Flash back to early 2021. We were still in the midst of covid, the world felt like it was falling apart, and NFTs were the latest thing. While many people got into NFTs for the non fungible aspect of the token, I was most inspired by the digital art.
The one that captivated my imagination the most was, of course, Beeple and his Everydays. I aspired to pursue something similar myself, perhaps not constrained to the daily format of Everydays, but a creative endeavor like that sounded so rewarding.
March 7, 2021 I started this project as nothing more than to practice drawing. I bought myself the cheapest tablet [Amazon] I could from Amazon and off I went. Drawing Pokemon.
While I haven’t reached the end just yet, it feels like I’m already on my victory lap. I’m going to finish—I will finish. And I’m already contemplating life after this project. I believe that creating this video to commemorate how far I’ve come will spur me to double my efforts and reach the finish line before they introduce another generation.
Admittedly, what began as a commitment to draw every day has somewhat waned in priority over the past few months. Because here’s the truth, I’m ready to draw something else.
So, what is this video about?
Well, I want to share how I’ve reached this point by highlighting the 9 phases I went through to draw these 900 Pokémon. I’ll delve into the various styles I’ve chosen, the techniques I’ve learned, and how they’ve sustained me throughout the project thus far. Let’s start at the beginning.
1. The crude phase:
When I began this project, I wanted to dive in fast. Looking back, I see I could’ve put more effort into those early stages. But I also knew that to tackle such a big project, I needed to get the ball rolling. That’s always been my style when starting something new: seize the moment and make the most of it while you’re feeling motivated.
Reflecting on it now, I didn’t completely rush through them, I did spend quite some time on these crude drawings, just easing into the whole experience of using a drawing tablet. While I’ve used Photoshop before for photo manipulation, I’ve never used it for illustration. It took me a bit to stumble upon the fact that in Photoshop, I could tap into new brushes, and once I did, it was like unlocking thousands of new possibilities. This phase was an exciting start.
2. The layers phase:
After the first 100 or so, I was getting pretty obsessed with trying as many different brushes as I could. At the same time, I was playing around with the format, adding backgrounds, and experimenting with composite images and integrating them into the drawings. This phase saw me coloring the Pokemon on separate layers, which really sharpened everything up.
Eventually, I came across a brush that clicked for me. It’s this thick, inky wet one that feels incredibly satisfying to use— the thickness varies based on how much pressure I apply. I really liked it. It was around this point that I realized I was fully committed to this project, and I knew there was no turning back.
3. The speed phase:
At the beginning of this phase, I noticed a shift. The initial excitement surrounding the project had dwindled, and despite sharing it with others, there was little in the way of fanfare or recognition. From here on, it was going to be a slog— just me, myself, and the next Pokémon to draw.
To inject some interest into the process, I began timing myself to see how fast I could complete each drawing. By adding this extra layer of pressure, I turned the practice into a game. It added some excitement, and for a while, I gauged progress not only by style, technique, or quality, but also by the time it took to create each piece.
4. The software migration phase:
Over 250 days into the project, I worked up the courage to try Adobe Illustrator. It took me a while to grasp the intricacies of this new tool. It fundamentally altered my perspective on illustrating, shifting my focus from lines to shapes and seeing art — and life — in a completely different way. Throughout this phase, I found myself toggling between Photoshop and Illustrator, exploring and determining which format, style, and software suited me best.
Some of my most memorable illustrations were made during this time, but I sometimes forget which software I used until I look harder. This discovery proved that working with Illustrator is not only faster but also more consistent compared to Photoshop when using my cheap Amazon drawing tablet. Additionally, I started testing the waters of animation around this time, and Illustrator just gave me more control.
5. The animation phase:
The animation phase wasn’t a long one but it was big one for me. I learned to use Adobe Animate and it was some of the most fun I had. While I thoroughly enjoyed the animation process, it added complexity to the daily task, making it more time-consuming. Still, I’m glad I was able to use this project to learn this technique and test out the software.
6. The combination phase:
This phase was a mix of everything, Photoshop, Illustrator, different brushes, some with lines some without. I was searching for my style at this point and I couldn’t really pick one. So I just bounced around, practicing old tricks and trying new stuff.
That’s how I kept myself invested. This leg of the project was all about having the freedom to do whatever I wanted and adjusting whenever I felt the image would look better in a certain way. And with this freedom, I saw a lot of progression during this time, which gave me confidence to branch out further to find my style.
7. The effects phase:
I found myself devoting increasingly more time to Illustrator and less to Photoshop at this stage. The next significant leap for me was delving into the 3D effects filters in Illustrator. This was a lot of fun and I really got a kick out of it. During this phase, I had the ambition to learn Blender, but I hit a roadblock and I couldn’t even get through making the Donut.
Following the 3D effects, I began incorporating the Grain effect more frequently and experimenting with the Transparency effect to add texture to the illustrations. I really enjoyed how a lot of these turned out, but there were a lot of misses during this phase as well.
8. The 3-point stroke phase:
Arguably the most extensive phase of this entire project thus far is what I’ve dubbed the “3 Point Stroke” phase, where I used the level 3 setting for line thickness. It was hard to say that this was becoming my style, but I did enjoy using this line thickness aesthetically and I don’t know, I was also kind of over experimenting at this point. I simply wanted to find my rhythm and maintain consistency. The daily time commitment was wearing out, especially considering I had been immersed in this project for over 2 years by this point.
It was also during this generation of Pokémon where they became more detailed and harder to draw. This meant that some took considerably more time to create. While there were Pokémon that were essentially circles with eyes, there were also ones like Celesteela.
9. The AI phase:
Finally, we arrive at the current phase. No, I’m not using AI to draw my Pokemon. I am still handcrafting each and every one using mostly the Point 3 Stroke thickness, however, I am also now returning to my experimental ways, and I’m doing that by incorporating AI into my creations.
I want to just stay in the loop and see the capabilities of Adobe’s built-in tools. This way, when the time comes to transition to other projects, I’ll be well-versed in them. Initially, I started with generating random images, but now I’m getting the hang of prompting backgrounds that don’t look awful. They are far from perfect, but they are pretty cool and it is interesting to see what the future holds.
The goal of this project was to do something consistently and hopefully get something out of it. Like the Pokemon themselves, this experience has been an evolution. So much of my life has changed, but this project has been a constant, something I could always fall back on when I get the overwhelming feeling, this restlessness that I have when I need to do something, but not sure what to do first. Drawing a Pokemon was always an option that didn’t require too many decisions. It’s nice knowing that I’ll always have another one lined up.
It has also been a reliable platform for me to try new things. There was no right or wrong when doing this. If I make a mistake and the Pokemon turns out awful, no problem, there will always be tomorrow. I make a conscious effort not to retract and edit a picture once it’s published. Once it’s out there, it’s out there.
So, 900 Pokemons down, a little over a hundred to go. The journey continues, this reflection is a nice little boost to keep me going. The big question now is: What will be my final phase of drawing Pokemon?
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Elliot Chan 