30 Day Challenges

This was where The Loose Nib began: thirty days, thirty subjects and no daily decision about what to draw. The idea was simple. Each day The Reasonable Tyrant would choose an architectural subject, set the challenge and provide a reference image. I would draw it in ink and wash, send it back and receive a critique and a score out of ten. The subjects gradually become more demanding, but the real challenge remains much the same throughout: simplify what is in front of me, make more confident and selective marks, use shadow rather than detail to describe form — and learn when to put the pen down.

Each day’s challenge has its own link below and each 30 Day Challenge has its own page where all sketches for that challenge can be found in one big gallery, where you can pick your favourite!

How the sketches are scored
The scores given during my first 30-day challenge were perhaps a little too encouraging. An 8 or 9 out of 10 became a fairly regular occurrence, which left rather too little room to measure improvement. From Day 30 onwards, the Reasonable Tyrant and I have therefore agreed on a rather more demanding scale. A high score should mean something, and half marks can be used where a sketch falls between two levels: 
10 – Exceptional: Very rare. A sketch where everything has come together and there is little I would change. 
9 – Outstanding: A genuinely accomplished piece of work. 
8 – Excellent: A sketch I would seriously consider framing and hanging on the wall. 
7 – Very good: Almost there, but with identifiable weaknesses still preventing it from being fully resolved. 
6 – Good: More works than doesn’t; a good result, particularly for a developing sketcher. 
5 – Competent: The exercise basically works, but there is significant room for improvement. 
Below 5: Not worth scoring. Try again!

The earlier scores remain as they were given at the time — they are part of the journey — but from Day 30 onwards this is the ruler we will be using.

The Thirty Days