What Emmeline Wore In July - Full Collection!

So here it is, finally, the full collection of What Emmeline Wore In July illustrations (click here to see it in more detail)! It's been a busy month juggling this project with my other illustration work, but it's been so very worth it.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it's surprisingly draining on your creativity being tied to create (and write about) illustrations every single day. Time off is valuable for replenishing your motivation and imagination, but on the other hand you get that buzz and satisfaction from being so productive.  I'm definitely one for pushing myself for a challenge, there's always that space to improve. For the first half of the month I'd say I had the balance just right, but as the month went on I was really starting to feel the lack of weekends.

Now the project's finished (and I've indulged in one of the laziest Sundays I've had all year) I'm feeling exceptionally happy I challenged myself to do this. Drawing each day pushes that learning curve straight up and really forces you to step outside your 'go-to' drawing options. Practising poses, weighting, expression and movement each day can have such a brilliant effect on your work and understanding of the way you create.

The core idea of this project was for me to get into the routine of creating every day, improve my drawing skills, have a little fun and a break from focusing on the admin side of my business and get back down to the raw creativity. 

As the posts gained momentum I started getting so many of my favourite brands looking to support the project and excitedly sharing the illustrations on social media, it's been amazing! So I want to say a big thank you to all the companies that got involved and supported the project:  Boden, Clarks, Cath Kidston, Moheda, White Stuff, Wolf & Moon, Laura Ashley, People Tree, Shore Projects, Seasalt and Poppy England - it's been really fun to connect and work with so many people and companies I admire.

At the moment I'm planning to give myself a liiiittle bit of a rest (although I have some big meetings this week!) and then knuckle down to work on some illustrated stories for Thought Bubble festival in November. The first Saturday after the project ended, it felt really odd not to have thrown in that extra consideration of how 'illustratable' the clothes I wanted to wear that day were (I won't deny I felt free!).  The challenge has perked up my appreciation for just how much fun fashion can be, and I'm definitely feeling open to taking more risks with it.  Being forced to put in that little bit of extra time in the morning, instead of defaulting to black jeans, has made the month a fair bit more colourful!

I'm a huge advocate of daily illustration challenges, not just for the promotion, but for the personal development of both your style and sense of creative self. I'm hoping to run a Winter edition of this project around the start of next year, so bring on the hats and scarves!

I'm so chuffed to see the project has had well over 75,000 views, along with a hefty bundle of likes and shares soaring into the thousands, it really means so much to have you guys supporting me and my work through this jungle of an industry!

You can see the full set of illustrated outfits in detail over on Behance, Pinterest or the What I Wore tab on this blog (which has a little more backstory with each one).

So, feeling inspired to take on a monthly drawing challenge? If you fancy a fairly gentle start I'd recommend looking into Inktober (in October, and yeah, it involves ink!) as you can get through it easily without focusing on colour or any particular subject matter. I had a great time with it last year. Do send me a link if you get involved!