Creative Challenge: This or That

Getting to Know You!

This month’s creative challenge is all about, well, you! Choose your favorite option using the This or That prompts to describe you. If the prompts don’t fit – substitute your own – I personally prefer Diet Dr. Pepper instead of Coke or Pepsi.

Use these fun little prompts to share a bit about yourself and to expand your creativity throughout this month. Check out the challenge list below, and if you’re having trouble with creative ideas, keep reading. I have lots of ideas to share.

Handlettering these words is fun if that’s what you always do. But consider adding another element to your challenge. Of course, it’s up to you, but you could always use this challenge to expand into another form of creativity. Use this month’s this or that challenge to try something new.

For instance, if you always use modern calligraphy to participate in a challenge, maybe you will try your hand at watercolor this month. If you always do whimsical-style watercoloring, study a few flowers with a more realistic touch. I’m not promising that everything will be perfect. But these challenges make it easy to try a new style or enhance your skills without feeling like you’ve wasted anything – after all, you were taking on the challenge.

This or That Challenge List

How to Participate in the This or That Challenge:

Not sure how to participate in a creative challenge? No worries. These are not hard or fast rules – the challenge is meant to inspire you and remove the art block we sometimes feel when creating.

1. If you’re on Instagram – find me & follow me @ChocolateMusingsCreates
2. Download the creative challenge prompts list (right-click on the image to save it and print it for reference). Or take a screenshot on your phone to save the prompts.
3. Every day, letter, draw, paint, or create something to do with the daily prompt.
4. You can use your regular style or add a bit of flair and try a new doodle or style!
5. Snap a picture and post your creation to Instagram – tag me @ChocolateMusingsCreates and use the hashtag #FindYourCreativeMuse – I’ll choose a few of my favorites and share them!
   • I’m also on Facebook so that you can post and tag my page. Find me at facebook.com/ChocolateMusings.
6. Follow the hashtag and like and comment on others’ creations as well. I LOVE the community that these lettering challenges create.
7. Choose a few floral names from the challenge, or do them all! It’s meant to challenge you and expand your creativity.
8. Most importantly, have fun!

Bonus This or That Options Not in the Challenge

Here are a few bonus This or That options that didn’t quite fit into the challenge (there are so many to choose from!) But that doesn’t mean you can’t use these words in a challenge of your own. What other this or that options did I miss for this challenge? Which one is your favorite, either to see or to create?

Why a Creative Challenge?

Leonardo Da Vinci defines why I love to do creative challenges:

Art lives from constraints and dies from freedom.

-Leonardo da Vinci

You can sit for hours staring at a blank page, begging for inspiration to come, and yet, it doesn’t. But give yourself a prompt, and possibilities for creating seem to blossom unexpectedly.

I sometimes add additional limitations during a monthly challenge, such as drawing everything in a circle or using only two ink colors. You’d think that these limitations would stifle my creativity. But to my surprise, I find that my ability to create expands when I have certain restraints.

So, even if you struggle to find a creative style for a challenge, try adding some constraints to your art.

• Paint only in a circle, but allow one piece of your art to break out of the frame – like the tip of a mountain or a single palm tree.
• Use a new font style and master it.
• Have you ever tried flourishing? Maybe it’s time to try.
• Use two types of fonts and mix and match them for a quote.
• Doodle the image that creeps into your head when you read the prompt.
• Create a comic strip with the prompt as the theme.

That’s what these challenges are all about! Expanding your creative vocabulary and discovering something new.

What to Do & Ideas for Creating

Here are some ideas to get you started with this challenge, creating using the this or that challenge prompts.

Create a game or conversation starters on 3×5 cards, or create a collection of these words in your bullet journal or planner. Use the challenge word as a start for your art or lettering. You can always use art as an overlay for your other creations. Try to create as many as you like, or spend a few days experimenting with a particular word.

Create monograms with the various funny words drawn out in modern calligraphy, or try watercolor lettering.

What I Love About Creative Challenges

What I love about creative challenges – even if you happen on this challenge after it’s posted and finished on Instagram, nothing keeps you from using these prompts to create later.

Using a combination of style and daily creative prompts is one of my favorite ways to experiment and try new styles. A few years ago, when I started to handletter, prompts like this got me to try flourishing when I never would before.

Happy creating, and remember to have fun!

Find Other Creative Challenges

Resources

Here are some resources I used, and some of the references have some great image references.

• 150 This or That Questions
• 500 This or That Questions
• 450 This or That Questions

Supplies Perfect for this Creative Challenge

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