100 chances to challenge herself: Cynthia Tran Vo's “mildly traumatizing” 100 Project

by Cynthia Tran Vo (IDEA19)

This project dates back to my first year in the program and it still keeps its place as one of the most memorable yet mildly traumatizing projects.

It was definitely a test of time management and perseverance. Going into this, I knew very well that this was basically 100 chances to challenge myself. So with that in mind, I decided to focus on challenging my technical/illustration style.

100 Project

Sketches by Cynthia Tran Vo

Digital Illustrations by Cynthia Tran Vo

Left to right: European Eel, Whiteleg Shrimp, and Blaze Ferret

Digital Illustrations by Cynthia Tran Vo

Left to right: Sifaka, Panther Chameleon, and True Parrots

Digital Illustrations by Cynthia Tran Vo

Left to right: Green Frog, House Mouse, and Swordfish

At this point of time, I didn’t have a particular illustration style, but I knew that I leaned towards a flat geometric illustration style.

With the style that I envisioned myself pursuing, I knew that I would have to be more familiar with Adobe Illustrator, so I took this project as an opportunity to get used to the program. I kept with a simple theme of animals, but limited myself to basic shapes and the pathfinder tool, forcing myself to see what I could do with a limited palette.