the caption of the post, I’d love for you to tell us a little bit about yourself & the backstories of a few of your favorite things. Bonus points for liking and commenting on as many other participants’ posts as possible 😊💕
Remember, if you look to your everyday obsessions for inspiration, all of your projects will be kinda have to be passion projects. The more personal work you do that’s inspired by things you’re actually passionate about, the more likely that you’ll start getting hired for that sort of work.
Make sure to complete & post your work before you go to bed on Thursday night next week because there will be a new challenge waiting for you next Friday. Can’t wait to see what you create!
Love,
Lauren
PS For anyone wondering about the emo music, it’s a habit from high school that I just couldn’t shake. Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Paramore...definitely blasting in my studio at least once a week. NO SHAME.
