Feeling stuck in a creative rut? Is all your work starting to look the same? With creative blocks piling up and imposter syndrome at an all-time high, it’s easy to feel lost. If so, you’re not alone, I’ve been there too! But don’t lose hope. I’ve found a possible solution: daily creative challenges.
Almost every month, artists across the internet take on creative challenges, guided by a list of prompts often shared by the community. The goal? To create a new piece of art inspired by each day’s prompt, often centred around an overarching theme. One popular example is Mermay, where artists draw a mermaid character every day in May.
This past September and October, I took on two challenges: Swordtember (where I designed and drew a sword every day) and a mixed Drawtober challenge (where I chose to design a character each day). I learned so much about myself in the process, and I believe you can too!
In this post, I’ve highlighted five key benefits that I discovered through these challenges and, at the end, provide a list of annual creative challenges you can join. I hope you enjoy this read!
1. Discover Your Capabilities
As a full-time digital designer, my first thought was: “Where will I find the time?” The long list of prompts felt like a steep mountain to climb, and I feared burnout was unavoidable. The sword challenge was especially tough, with each design taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. But, in the end, I managed to complete the challenge one day at a time, and surprisingly, it gave back more than it took away.
The trick? I turned it into a full experience. I’d spend my evenings with a show in the background (Kaos was a favourite; I’m gutted it got cancelled!), sipping tea and creating art just for myself. I loved every moment. It was peaceful, reminding me of my uni days working late into the night when everything felt still.
Of course, it wasn’t always relaxing, it was a challenge after all! I spent some weekends catching up, so a few illustrations were clearly rushed. But before this, I couldn’t imagine working on creative projects after my 9-to-5, let alone on weekends. Now I know I can, and it’s become a fun and rewarding pastime.
My biggest piece of advice? Find a routine that works for you and carve out a set time to focus on your own designs. For me, I worked from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. every evening after dinner, chores, and a run.
2. Join a Creative Community
You won’t be the only person following these creative challenges. Thousands of artists partake in them, especially during October. If you search and reach out, particularly on Instagram, you’ll find them. It’s a great way to network, connect with like-minded creatives, and make friends. As an added bonus, some might be following the exact same prompt list as you! One of my closest friends used the same list as me for the Swordtember challenge, and it was fun to compare how we both tackled the same word each day.
But if you’re an introvert, you can easily get lost in the sea of art without actively engaging. It's entirely up to you! That’s the beauty of these challenges, you get out of them as much as you put into them. It’s your challenge, and you make the rules that suit you best.
3. You Learn Your Limits
September was a whirlwind for me, and attempting a challenge during that hectic month felt like a recipe for disaster. I think I had only one free weekend that month, so my goal to design, illustrate, and fully render a sword illustration every day resulted in mixed outcomes. By the end of the month, I was pretty exhausted.
When October came around, I decided to shift my focus to character design for the Craftober challenge, hoping to incorporate some of these creations into my broader brand identity. I knew that fully illustrating, colouring, and shading each character would likely take a toll on my mental health and well-being. Instead, I chose to focus on sketching and outlining the characters, which felt more practical for that month.
I'm so glad I made that decision! It opened up more time for the design phase, allowing me to complete the digital aspects of my artwork in a matter of minutes. Embracing my limits not only eased my workload but also helped me maintain a healthier balance.
So, when you’re planning to take on one of these challenges, be realistic about what you can handle. This might mean simplifying your idea or spreading one prompt over two days. There are no hard rules, so set yourself up for victory. After all, it’s just a bit of fun!
4. Push Through Self-Doubt
When you have just one day to create something new, it means producing 28-31 new pieces in a month. That's no small feat!
You have to trust your gut and go with your first idea, maybe even your second if you’re quick. This can lead to some fascinating outcomes or, at times, more generic results. Either way, it creates space for surprising yourself.
I didn't particularly like some of my stretches, especially with the swords, but I didn’t have time to doubt myself. I had to see each idea through to the end. But once I coloured and rendered them, my perspective shifted on some pieces. They were nice surprises.
I also worried about creating generic designs, particularly with the characters. Thoughts like, “This has been done a million times. I'm not adding anything new,” crossed my mind. But when I finished outlining them, I realised they still felt unique and cool. Yes, a 1920s cartoon flower character has been designed countless times, but I hadn't made one before, and my own style and approach set it apart from other versions. I love it for that! There’s no shame in revisiting familiar concepts, as long as you put your own twist into them.
5. Build Your Creative Library
What is an artist's style? There are tons of answers, but I believe it consists of the design elements an artist chooses to repeat, this could be the choice of colours, outline thickness, texture, and shapes. With each new piece, countless tiny decisions are made, often leading an artist to rely on what they know and love.
By creating something different every day, you rapidly build your inner creative library. The more you make, the more you learn, and the more techniques, design elements, and styles you can draw from in the future.
Like me, you may find yourself repeating aspects you enjoyed from previous designs while setting aside those you didn’t feel were as strong. This process allows you to work faster and more efficiently. While striving for perfection is admirable, there’s often no time to nitpick and linger on one project; you must learn to move on. This practice can improve your creative growth, provided it’s not your only method of learning. After all, the risk of repeating bad habits exists. A balanced approach, incorporating both quick and slower projects, is key to growth.
In Conclusion
Overall, taking on creative challenges can really push you out of your comfort zone and help you grow as a creative. By knowing your limits, trusting your gut, and being open to new ideas, you can turn the pressure of a challenge into an opportunity for growth. So, whether you’re sketching every day or trying something completely new, just remember to have fun and let your creativity flow!
List of some of the Challenges in 2025
JAN - Creatuanary - design a creature
FEB - Fairyary - draw a fairy
MARCH - March of Robots - Robot art
APRIL - 36 Days of Type - making an alphabet
MAY - Mermay - illustrate a mermaid or merman every day
JUNE - Juicorn - Unicorns!
JULY - (Can’t seem to find a good one, any suggestions?)
AUGUST - Smaugust - designing a dragon
SEPTEMBER - Swordtember - create a sword every day
OCTOBER - Craftober - a craft of choice
NOVEMBER - Huevember - a drawing based on one colour every day
DECEMBER - Digital Art December - it's in the name