100 Heads Challenge
What is 100 Heads Challenge? The 100 Heads Challenge is an art challenge, where the artist’ goal is to draw 100 different heads in 10 days. That makes 10 heads per day. There’s no restriction when it comes to using tools – you can draw the heads with traditional and digital media.
Backstory Time:
I actually completed these during the summer of 2023 when I was having my biggest creative block of my life so far. An artist friend of mine (Jace Lee Anderson) suggested trying the 100 heads challenge as a way of pushing through the creative block and also continuing to improve my drawing skills.
Exploring Creativity and Skill Development
The "100 Heads Challenge" has been gaining popularity in the art community as a way for artists to hone their skills and explore new creative techniques. This challenge involves creating 100 unique head portraits, each with its own distinct features and personality. The goal is not only to improve one's ability to capture facial expressions and details but also to push artistic boundaries and experiment with different styles.
I generally do not draw portraits anymore. When I was young (teens and early 20s) I used to draw women almost exclusively. I admired women and beauty and glamour, and it was an easy thing to access. But I was living in Montana, where there was very little diversity, during a time when there was still very little diversity in the media.
When I fell back into art in 2021, I did paint a few very small portraits of women (it was Witchtober, after all) but I didn’t have the desire for it anymore.
Needless to say, drawing 100 portraits sounded awful and extremely difficult.
Finding Meaning in the Process
Participating in the 100 Heads Challenge is not just about the final product; it's about embracing the process of continuous improvement. Artists are encouraged to approach each portrait as a learning experience, gaining valuable insights into facial anatomy, expression, and character design along the way. This iterative approach allows for growth and development, as each new head becomes an opportunity to refine techniques and discover new artistic preferences.
I did not want to just draw 100 women out of magazines like I did as a young girl. I really wanted to make this challenge more meaningful for me in terms of growth, skill development, and emotional development. I made a pledge to myself that each page (which included 5 portraits) would have 1 young person (child or teen), one older person (at lease middle age and up), and one person who is not Caucasian. It was a way for me to feel like I was progressing, instead of just going back to what I knew.
Inclusivity
I am a firm believer in equality, no matter race, gender, age, mental or physical ability, how you identify, who you love, or the choices you make about your own body. I’ve always wanted to express that through my art, but it is very difficult to do when you paint birds and landscapes. This is why it was even more important for me to try to include different types of people into my 100 heads challenge. Everyone deserves to be featured in art, and I found every person I drew beautiful.
