Are Art Challenges Worth Participating In?
My first 30 Day Flower Challenge co-hosted with my arty designer friend @illustrationfannyhh.
Did you know that Instagram is for more than posting and engaging? Sure you can find info for any interest you may have, DM friends, join giveaways, and explore new learning experiences. As an artist and designer, this visual space is a real feast for the eyes. But there is another purpose that seems to have found its way onto the platform. Art challenges.
If you’re not familiar with art challenges, they are simply a list of prompts meant to inspire artists to create within a specified timeframe. Artist then depict their own interpretation of each prompt and post their finished artwork on Instagram using a common hashtag. The hashtag ensures that you can find all the artwork for the challenge if you want to view it. In fact, the hashtag is what gathers the community that forms out of many challenges. These communities are some of the strongest I’ve seen.
Procreate art from a #HarryPotterFanArt challenge.
For example, last holiday season, I participated in a challenge by art agent Jehane Boden Spiers (see first image). If you haven’t heard of her, she owns a private agency that assigns contracts to artists who create artwork for her clients in exchange for licensing agreements. This work ranges from book illustrations, to art for products, and so on. Jehane decides which artist is best suited for which jobs in order to make them the most successful. But she also creates challenges of all types for those of us who would love to be inspired by her experience and knowledge of the commercial art industry.
Above is an image from a Harry Potter challenge I did. As you’ll notice my art has gone from Procreate to watercolors, but it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re contributing, what medium you use is generally welcome.
#Inktober is another challenge that has a particularly amazing community. It happens every October from the 1st to the 31st and it’s all October themed, from Halloween to fall colors. Any type of art is welcome and it doesn’t have to be scary to be cool.
Another of my personal favorites is Folk Tale Week. The work that comes out of this challenge is absolutely magical! One year I wrote an entire storyline around the art I created for this. It was all about the simple elf maiden Joselle who received a mysterious invitation to the palace. All seven posts document her dangerous journey and how she finds a beautiful key in the woods. Click here to check it out!
It’s hugely inspiring to see the art from other artists coming in with each prompt. I think that’s the real reason I join art challenges. To get inspired. For an artist what could be better than that?
Do you join art challenges? If not, would you consider it? Comment below! I’ve given you some great ones to start with but there are so many more. Tag me at @octopusconnection if you do and I’d love to share about it!
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