Why should I bother with art challenges?
October special - Part 1
So, it’s here. October. Otherwise known as #inktobter, #drawtober, #peachtober #pinktober #cutober #stinktober…. etc etc. It really is the month where we need to reschedule ANYTHING that doesn’t involve drawing and posting cute or spooky stuff everyday. Got any deadlines? FORGET ABOUT IT. But many artists and illustrators quite justifiably suffer from October art overwhelm. I guess we’re going to need a fancy word for this new condition, aren’t we. Octoberwhelm? I’ll keep thinking.
But despite how overwhelming this season can feel to anyone that suffers from even the slightest bit of artist FOMO (Oh no, another condition in need of a name…) there really is a lot of good that can come out of participating in art challenges. Anyone who knows how I got into children’s illustration will know I am a MASSIVE fan of #the100dayproject. If you don’t know my origin story, then keep a look out for the October issue of the Write Mentor Magazine for Children’s Writers, as there will be an article by me all about how I got started in the industry and how I found my agents. Spoiler alert: the answer is art challenges. Above is a #dtiys challenge I recently participated in, created by @juliaalbertin.
I plan to spend the month of October talking about my different experiences with art challenges, and thought this week I would start with #dtiys. or Draw This In Your Style. I really love these. In my opinion, a #dtiys is a gift we can offer the drawing community. To create one for yourself, you just need to post a drawing you think people might want to draw, come up with a hashtag for it, and offer a few rules or instructions about when people should post and what they should do. It can be quite daunting to post your own, there’s always a fear no one will join! But seeing other people’s versions of your #dtiys start to pop up is so worth it! Above you can see a challenge I hosted this time last year, a long a few of the responses. I love Autumnal fall vibes!
Above is another of my #dtiys challenges that I launched in June this year, but maybe now its spooky season, if you haven’t already, you might want to give it a try! Participating in someone else’s #dtiys challenge is really great fun. I find it is a great way to relax and draw in the evenings and doesn’t involve too much thinking. It’s easy to find the challenges, just search any of the #dtiys hashtags, make sure you find the original person that created the #dtiys you found so you can share their work with yours. And then just have fun. A top tip for choosing which challenge to draw: If you already have an established style, then I would suggest choosing a challenge which is in a totally different style to what you draw in. It might help encourage you to maybe use more texture, or a looser line, or anything that takes you out of your comfort zone. Look for challenges with themes that inspire you, or colour palettes you always fancied working in. You can of course change the colour palette in any #dtiys you choose, and if you find a challenge that was created in a style similar to yours, then making changes like colours or the composition/pose etc, could really help you try new things.
If you haven’t settled on an artistic style yet, or you want to try new things, then a #dtiys challenge is the perfect way to try different things out. I bet even if you tried to copy it perfectly, there would still be little signs of you in there. Those little bits are what make you, and your art, you. So lean into them. That acceptance will help you establish a style that is authentically you, rather than fighting against the way you naturally do things.
I loved this #dtiys by my ace mate @dogwoodfinch (on the right), but my style required me aging up the character and adding a few different details (left). And of course the line work, something I have accepted is part of me. Hopefully this shows how a #dtiys can give you new ideas you might not have thought of doing, whilst still creating a new piece of art that has your signature style. This piece often gets highlighted by publishers from my instagram and I have got some great projects thanks to this. So thanks to you too Megan!
So overall, I think seeing art challenges as an optional opportunity for you to dip into and try new things, connect with new people and set yourself goals is a good attitude. Don’t put yourself under too much pressure. Don’t feel like you can’t break the rules. It’s your portfolio you’re working towards after all. But also, make sure you respect the person who created the challenge. The artist may not be comfortable with you making products out of their challenge, or you posting it without giving them credit etc. And definitely don’t feel like you have to do all the things. Because it’s physically humanly impossible to do ALL THE THINGS.
Let’s connect!
Have you seen any cool October art challenges that we should all be doing? Please feel free to link to them in the comments. I definitely have my eye on this one by @studiohoffmann…
And also this one by fellow illoguilder @jengubicza :
Or any brilliant new #dtiys challenges doing the rounds? Extra points for spooky/silly/farts included!
Have a great week everyone! And remember, I’m always loitering around here if you want to hear more from me, and my Illoguild crew can be found here. They also all have super interesting substack newsletters if you want to check them out.
So much whelm indeed! 🫣💪🙌
Great post Jen!! I love your DTIYS prompts!