30 Days of Skulls
Creative challenges and rituals
Dear Reader,
In case you haven’t guessed, I love skulls.
I don’t know why exactly, other than I just find them cool. I think there’s something both unsettling and satisfying and maybe even slightly comforting about looking at a skull and thinking, wow, that’s gonna be me one day. It’s like a safe way to confront the knowledge that I’m gonna die one day and so will everyone that I care about. We’re all just a bag of bones and one day that bag will rot or burn away and the bones will be the only thing left of us.
I don’t know, sometimes it’s a comforting thought. I can’t be the only one who thinks that, can I?
Anyways…
I’ve always wanted to be able to draw skulls, so this past December, I challenged myself to practice drawing them every day of the month. And I actually managed to show up every single day! It’s amazing how much more motivating something becomes when you make a game out of it—even if no one else is playing.
Here’s what my progress looked like…
Day 1-9
The first week or so. You can probably tell that some days, I spent more time working on my drawings than others.
Day 10-17
This was when I started to get a little bored with the challenge and tired of trying to copy the extremely detailed book illustrations (as cool as they are), so I put the book down and started looking up simple skull tutorials online, including some more cartoonish-looking ones. And I stopped using pencil because I was getting too focused on erasing and trying to fix things and getting too much in my head.
I also realized how much harder it is to draw skulls from the side view.
Day 18-27
Trekking along, and determined to finish the month once I got half way through. Some more attempts at drawing skulls from the side, a Santa skull, and a half-hearted attempt at drawing the rest of the skeleton. Maybe I’ll save that for another month.
Another type of skull that’s harder to draw—skulls without chins. I like my skulls to have chins.
It was frustrating not being able to see a clear, perfectly linear improvement every day—even though I know that’s not how it works. Progress isn’t always linear—and it’s still progress!
Day 20, 28-31
The last few days, and my favourite skulls of the month! Honestly, I think one of the most important skills I learned was how to draw wayyy lighter when you’re starting out—how much easier it makes it to gradually adjust the shapes and etch in your details. I noticed this especially with the top middle skull.
For the last day, I used that first photo of the skull on top of the pile of books as a reference to try something a little different and add some context instead of just a random floating skull. I had a surprising amount of fun drawing books at this specific angle. Books are very satisfying to draw.
So I made it through the end of the month and now I’m taking a break from skulls, but thinking that every month, I’ll give myself a new creative challenge. It’s a fun way to build consistency and accountability into my creative practice. This month, I’m doing one watercolour painting everyday and journalling about it. Next month, I might challenge myself to develop a morning sketching habit. Maybe one month, I’ll draw a bird every day. Or books. Or return to skulls, and learn how to draw full skeletons. It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities. Let me know if you have any other suggestions!
And if you’re interested in seeing more of my art and seeing the timelapse videos that I share of my watercolour paintings, follow me on Instagram at nico_sakaki! Or on Tumblr at nicosakaki if you’re old school.(Is Tumblr old-school? To me it feel old school.)
There can be a lot of pressure on January to be the month where we do All The Things and Finally Do That Thing We Said We Would—even though it’s deep into winter and nature is telling us it’s time to rest.
One thing that’s helped take some of the pressure off is seeing January as a kind of “test month.” The month where I’m trying out different habits and rituals, experimenting with different ways of working, different times of working, seeing what works and what doesn’t. What comes easy and what doesn’t? Are there things I can let go of? Ways to make certain things easier? Ways to adjust? (Do I want to change the name of my newsletter?)
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of the new year, I hope you can also see this month as a test month, knowing that you have the permission to adjust and pivot as much as you need to.
I hope you’re able to carve out some small moments of peace. I hope you are being kind to yourself.
With love and gratitude,
If you’d like to support me and my work you can do so through my kofi page.