10 Creative Art Challenges To Try

Art is a splendid way of expressing your creativity and imagination. But, there are times when you can find it becoming monotonous and boring. You could be struggling with a particular technique or encounter an art block. This is quite common in the art community.

A very efficient way to combat this is by taking challenges. The best part about art challenges is its accessibility. For an experienced artist, an art challenge serves as a medium to find inspiration. While others can take part to get their creative juices flowing.

The web is swarming with many challenges. For your ease, we have created a list of the 10 best creative art challenges that you must take.

1. Inktober

Inktober is the most well known on our list of art challenges. Artist Jake Parker designed it in 2009. The idea was to improve his inking skills and to develop productive drawing habits using a fun way. He shared his method with other artists and invited them to join him. Soon, it became one of the most popular art challenges among the art communities all over the world.

There are two standard ways to take the Inktober challenge. Inktober Classic is making 31 drawings in 31 days. You take this challenge in October as you may have guessed by now.

The other version is Inktober 52 and is the slower-paced version of the classic Inktober. In this mode, you make one drawing a week for 52 weeks, through the year.

You have to make your drawings in ink and post them on any social media platform with #inktober. We recommend sharing it on artist-friendly platforms like Instagram, DeviantArt, and GoSocial. If you are stuck, you can get help in the form of prompts on the Inktober website.

The best part about Inktober is that the rules suit the lifestyle of artists , and help them get better. Because of its flexible guidelines, Inktober is one of the best art challenges for beginners. You can choose to take it whenever you want and work on the prompts of your liking. You can even ink on digital mediums, which is a cool improvisation for the digital art creators out there.

2. Food Art Challenge

This is one of the most interesting art challenges you can take. Food and art have complemented each other for centuries. And what can be a better way to make a glorious piece of art that you can relish afterward?

The best way to do this is to cook any dish that you would like, no matter how complex or simple it is. The challenge begins when you start plating what you made. Assume that the plate is your canvas, and decide the composition. Once that's done, start adding the dish you cooked, to the plate.

Give your food a new dimension. You can make it look like a character, a landscape, or even recreate a famous painting in your own unique style. The only rule is that everything on your plate must be edible. This is one of the most fun, creative, and fruitful art challenges that you can try at home. Go nuts with it! (Pun intended)

The Food Art Challenge is hosted on GoSocial. GoSocial is a social media app for artists. Here, you can take challenges, track your, and build a community of like-minded artists.

3. Letter The Lyric

There is no doubt that music makes a lasting impression. The impact of the pair of good lyrics and melodious beats can be long-lasting. We have got a challenge for those who can resonate with that sentence.

In this art challenge, you play with the lyrics of your choice. All you need for this are sketches and a piece of paper. Now pen down the lyrics that you have playing in your mind in your choice of typography. This art challenge is a great way of understanding the authority of texts and drama of fonts.

You could also put your own spin on it. Instead of regular sketches, use calligraphy pens or brush to frame the lyrics. Currently, GoSocial is hosting this challenge on its app. If you still don't know how to go about it, you can check out what other artists have created.

This is definitely one of the best art challenges out there. You can take this up as a filler, to do when bored or to lighten up your day and make something fabulous.

4. Draw This Again

Draw This Again is one of the finest art challenges that push you to test your limits. The concept behind this challenge is pretty simple. This art challenge gives you a way to think in a different way and redo a cherished masterpiece.

Take any of your completed artwork from the past. This artwork can be an intense portrait, a goofy sketch, or your favorite character. We recommend choosing a picture that you drew during the initial stages of your journey as an artist. Now, draw the same thing again, and compare the two drawings side by side. You can add details or change the base colors.

This is one of the best art challenges to highlight your progress over the years. This shows how you have learned from your mistakes. You can post the new artwork on Instagram with the hashtag #drawitagain. Or keep it to yourself as a private mark sheet.

5. Watercolor Landscape Art Challenge

This is a wonderful art challenge, which lets you get as creative as you can, while also learning a lot in the process. This challenge is also a simple watercolor inspiration.In the world of art, water is a master medium. Because of its transparency, it provides a soft glow to paint.

Making watercolor art can be tricky. It takes time and practice to understand the brushwork and pigments. It is all about spontaneous, decisive strokes that you can’t undo.

Taking the watercolor landscape art challenge will help you master the brush strokes. This will help you get the outcome you desire. This is one of the most popular art challenges in the art community. This is quite useful for beginners, mastering the techniques and skills required to paint a true masterpiece. Once you are able to land a firm hand on the techniques of brushes, the challenge will double up as a simple watercolor inspiration. You can find a version of this challenge on GoSocial.

6. Coffee Art Challenge

This is one of the more offbeat art challenges to do at home. You may have seen latte art presented in a cup, but this is a fun twist on coffee art, in which you use coffee to paint on paper. Painting with coffee can be surprisingly fulfilling once you start.

If you are a caffeine enthusiast, you may already know how to brew your coffee to make different shades of color. If you’re new to coffee, that’s fine too. You can experiment with it by boiling black coffee or adding milk to lighten the tone. You can learn how to control the saturation and texture of the coffee to use it as paint.

There are no set rules for this challenge. As long as you use coffee to paint a fascinating picture of your interest, you’re doing the challenge. You can take the coffee art challenge solo or with a bunch of friends. Many artists post their coffee art on YouTube, explaining their journey. You can also share your journey with the YouTube community. You can also share it on Instagram, GoSocial and DeviantArt.

7. Thirty Day Doodle Challenge

This is one of the simplest art challenges to try. This art challenge is quite popular on Pinterest.

For this challenge, you follow a list of 30 things you can doodle. You can choose simple things from everyday activities in your own life. For example, on day one, you draw the last thing you ate or drank. On day six, you draw your OOTD (outfit of the day). On day eleven, you draw something that is on your desk.

You can also create a list of unrelated things that inspire you to doodle. These simple things keep you inspired to draw every day and have a good time doing it. This is one of the best art challenges for beginners. There are plenty of versions of this challenge on Pinterest. Some vary in days while others vary in prompts.

8. Abstract Art Challenge

Abstract art challenge can be quite inspiring and is a must-try. The best part about abstract art is that it can be anything you want it to be. It gives you the freedom to express yourself on a canvas and make it your own.

You can make use of any tools you like. For example, brushes, sponges, and even your fingers. Use acrylics, oil, or watercolor paints. All that matters is that you create a piece of abstract art. There are other aspects to abstract art, like texture, patterns, and meaning. Approach your blank canvas or sheet with a broad mind and use your artistic instincts to create.

You can take the abstract art challenge on GoSocial. You will learn to tweak these formal qualities of art and create something exquisite.

9. Window Silhouette Challenge

This is one of the most calming and relaxing art challenges you can take. A window silhouette is simple but elegant and rewarding. You can make it dreamy and magical, or understated and subtle.

The smooth strokes of the pane that you paint can give you a sense of tranquil and bliss on any hectic day. But, painting the perfect silhouette takes a lot of patience and practice. You have to understand the magic of light and its interaction with the objects. Once you understand the techniques involved, you can create perfect silhouettes with much ease.

This is a challenge that you can take on an individual level. Track your progress, and assign the number of days that you want to paint for. Many artists post their best window silhouettes on Instagram with the hashtag #windowsilhouette.

You can also take part in this challenge on GoSocial.

10. ArtVsArtist

This is one of the most interesting art challenges you can try. In the ArtVsArtist challenge, you post 9 pictures in the form of grids. Out of these 9 grids, the one in the middle is a photo of yourself. The and the 8 surrounding grids are all your different artworks.

If you haven’t revealed your identity on your social media art accounts, this could be a cool way to do a face reveal. This challenge makes an impressive statement to showcase your talents and artistic abilities.

This is one of the most popular art challenges on platforms like DeviantArt and Instagram.

And there you have it! The top 10 art challenges that you can try. These challenges help beginners to learn what works for them and what doesn't. They also help seasoned artists try out styles outside their comfort zone.

Community based social media platforms keep hosting these challenges. Some of these platforms like GoSocial, also help you track your practice and improvements in the most efficient way. Whichever platform you plan to stick to, remember to be consistent with your practice.

Read also: Five Common Mistakes New Artists Make & How To Avoid Them