Looking Inside: Illustrating What We Feel

A few months ago, I explored relationships through simple line drawings on my blog. This experience inspired me to consider how I could represent emotions using basic colours, lines and curves. Around the same time, I discovered mindful art, which encouraged me to learn more about it and practice mindful art exercises.

One particularly impactful exercise is the body scan. This art activity helps you become more mindful of your body and your emotions in a nonjudgmental way. The process involves drawing an outline of the human body and using colours and patterns to express your emotional and physical state, indicating where those feelings are experienced in the body. Though it may seem straightforward, this exercise fostered self-awareness and feeling of gratitude towards my body, also helping me accept aspects of myself that I am sometimes at war with.

I took this exercise a step further to illustrate various universal emotions - such as joy, anger, self-doubt, confusion, and many more. For instance, I depicted self-doubt as a small figure standing in the middle of towering obstacles that seem insurmountable. This imagery captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by challenges, emphasizing the struggle and intimidation that often accompany self-doubt. In contrast, joy was illustrated as a figure holding ribbons, twirling with exuberance. This representation conveys the lightness and freedom that joy brings.

These visual interpretations helped me deepen my own understanding of these feelings and express them in a tangible way. Many a times, it has helped me unpack layers of what I am feeling and why. I found clarity in chaos and learned to honour each emotion's significance without judgment.

Here are some of those illustrations

Joy:

Self-doubt:

Confused:

Anxious:

Grief:

Anger:

Hope:

Grit:

Dear reader, this exercise has reminded me that it is okay to feel deeply. It is what makes us human. How would you interpret and illustrate these emotions and feelings?

All illustrations were made on Procreate app.

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