We're coming up on a new year, and you may be thinking about writing some new year's resolutions for yourself. This is a perfect time to set some goals for furthering your artistic practice as well! Remember, the best goals are specific, measurable, achievable and realistic. Check out this article for more on setting good goals! Here's some challenges we recommend you try out in 2017:
- Start every day for a year with 5 minutes of 30 second gesture drawings, or 4 minutes of 120 second drawings. Post the results to your blog, your Facebook, or even our forums.
- Do a 100 drawings challenge, where you draw 100 of the thing that gives you the most trouble - hands, mouths, hips, the male (or female) figure, foreshortened limbs, wombats. Whatever you most avoid drawing, draw more of it!
- Sit down with your calendar and block out time to do 3 30 minute drawing classes per week, with the tool of your choice. If 3 isn't realistic for your life, try 2 or even 1 -- then guard that time and make sure your practice is a priority.
- If you've been too nervous to ask for critique on your work, commit to asking for feedback at least once a month, and using that feedback to guide your practice. Here's our guide on how to benefit from critique, and here's a link to our critique forums.
- Start every day for a month with the pencil value mastery exercise.
- Pencil a monthly themed drawing challenge into your schedule. Here's some to consider:
- Inktober (Daily drawing in ink in October)
- NaNoManGo (draw 30 pages of Manga in 30 days, June or November)
- NaNoDrawMo (Draw 30 pieces in a month, November)
- Know of another challenge that should be here? Let us know in the comments!
Are you going to try a new year's drawing challenge? Let us know in the comments, or give us a full progress report on the forums.
Jim Atherton (unregistered visitor)
There is another social drawing challenge it is in the month of May and is called: MerMay. Drawing a mermaid or themed piece each day of the month.