November Art Challenges 2026: 6 to Try After Inktober (Huevember, NaNoDrawMo, Posevember & More)

Quick answer: The best-known November art challenges are Huevember (one colour a day around the colour wheel), NaNoDrawMo (50 drawings in November), Posevember (a figure or pose drawing every day), Slowvember (one finished piece over the whole month), Folktale Week (seven folktale illustrations in seven days) and Dinovember (dinosaur scenes, for families or artists). If you want to draw every day without burnout, pick one, set a 5-minute minimum, and track it with a free printable.

Inktober is over. Your hand hurts, your sketchbook is full of black ink, and you're either thinking "never again" or "what's next?".

If it's "what's next", November has more art challenges than any other month. Most were started by artists who wanted something to do after Inktober: some in colour, some slower, some about volume, some about storytelling.

Below are the six worth knowing, what each one asks of you, who it suits, and a free 30-day art challenge tracker that works for any of them. No signup.

What it is: a monochromatic challenge started in 2014 by Matthieu Daures, a French animation student, as a colour follow-up to Inktober. Each day has one colour, moving around the colour wheel from yellow on November 1 to yellow-green on November 30. You make one piece a day in that hue.

The rules: stay mostly in today's colour (light and dark shades are fine), any medium, hashtag #huevember. The original colour wheel and rules are on the Huevember Tumblr.

Why it's great: you don't have to draw. Find today's colour and photograph it, and it still counts. That makes Huevember the most beginner-friendly challenge on this list.

On Harder: read our full guide with all 30 colours and a free printable: Huevember 2026: a 30-day colour challenge. Or join the Huevember 2026 challenge and post your colour of the day as proof.

What it is: "National Drawing Month", inspired by NaNoWriMo. It was created by developer Steven Frank around 2009 and grew through a Flickr group. The goal: 50 drawings between November 1 and November 30.

The rules: any medium, any subject, no quality requirement. Fifty is the minimum; you can always do more. That works out to about 12 drawings a week, so some days you'll do two quick sketches.

Why it's great: it's about volume, not polish. If perfectionism is what stops you drawing, NaNoDrawMo is the cure. A 3-minute sketch of your coffee cup counts.

Make it work: keep a small sketchbook in your bag and draw what's in front of you: on the bus, in a café, while dinner cooks. Count drawings in the tracker's prompt box ("3 sketches").

What it is: a daily figure and pose drawing challenge in November. Lists of community art challenges name the creative community Kick in the Creatives as a host, and the focus is on body shape and the line of action: the main curve that gives a figure movement. Hashtag #Posevember.

The rules: one pose or gesture drawing a day. Use a reference (a photo, a pose reference site, a friend, yourself in a mirror). Many artists keep it to 1–5 minute gesture sketches.

Why it's great: gesture drawing improves figures faster than almost anything else, and short timed sketches stop you overworking.

Make it work: set a timer. Do 3 one-minute gestures and 1 five-minute pose. Done. Check for the current year's prompt or reference list from the host before you start.

What it is: the opposite of a daily challenge. The illustration school SVSLearn suggested it as a follow-up to Inktober with one idea: "make one thing and make it beautiful". You spend the whole of November on one piece you're really proud of. Hashtags #slowvember and #svslearnslow.

The rules: one project, the whole month. Post progress if you like: sketches, colour studies, the final piece.

Why it's great: after 31 days of fast ink drawings, Slowvember lets you go deep. It's also perfect for the project you've been putting off: the big painting, the portfolio piece, the book cover.

Make it work: break the piece into stages and give each week one: week 1 thumbnails and references, week 2 final sketch, week 3 colour or inking, week 4 details and finishing. Work on it a little every day, even 10 minutes. On the tracker, write the stage in each day's prompt box.

What it is: a week-long illustration challenge on Instagram. It started from the account @folktaleweek, which shares seven prompts, one per day. You make one illustration a day inspired by folktales and fairy tales. Hashtag #folktaleweek.

When: usually one week in November, but the dates change every year (for example, November 4–11 in 2019 and November 13–19 in 2023). Check @folktaleweek for the 2026 dates and prompts.

Why it's great: it's only a week, and it pushes you to tell a story in a single image. Children's book illustrators love it, and it's a good way to discover new artists.

Make it work: read a folktale from your own culture for each prompt. Sketch on the first day and finish across the week if one illustration a day is too much.

Dinovember has two lives:

The family version: started in 2012 by Refe and Susan Tuma, who set up their kids' toy dinosaurs in funny scenes every night in November (raiding the cereal, escaping on toilet paper). The kids find the scene in the morning. Read our Dinovember guide with a 7-night plan and 30 ideas, or join the Dinovember 2026: 7 Nights challenge.

The artist version: many artists use #dinovember to draw a dinosaur every day of the month. Realistic, cute, in costumes, in your own style.

Why it's great: it's fun, low-pressure and great with kids. Dinosaurs are also excellent for practising texture, anatomy and character design.

Pick one. Doing two challenges at once is the fastest way to finish neither.

More options: there are smaller November challenges too, like Gouachevember (a gouache painting a day) and Quick Kick November from Kick in the Creatives (start in brush and ink, no more than 15 minutes a day).

1. Set a minimum before November 1. A 5-minute sketch counts on busy days. Write it at the top of the tracker.

2. Keep it small. A 10 × 10 cm square or a sticky note is enough. Small finished beats big abandoned.

3. Prepare your prompts. Write the whole month's prompts (or stages for Slowvember) into the tracker in advance.

4. Draw at the same time each day. Morning coffee, lunch break or right after dinner.

5. Missed a day? Do today's prompt and skip the old one. Don't try to catch up. Miss once, never twice.

6. Post or don't. Posting is motivating for some people and stressful for others. Your sketchbook still counts.

One tracker for any art challenge. Two pages, in two designs (the purple HARDER design and a warm neutral edition), A4 and US Letter.

Page 1: The 30-day tracker (undated). Write the challenge name, start date and your minimum. Each of the 30 days has a box for today's prompt and two equal circles: made and minimum. Use it for Huevember, NaNoDrawMo, Posevember, Slowvember stages, or a challenge of your own.

Page 2: Proof wall. 30 frames, one per day, to sketch a thumbnail, stick a photo or write what you made. Plus your favourite piece, what you got better at, and your next challenge.

Downloads (no signup):

Purple: A4 · US Letter

Warm neutral: A4 · US Letter

Doing Huevember? Use the dedicated Huevember printable with all 30 colours instead.

Art challenges are made for proof: every day ends with something you made. On Harder, you can join Huevember 2026 or Dinovember 2026, post today's piece as proof, and see what everyone else made on the same day. Miss a day and the comeback mechanic gets you back in, instead of sending you back to Day 1.

Browse more creative challenges in the Art category.

What art challenges happen in November? The best known are Huevember, NaNoDrawMo, Posevember, Slowvember, Folktale Week and Dinovember. Smaller ones include Gouachevember and Quick Kick November.

What is the best art challenge after Inktober? It depends on what you want. Huevember adds colour, Slowvember slows you down after a month of fast drawings, and NaNoDrawMo keeps the daily rhythm without prompts.

What is Huevember? A November challenge where you make one artwork a day in one colour, following the colour wheel from yellow to yellow-green. It was started in 2014 by Matthieu Daures.

What is NaNoDrawMo? National Drawing Month: make 50 drawings between November 1 and November 30, in any medium, with no quality requirement. It was created by Steven Frank.

What is Posevember? A daily figure and pose drawing challenge in November, focused on gesture and the line of action. Hashtag #Posevember.

What is Slowvember? A challenge from SVSLearn where you spend the whole of November making one piece you're proud of, instead of a new drawing every day.

When is Folktale Week 2026? Folktale Week usually runs for one week in November, but the dates change each year. Check the @folktaleweek account on Instagram for the 2026 dates and prompts.

Can I do more than one November art challenge? You can, but it's much easier to finish one. If you really want two, combine them: for example, Posevember sketches in Huevember colours.

What if I miss a day? Do today's prompt and keep going. Don't try to catch up on all the missed ones. Miss once, never twice.

November has six well-known art challenges: Huevember, NaNoDrawMo, Posevember, Slowvember, Folktale Week and Dinovember.

Pick one based on what you want: colour, volume, figures, one big piece, stories or family fun.

Set a 5-minute minimum so busy days still count.

Use the free 30-day art challenge tracker for any of them.

pixiv Encyclopedia. Huevember; Huevember official rules.

Mueller, A. (2011). NaNoDrawMo 2011 (50 drawings, created by Steven Frank).

mleczny_mlecz (2023). November Art Challenge 2023: full list (Posevember, Gouachevember, Quick Kick November, Folktale Week 2023 dates).

SVSLearn. Slowvember.

Book Riot (2019). Join the illustrators participating in #FolktaleWeek2019 (7 prompts, Nov 4–11, 2019).

Hachette Book Group. Refe Tuma (Dinovember, 2012).