Tips for Membership Challenges

Date

05.05.22

Every two months we pick a themed challenge for our members to take part in. We look for a couple of images from Pixabay that our members can use as reference images or inspiration and tell them a little bit more of the theme we have in mind.

So far we’ve done seasonal themes, a colour theme, some subject themes and a skill challenge. Its so much fun to receive your artworks and our good friends at Artsavingsclub have even come on board with a prize for the best submission.

But why take part and how do you ensure your artwork shows up in our finalist section?

A couple of reasons for you to take part in our challenges:

One of the most difficult challenges you have to face as an artist is putting your work ‘out there’. It can be daunting to submit work in a pressured environment where you need to sell or compete. The Member Challenges are simply friendly challenges – there really is no pressure to perform and therefor its a safe place to practice showcasing your hard work.
If you are interested in taking part in future exhibitions, its a good process to get used to – as with exhibitions there is a deadline and a theme to adhere to. You’ll need to submit your artwork by filling in the necessary details and photographing your art. Practice this – and if you struggle we have a handy blogpost on photographing your art for exhibitions. This post also gives you tips on submitting your work for exhibitions.
We’ve done a variety of subjects for the challenges and some of them are bound to be out of your comfort zone. As an artist you can only grow by challenging yourself. Again, this is a safe place to try something different. Look at the themes and attempt to interpret them in interesting ways – how can you make this theme your own?
That brings us to another great reason to try out these challenges – are you stuck? Do you feel like your art isn’t going anywhere or maybe you’re going through a difficult time and you’re struggling to create. When you have a theme and a deadline to work towards, that can really help pulling you out of a funk as it means you don’t have to think too hard on what to do. Simply use one of the images as reference and start drawing – sometimes the best way to work through a creative slump is simply to work through it without the added pressure of selling.
Let’s not forget the simply obvious reasons – be part of our community, have the chance to have your work featured and win an Artsavingsclub voucher…really? As if you needed more reasons!!

So we’ve convinced you to take part – how do you get to that voucher-winning spot?

Here are 5 tips for you to reach the top!

Don’t miss the deadline! Rather obvious it seems, but we often get entries submitted late and as with any exhibition that entry is then disqualified.
Adhere to the theme! I cannot emphasise this enough – most of the entries we disregard are entries that do not relate to the theme of the challenge. You cannot submit a Tiger for a Water challenge – unless said Tiger is IN the water! We also give you a spot on the submission form to explain why you chose to draw the artwork you submitted. Use this and tell us how you interpreted the theme – we’re so excited to discover your interesting interpretations!
Again this brings me to an important point – challenge yourself to think out of the box. How can you interpret the theme differently? Interesting interpretations might just give you the edge above someone else.
Send in a clear image – once again refer to the blogpost on photographing your artwork. A clear photo that is in focus and well-lit will always give you the edge.
Don’t rush. Quite often one can see when an artwork was started slowly and precisely, but ended up being rushed and not completed in a cohesive manner. Even though its just a challenge, if you want your work to be seen, put the effort and thought in. Every minute spent is a minute closer to the 10 000 hours that will make you an expert!