The Alphabet Superset

A is for Astronaut

What is the Superset?

The Alphabet Superset was an idea set up by Campbell Walker - who I came across on YouTube as struthless - to encourage you to create more and post it for people to see. You start with a theme and then week by week, starting at A, you draw something beginning with that letter in relation to your theme. Rather than being unsure what to draw each week, you simply follow the alphabet! The idea removes that sense of paralysis facing a blank page by making many of the decisions for you ahead of time.

You also choose the format and medium to stick to for the duration of the challenge. For my attempt, I opted to draft a pen and paper drawing, then digitise it. I posted all the final pieces to my Instagram, if you want to take a look at my drawings. I wanted all the designs to be contained within a circle, to give them a distinct style from other pieces I have worked on.

Think it sounds fun? Give it a go yourself!

Q is for Quiet

What theme did I choose?

For my theme, I chose "Beyond Our Modern World". I liked this theme as it gave me guidance during the challenge but was loose enough that I could fit my mood that week to a version of the theme.

Sometimes I focused on being literally, physically beyond the world. For example, the Astronaut floating through space.

Sometimes it was more temporal, i.e. beyond the modern, looking at the past or future. A couple of futuristic robots made their way into my Superset for this reason.

Other times, I wanted to evoke a feeling I sometimes have of looking at the modern world from the outside. Either briefly being removed from busy city life, like on a Quiet street. Or something that highlights the absurdity of things we see as day-to-day. Perhaps how a Primitive cave man would view the world we live in today.

V is for Village

How did I find it?

The main positive of the challenge was that it got me drawing. 26 drawings in a time where I might have only done a couple - or none! - otherwise. Sure, not every entry turned out exactly how I wanted it (something about my Escapism piece especially just doesn't fit with how I'd imagined it) but I'm glad they all exist as a result of taking part. And, as well as volume, I did produce some pieces I was happy with in the end. It even got me drawing away from the challenge. I really enjoyed getting involved as I do love to draw, but often struggle to find the time as it drops down my priorities.

It was a big effort and I was a little surprised I managed to stick to it for the full six months. Starting in September 2023 all the way through to March 2024. Making a commitment definitely helped to keep me motivated rather than a vague goal to "draw more" or similar.

So if you're looking to encourage yourself to be creative and increase your output then I can definitely recommend giving the Alphabet Superset a go!