The 100 Day Project with Janee Trasler

Welcome, Picture Book Builders people!

Today, I invited award-winning author/illustrator Janee Trasler to share a post about one of her creative pursuits–The 100 Day Project. Perhaps it may inspire you to take on a project of your own.

Here’s Janee…..

Have you heard of The 100 Day Project? It’s an online creativity challenge. The idea is that you choose something, commit to doing it every day for 100 days, and document as you go along.

People choose such interesting and various projects – writing, painting, collecting, photography, music, etc.

This is my fourth year to take part. We’ve just passed the halfway point.

In 2023 and 2024, I focused on painting and collage in sketch books or small canvases. I totally enjoyed it, but my social media presence suddenly looked like I dabbled in mixed media instead of highlighting my real work in children’s books. Probably not what an editor or art director likes to see.

For 2025, I decided to focus my project on illustration. I experimented with brushes, tried new techniques, and embraced the chance to draw without editorial expectations.

Not only did it help focus my social grids, but I also had a stockpile of new art to choose from for my website, Kidlit Postcards, and my agency’s look-book.

This year is more of the same, but I’m also using the project to fill some holes in my portfolio. For instance, I tend to gravitate to outdoor scenes, so I am purposefully including interior backgrounds.

If you’re interested, I would encourage you to try it yourself. You can can do the challenge any time you like, but if you want to play along with everyone else, the official 100 days starts around the end of February each year.

You don’t have to be an artist to participate. Look at the #dothe100dayproject and #the100dayproject hashtags on Instagram for inspiration or simply to ooh and ahh over some of the fabulous projects people have completed in the past. This is the link to the official The 100 Day Project site.

One hundred thank yous to Janee for this post!

BIO:

Janee is the author-illustrator of nearly twenty books for children. She loves to make kids laugh. Whether she’s writing and illustrating her books, illustrating other authors’ books, singing silly songs, or making puppets do their thing, nothing makes her happier than hearing that giggle!
Follow her latest 100 Day Project on Instagram right here.

Janee’s latest book:

Readers will ­enjoy exploring the small details throughout the background art and the fantastic ­display of facial expressions that ­complement the characters. . . .This ­collection of short comics is perfect for emerging readers who like ­humorous friendship series like “Elephant and Piggie,” and Tina Kügler’s “Fox Tails.”
—School Library Journal

Endearing. . . .Even the simplest of sequences will maintain young readers’ visual interest with subtle details, like changes to the colored backgrounds during more leisurely paced sequences. . . .Reading comprehension gets a leg up with this charming new series.
—Kirkus Reviews

This satisfying, approachable, and achievable volume will have lots of appeal for fans of Ben Clanton’s Narwhal & Jelly and Mika Song’s Norma and Belly comic series.
—Booklist

WINNER:

Congratulations to Rebecca Gomez! She is the winner of a signed-by-me copy of Pizzasaurus.