Art by Lee White!
The prompt for this month is STORM! ⚡️
What kind of storm is brewing in your imagination? Is your character anticipating a thunderstorm, caught in a sea squall, or have they just weathered a winter blizzard? How will you put your own unique twist on this prompt?
We want to see a character (or characters), an environment of some kind, and a STORM! Your illustration should tell a story. That might mean that your character is anticipating a storm, caught in a storm, or has just been in a storm. Be creative, and do something that will make us think.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Grab your umbrella and rain boots, this is gonna be fun.
Requirements
For this type of prompt, remember that concept is king. You need to spend some time identifying a great story before you ever begin sketching. Besides a good story, your illustration also needs to include a character, some kind of environment, and a storm. The format can be a full page or spot illustration.
Not sure how to generate a great concept? Watch last month’s Special Critique Session or take Will Terry’s Developing Great Visual Stories course.
As always, be sure to submit via the Critique Arena website. Please note that the Submit Your Art! button will now take you to your SVSLearn student account, where you will be prompted to log in and submit your image in the Critique Arena course. Let us know if you have any questions!
We also encourage you to post your final entry in the forum as well so everyone can see and comment!
Good luck everyone!
HOW TO ENTER
Read through the prompt for this month⬆️
Create something awesome!
Save your artwork as a JPG. Make sure the longest side of your submission is 1200 pixels (you will need to create a scaled down version of your original artwork to fit this size). Be sure to include a bar below your artwork with your name and social media handles (this bar should be white with black text). Keep the file size to no more than 500 kb. And make sure to include your name and the month in the file name (ex: austin-shurtliff-jan22.jpg). Submissions that are missing a name at the bottom or are not the right size will not be uploaded to the website.
Submit your final illustration on the Critique Arena website. Please note that the Submit Your Art! button will now take you to your SVSLearn student account, where you will be prompted to log in and submit your image in the Critique Arena course.
If you would like to submit more than one image, shoot us an email.
Entries must be submitted by the last day of the month. ⌛️
PRIZES
Winner 1: a live critique of your artwork in the arena, your artwork shared on all our online channels, plus the chance to do a paid illustration gig
Winner 2: a live critique of your artwork in the arena, your artwork shared on all our online channels, plus the chance to do a paid illustration gig
All 16 Finalists: a live critique of your artwork in the arena, your artwork shared on all our online channels, plus the chance to be a featured artist for SVSLearn.com
Honorable Mentions: a live critique of your artwork in the arena
All Entries: your artwork included in that month’s submission gallery for the whole world to see!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Critique Arena is sponsored by SVSLearn.com, an online resource for artists of all skill levels.
Critique Arena is a monthly art challenge. A new prompt is released at the beginning of each month, and contestants have the whole month to create and submit artwork based on the prompt.
Entries must be submitted via our Critique Arena website by the deadline in order to qualify. Submissions that are missing the name at the bottom will not be included on the site. Entries will be accepted until the last day of the month in which the prompt was announced.
Judges will pick the Top 16 based on skill. On the second Thursday following the submission deadline, the Top 16 will face off during Critique Arena, a live event where subscribers of SVSLearn cast their votes to decide who will win. In the case of a tie, the judges decide who win.
No monkey business! Any entries considered questionable, inappropriate or spammy may be disqualified.
Only submit if you are OK with receiving a critique from our judges during a live event, which will be recorded and added to our website and YouTube channel.
You must be at least 18 to play.
No purchase necessary to enter. However, please note the Top 16 will be selected from active subscribers at SVSLearn.com. Contestants must be active at the time the artwork was submitted. (Not a member? That’s ok! You can sign up for a free trial!)
We do not own the rights to your work, you do! But we reserve the right to promote your work on our online platforms. Contest entries may be promoted on critiquearena.com and SVSLearn.com, and their associated email lists and social media.
Void where prohibited by law.