I Wanted To Step Out Of My Comfort Zone, So I Took The ‘March Of Robots’ Challenge (31 Drawings)

I have usually been a part of challenges that I know I can thematically explore with ease, like Inktober and even 36 days of type. I always lean towards softer lines and styles, hence predominantly nature is always my safe zone. I barely draw machines or let manmade objects into my work. I came across the MOR challenge in 2019 and loved the various approaches people had toward the execution. In 2020 I just dived into it, making sure I kept my style intact in the process. I actually had plans of pushing it for 2021 because I wasn't confident.

I couldn't figure out what my first stroke should be while sketching. I had to change my ways of approaching an illustration with this challenge. I looked up references to other robots, humanoids, gears, wires and existing drawings of robots by other great artists. I tried finding ways to simplify these complex references in my work. I did no warmups before the challenge and just started. There are so many of these illustrations I struggled with that feel incomplete to me but within the series, everything fits perfectly.

I sneakily managed to use elements of animals in my robot drawings. You will notice hints of a ladybug, sea horse, crabs, frog, dragonfly, etc. I had to make sure that the nature aspect had a softness to it while keeping in mind the harder lines of metal or an object. Though I drew one every day, I went through 3 sketches at least to make the final one. It took me several tries to bring the right balance to each robot. 

If you're wondering about my future projects, I hope that 2023 is a year for taking up more challenges and also to finish them. When it comes to commissioned projects, I have a few lined up that I can't share. But updates of these will be made public on Behance and Instagram. I never plan my personal projects. They just happen simultaneously.