Illustration Challenge: 31 days, 31 drawings

Flex your creative muscles and win free Domestika courses with our daily drawing challenge running through October

The month of October is synonymous with daily drawing. And to keep this healthy habit alive, we at Domestika are inviting you to join in our challenge with thousands of other people around the world to draw something every day for 31 days.

Of course, you'll be rewarded for your efforts - keep reading to find out more and how you could win a free course!

To help you on your way, and give you a bit of creative inspiration, we’ve created a list of themes for each day to draw in your own style. Think of it as a way of finding out what encourages you to create, as well as the techniques that best let your creativity flow.

We won’t be taking on this challenge alone. Instead, we’ll be in the company of four expert illustrators: Barcelona illustrator Javirroyo (@javirroyo), Colombian illustrator Alinailustra (@alinailustra), the Brazilian artist behind Estúdio Luares Franncine de Miranda (@estudioluares), and English lettering illustrator Grace Frösén (@gracecallidesigns).

Every week, one of the experts will choose an illustration from among all of those that have been shared with us, and the winning artist will get a free Domestika course of their choice.

Plus, everyone who shares a drawing each day in October (31 in total) will have the chance to win three courses of their choice. Graphic artist Joaquín Rodriguez (@joaquin_rodriguez) will be deciding the winner. Are you in?

Week One Winner

Illustrator Javirroyo (@javirroyo) selected this entry by Colombian architect and illustrator Kat Franco (@katfranco) for its originality and also the coherence across the series.

Congratulations Kat for being the first week’s winner, and thanks to everyone for joining in the challenge! We’ll announce the second winner next week. Remember that you still have time to win courses each week. Take a look below for a reminder of how to participate and the T&Cs.

Week Two Winner

The drawings of Valencian creative Llanos Part Jornet (@llanospj72) are filled with ink and finished off with subtle golden elements and touches - the two colors pair perfectly. Colombian illustrator Alinailustra (@alinailustra) has selected Llanos' captivating entry as the winner of the week.

Congratulations Llanos for being the second week’s winner, and thank you all for joining in the challenge! We’ll announce the third winner next week. Remember that you still have time to win courses each week. Take a look below for a reminder of how to participate and the T&Cs.

Week Three Winner

The Brazilian artist behind Estúdio Luares, Franncine de Miranda (@estudioluares) has picked Nar Palma’s (@nar) playful illustrations as the third week’s winner.

As Franncine explained, she was drawn in by his original style and the illustration series’ well-defined identity. She also says she “loved the way he explored each theme, often creating his own characters [and] escaping from the obvious.”

Congratulations Nar for being the third week’s winner, and thank you all for joining in the challenge!

Week Four Winner

English lettering illustrator Grace Frösén (@gracecallidesigns) has picked Indonesian artist Ridho Indrianto (@ridho_indrianto) as the fourth week's winner. An architect who loves illustration, Ridho took on each prompt in his own signature style, featuring a common theme: cats.

As Grace explains, "I love Ridho's playful and whimsical designs, how he was able to connect the prompts to his artwork. Even though there are different themes each day, you can see how he is able to add elements of his own personal style in every single one of them."

Congratulations to Ridho for being the final week’s winner, and thank you all for joining in the challenge!

Challenge winner

Graphic artist Joaquín Rodriguez (@joaquin_rodriguez) has selected the illustrations by graphic designer and illustrator Fernanda Sánchez (@fernisanchez). As the challenge winner, Fernanda will receive three Domestika courses of her choice!

The jury highlighted this project "for the wide range of interpretations and languages ​​that it handles without ceasing to maintain its own recognizable style, while at the same time being mindful of important factors such as composition and the use of color.”

Joaquín continues, “I think the project has taken the idea of ​​the prompts to an excellent creative level, which is very meritable also given the limited time available.”

Congratulations to Fernanda for being the winner of the challenge and thanks to all of you for getting involved. There have been so many incredible participants, and we’re waiting for you all in the next challenge!

How to take part

1. Draw something every day from the corresponding list of prompts. The technique is completely up to you.

2. Create a new project on your personal Domestika profile under the title 31Days 31Drawings 2021 and upload your drawings there - one per day. This is a great opportunity to widen your portfolio in our projects section. If you have any queries about how to create the project, you can download a simple step-by-step guide below. You can also share your drawings on your social media account (and tag us!).

3. When you upload a drawing, indicate the day it corresponds to, for example, “DAY 01”. Remember that the challenge is to do one drawing per day, so you cannot upload more than one piece of work on any given day to make up for having missed a previous day.

4. Leave a link to your project in the comments section at the bottom of this page.*

Download the step-by-step guide:

* Please note that this article has been published on the blog in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Update: The Illustration Challenge: 31 Days, 31 Drawings is now finished. The dates for participating in the challenge were October 1-31, 2021.

Competition terms and conditions.

Are you looking for inspiration? Check out the following free tutorials:

- 8 Free Tutorials for Drawing Characters Quickly
- 4 Free Tutorials for Learning Japanese-influenced Illustration
- 5 Free Tutorials to Spark Your Creativity