I used Procreate to create this series of illustrations inspired from taking Andy J. Miller’s workshop, Storytelling through Pictures at the ICON Illustration Conference.

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We started by brainstorming qualities about ourselves, reflecting on what misconceptions others may have on us based on those qualities, reflecting on which qualities surprise us the most, and from there, developing a phrase/call to action that could be used as a story concept.

The initial quality that stood out most to me was, ‘boundary setter.’ My previous struggles with setting boundaries were heavily rooted in childhood trauma, but it’s something that I’ve gotten better at over the years, as a result of therapy and life experiences. It’s brought me closer to people and has also resulted in distance from people, but overall, setting boundaries has helped me prioritize self-love and self-care.

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From there, I wanted to expand on the phrase, ‘Honor Your Capacity.’ For me, I’ve grown to view some aspects of boundary-setting through the lens of capacity. What do I have capacity for? What’s taking up too much space? What are the mainstays? What’s flexible? What do I have space for this week that I may not have for next week?

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I brought the phrase to life by using food to communicate my message. I’ve only got so many spots on my tray. What fits? What doesn’t? How do I feel when my tray is full? How do I feel when my tray is overflowing? Do I need to have some empty space on my tray?

I assigned each food item to a life category. Mac & Cheese as activities that feed my soul, peas as freelance projects, biscuits as random little chores, cookies as “special treats” like social events, solo travel, etc., fried chicken as non-negotiable daily things like work, sleep, etc.

It was fun to explore this concept through illustration in these various ways, from an empty tray, the tray comparison, the tray breakdown and the food pattern.