Are Art Challenges Worth Doing?
I’ve always been on the fence about art challenges. On one hand, they encourage frequent and consistent creation of art, which is incredibly valuable to artistic progression. They encourage community, and help you forge connections with other artists. On the other, they inevitably build pressure to produce ‘instagram-able’ art — that is, art that is finished enough to post to social media. And that can cause stress, lower enjoyment, and induce burn out, none of which are great for your creative spirit.
I have participated in a few art challenges over the years: Inktober, Drawtober, Folktale Week, and most recently, the STRADA easel challenge. I’ve finished some, and given up on others. On one memorable occasion years ago, the burnout and discouragement were so severe I stopped drawing for months afterwards.
And yet, I keep picking up my pencil, and diving back into them. I think, when they come at the right time and you can tackle them with the right mindset, art challenges push us to break through roadblocks, and surpass the limits we unknowingly place upon ourselves.
So how do you balance the benefits with the ever-present threat of burnout?
Setting goals for your art challenge
Setting a clear goal for the challenge can keep you from getting overwhelmed, and help you stay on track. It’s important to be realistic, too. Be honest about what obligations you might have during the challenge timeframe, and how much time you’ll realistically have. Perhaps drawing everyday isn’t possible with your schedule or your health, but drawing twice a week is. Perhaps you have three weeks free, but the fourth week is not. Draw for three weeks.
Even if you can’t do the ‘full’ challenge, whatever participation you can put in will benefit you.
Some examples of types of goals might be:
Improve your skill with a certain medium
Improve your skill at a certain technique
Create X paintings/studies of a particular thing or on a particular theme
Explore your style
Create a series of work, such as a painting collection, a comic, or a zine
Post every day on social media
Top tip: set one primary goal.
You can have other secondary goals, but only push yourself in pursuit of that primary goal. For me, this is the best way to balance what I want to achieve, and what I realistically can achieve. For example, for the STRADA challenge, I chose to practice painting still life from observation, a skill I haven’t ever spent much time in building. Because of this, I knew that some paintings were going to be more clumsy than others, and I could set my expectations accordingly.
So, do art challenges help you improve?
In my experience, yes. Sometimes a lot, and sometimes a little, but you will inevitably learn something. It might be a technique, or a style change, or might just be learning a bit about your own limits.
The clearer goal you have going in, the more results you’ll see. So be honest with yourself about why you’re really doing the challenge, and set your goals accordingly.
Some small notes for those setting out on an art challenge.
Progress isn’t linear
I tell this to learning artists all the time, but it’s worth saying again. Some paintings will be better than others, and that’s how it always is. But this is especially true with an art challenge, where you might get burned out or low on inspiration over the month. You will find the quality of your pieces drops as you get more tired. This is something I always struggle with, especially when I’m sharing my work. The only advice I can give is to keep going, and remember to share some of the paintings you’re less enthused about too. It can feel good to get nice comments or a few likes on a painting you didn’t love, and a good reminder that everything you create is worth loving, even if its not your best.
You don’t need to publicly participate.
While the community and participation are certainly a drawcard for some artists, for others, they are a stumbling block. So give yourself permission to quietly complete an art challenge without social media. In fact, you don’t have to wait for a hashtagged art challenge — you can set your own challenge and complete it any time you wish.
If you want a bit of company, why not enlist some friends to do it with you? A private discord server, or a regular in-person art group can be great ways to cheer each other on and smash your goals.
If you need to have a break, have a break.
As artists, we often feel pressured to push past the limits of comfort, especially when it comes to health and injury. RSI and carpal tunnel plague artists (as well as back issues, neck problems, eye strain, etc). Never ****put your health at risk for sake of progress or participation — your art will be there waiting when you’ve had a break.
It’s okay to not finish.
And before I wrap this blog post up, I just want to emphasise that is completely okay and good to stop and not complete your challenge. It’s not a failure, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, and you haven’t lost anything. Ten days of art practise is still ten days of art practice!
You might stop because other things in life are more important (like work, paying the rent, or spending time with your loved ones!). You might be sick, or tired. You might just not be enjoying it anymore. If this is the case, stop. Have a rest. Think about why it didn’t work out for you. It might be that you work best with a smaller time-frame, or a lesser load. Or it might be that art challenges just aren’t your thing.
And regardless of how far you get, and what you create, remember to celebrate your achievement! (A cup of tea and slice of cake is my perennial favourite).
(If you’d like to comment and tell me about your experience with art challenges, I’ve turned on comments for my blog now. I’d love to hear your stories!)