Exploring Animals in Art: My 100 Day Project Challenge

Tackling the 100 Day Project: A Challenge to Draw Daily

Every artist faces moments of creative stagnation, and sometimes, the best way to push through is with a challenge. That’s why I decided to take on the 100 Day Project—a global creative challenge where artists, designers, and makers commit to creating something every day for 100 days. It’s an opportunity to explore, refine skills, and develop a cohesive body of work over time.

Why I’m Doing the 100 Day Project

A goal I have for 2025 is, I want to build a pattern collection, and I saw the 100 Day Project as the perfect way to develop a style of drawing, while creating potential motifs. Not to mention staying accountable. My theme? Animals! It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me, that I would choose to focus on animals, but this challenge is also a way for me to explore my cross-hatching/shading drawing style, that I hope to carry over into my pattern making.

Colorful botanical bouquet illustration featuring pink dahlias, white cosmos, golden wheat stalks and green leaves by K. Maloney Design for The 100 Day Project

Detailed pen and ink portrait drawing of a Capybara with whiskers and expressive eyes by K. Maloney Design for The 100 Day Project

My Process and Approach

I’m working digitally for this project, which allows me to stay flexible and maintain consistency. Each day, I sketch a different animal, using a mix of line work to capture textures and movement. So far, I’ve completed:

Day 1: An Elephant
Day 2: A lonely Turtle
Day 3: A Rabbit & Hedgehog
Day 4: Two Penguins
Day 5: Tribute to Baby Chicks
Day 6: A Chicken
Day 7: A Crow
Day 8: A Squirrel
Day 9: A Baby and Mommy Fox
Day 10: A Jumping Spider

I’ve been incorporating text with some of the images as well. The first few had heavier, more emotional tones, however I’ve switched to more humorous and light heart messages. There are also some drawings that I’ve made the decision to not include text at all.

Purple and pink floral bouquet illustration with dahlias, zinnias, lavender sprigs and green foliage by K. Maloney Design for The 100 Day Project

A black and white drawing of a chicken, who is in mid stride. It creates the feeling that the chicken is on a mission of some sort with a determined look in its eye.

What I’m Learning So Far

Just nine days in, I’m already noticing how this challenge is shaping my creative process. Here are a few key takeaways:

Consistency builds confidence. Committing to drawing every day has helped me trust my instincts more, and with that drawing has started to come easier.
Themes evolve naturally. Initially, I had a rigid idea of my direction, but I’m allowing room for spontaneity, and some of my favorites so far have been just because I felt it in the moment.
Community matters. Sharing my progress on Instagram and Tik Tok has led to engaging conversations and encouragement from others.

A black and white sketch style drawing of a crow looking to the right, over it's shoulder. At the crows feet is a peanut ready to be eaten.

Looking Ahead

As I continue this journey, I plan to introduce some of these drawings as prints in my store for purchase. So if you have a request, make sure to leave it in the comments below. I’m also excited to see how my style evolves and how these individual pieces might come together in a larger pattern collection. Beyond that, I hope this challenge strengthens my daily creative practice and helps me push my artistic boundaries.

If you’re thinking about doing your own version of the 100 Day Project, I highly encourage it! Whether it’s drawing, writing, photography, or any creative endeavor, there’s something incredibly rewarding about showing up every day for your craft.

Follow my progress on Instagram @kmaloneydesign and let me know—what animal would you love to see next in this series?