Draw A Dot – My Happiness Project

This pandemic has trained me to be more creative with my assets. One of them is Draw A Dot.

During this period, I have created a few projects to support the illustrators in the community. The response is very positive, which I am very thankful for. These projects also help me with my mental health and that’s something you probably do not know.

Back in early March, there were a lot of people telling me the city is probably going to shut down for a period of time. I also saw a lot of Draw A Dot followers were already in self-isolation and not doing so great. As a person who has gone through depression, I know clearly that I need to have something to occupy my time during this pandemic period. Therefore, I asked myself if there is anything I can do to boost up my spirit and help people at the same time. It didn’t take me long to come up with an idea and my first project #DrawADotTogether was born.

My goal of this project is to ask illustrators to submit illustrations with positive messages behind them. The illustrations can be anything, as long as they make the viewers feel good and loved. I am grateful that it turns out to be a successful project and helps a lot of illustrators to go through this tough time. When I look at those artworks, not only do I feel great but also good to know I have a very supportive community.

At the same time, I have done many Instagram LIVE with different illustrators I know. I actually really enjoy this experience because I finally get a chance to know them more on a personal level. At the same time, I am happy that those sessions have inspired many illustrators to try different things.

The Instagram LIVE sessions also inspired me to create 2 more projects. Few illustrators have suggested that they wanted to work on a chain project on Instagram and it happened spontaneously. If you check #DrawADotUnited on Instagram, you will see the gallery of this on-going project. I am so proud of the illustrators because they are doing an amazing job! And again, I am totally feeling the support and love from the community.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Meni Tejo Viviani (@menidose) on May 8, 2020 at 11:44am PDT

Another project is from my LIVE session with Sew Sketchy. She recommended me to create a designated spot for people to download coloring pages created by different illustrators. It was such a great idea so I made that happen within a few days. Now I have more than 20 illustrators contributed to this project and I am so proud of it.

Without a doubt, Draw A Dot is clearly my happiness project right now. I feel so fulfilled and happy when I see people are getting joy from the projects I create. These projects also occupy my mind so they prevent me from thinking of negative ideas. In a sense, I feel this pandemic is showing me which path I should focus on and the role I need to play from now on.

I am very inspired by the community right now and cannot wait to see the future of Draw A Dot. Thank you to the people who tell me not to give up on creating Draw A Dot, or else I would not be able to create projects to help people and myself.