Drinking and drawing in Montreal inspired Myron Campbell to start his own drawing party in Vancouver just over a year ago.

The digital design instructor, art director and animator coerced 15 creative industry co-workers, friends and students to attend his first event at Vancouver Film School café last June. Now, Draw By Night has taken off with up to 75 participants, even without booze.

Campbell typically rolls out long swathes of paper to amp up the communal experience where participants can sketch their stuff.

The group's Facebook page shows photos of themed events that happen roughly every six weeks with long tables of folks, heads bowed, pen to paper, drawing images inspired by themes including Meat Legs, Factory Rejects and Mascots.

"You can come in, you can draw, you can check out other people's stuff and they can check out yours," Campbell said. "Weirdly, it's like going to the gym and you know those really big meatheads that look at themselves in the mirror and grunt and groan... it's sort of like that with drawing."

Draw By Night celebrates its first anniversary as part of Drawn, the city's second annual drawing festival, July 17 to Aug. 7, with a drawing party outside the Diane Farris Gallery July 28.

Campbell said turntablist, DJ and graphic novelist Kid Koala, a.k.a. Eric San, started a drawing party in Montreal where he'd spin records and people would flock, drink tea and draw. Campbell, who was working at the National Film Board in Montreal at the time, also had fellow animators invite him over to drink beer and draw.

"I thought we needed to do something like that here," Campbell said.

To get his digital design students at Vancouver Film School to experiment with different forms, he organized Draw By Night. When energy is flagging, he sometimes tells participants to stop and switch to another section of paper.

"Everyone gets stuck in their own style in a way. And when you see your style next to other sensibilities, it's nice to shake it up that way," Campbell said.

Draw By Nightsters have doodled and created while Campbell's friend, whose pen name is Miguel Burr, read a chapter from his futuristic novel, Humanoid. They created their own mascots during the Olympics, and they tried out a digital graffiti wall provided by the local company Tangible Interactive that allowed them to digitally "spray paint" designs.

Draw By Night really took off after the event was featured as part of the Twitter/Art+Social Media exhibit at the Diane Farris Gallery in April.

Now fans of the gallery and members of an illustrators meet-up group join the industry folks and students from all 13 different Vancouver Film School programs at Draw By Night events. "People come here to be inspired," said Campbell, who notes drawing is the root of a variety of mediums.

The anniversary event on July 28 will be Draw By Night's first outdoor adventure with long tables and more individually sized sheets of paper set up in the courtyard of the Diane Farris Gallery at West Seventh Avenue and Fir.

Campbell still hasn't figured out how he could offer beer at Draw By Night in the Vancouver Film School café.

"I have to really look into that," he said. "It would probably draw more of a crowd."

Draw By Night runs 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Materials will be provided and participation is open to all.

For more information, see www.drawnfestival.ca.

crossi@vancourier.com