How to look back at your year with visuals

A recap of our recap of 2025 session.

Hi everyone, welcome to 2026!

I know January is almost over but this is the first time I can sit down to write. (But why, Zsofi, what’s been going on? Well, I sprained my ankle, then both kids got sick, of course not at the same time, so it was mostly house arrest for me in the first few weeks with practically no coherent thoughts whatsoever. + the news. but all good now!)

Back in December we did a nice drawing session with some people where we drew the highlights of 2025. A lot of you wanted to come but the timing didn’t work out and I promised I would share what we did.

The weeks are passing so quickly and there’s so much going on but I do believe it’s a good idea to look back at what happened last year and try making some sense of it. Drawings always help me do that and I hope they’ll do the same for you, so if you are up for it, here’s how we did it.

Step 1: Make a list of everything major that happened

Bought a house? On the list! Broke up with the boyfriend? Write that down too. Whatever happened that stands out to you, that triggers an intense emotion, write it down because all of it matters.

Step 2: Select the ones you want to include in your drawing

I know that a lot of things happened, but the point of this drawing is to really zoom out and look at the most important moments, because those are the things that make us moving forward.

Step 3: Draw the title

I love drawing the title first! Once it’s on the page, I’m not worried about how the drawing is going to turn out. It sits as an anchor and I know it will be fine.

Step 4: Write down your highlights and pair them with drawings to emphasise the point

When writing, feel free to use different fonts. I like to highlight the most important words with strong lettering. It helps them stand out and separates the entries. You can do the drawing straight with a pen or sketch it first with a pencil (I use this method myself).

Step 5: Color your drawing

I like to go minimalistic with colors, but you can go crazy, there are no rules here.

Your assignment this week is of course to do your own version of this recap. If you do it, feel free to DM or tag me, I’d love to see your version!

And here is mine, not colored yet, but soon.

Before I go, a few things:

If you are looking for some inspiration to start your own illustrated journal and form a habit, here’s a post from last year:

And if you want to read something great, check out this post by K. Woodman-Maynard. Looking at what’s going on in the US from Europe, it’s terrifying and very very sad at the same time. All my life we have looked to the US as the bastion of freedom and democracy, and now this. I highly recommend K’s post about the power of drawings. You can also check the #iceoutcomics on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/explore/search/keyword/?q=%23iceoutcomics

What Comics Can Do When the News Is Your Neighborhood

See you in two weeks!