Artists of Legend Challenge: Saying Goodbye and Looking to the Future

Greetings one and all, and welcome to what will be our final Artists in Legend challenge post. At least, for the foreseeable future. I know this is a bit sudden, but with this post we will no longer be posting monthly art challenges. I’m sure regular readers will have a lot of questions about why this is ending so suddenly, and I’ll do my best to address those below! If you have any other questions, or just general comments, please feel free to leave those in the usual spot and I’ll get back to you quick as I can.

Why are the Challenges Going Away?

There were several factors that went into this decision. For starters Adam, who created this series, was amazing and put in way more work than was ever seen publicly. For over three years, he lovingly grew the section into what it had become. The amount of work he put in cannot be overstated and, honestly, it’s an echelon that is currently unsustainable for our staff.

When I came in, I made changes to make the process easier on both staff and artists. Increasing the drawing time from one week to one month certainly aided in that. But it always felt like I was competing with Linktober’s monthly challenges. Not that competition is a bad thing, it just didn’t sit well with me in terms of community growth. I wasn’t a fan of making artists pick and choose between two different monthly prompts. Especially when the Linktober team is dedicated to re-sharing artists’ work on multiple platforms daily. It’s important to me that artists’ work be seen quickly, and the turnaround of one monthly post wasn’t aligned with that vision.

There are also technological issues. The tools we once used to capture images no longer works, or has become so riddled with malware that only the bravest computer should consider touching it.  All of this is to say that, at this time, myself and other staff writers do not have the time or tools on our side. If we were to keep going, community growth would be slow at best, or cease all together. You all deserve the best, and these challenges meant we couldn’t provide it.

What will Happen to this Section?

No worries, the only thing leaving are the drawing challenges. It is my sincere hope that this section becomes a one-stop-shop for great art! And, by great art, I mean all art. Cosplay, illustration, music, props, candle making, and more! For now, I don’t know exactly how this section will evolve, but hope to have some answers soon.

But I Love Drawing! I Love Challenges! What Should I do Now?

Keep drawing! The most rewarding part of this series was seeing everyone’s art and creativity. I will genuinely miss the enthusiasm and joy. For now, if you’re looking for monthly challenges, I highly recommend getting involved with the Linktober community. As mentioned before, they run monthly challenges and have a robust social media presence. Plus, their community is fantastic! They have an active Discord server and are constantly engaged on Twitter and Instagram.

If you’re looking for solo challenges, you can always try some non-Linktober prompts and give them a Zelda twist. For example, a popular illustration challenge this month is Drawcember. You can grab a list of prompts from this year or prior and have fun! Pinterest and Instagram are wonderful resources to find new challenges.

What about sharing your work, you ask? There will still be art-roundup style posts in the future, so feel free to keep using the #artistsoflegend hashtag when posting. You may also use the comments section to showcase your work. If you’re looking to get further involved with the Zelda Dungeon community, please consider joining our Discord server. We have a section just dedicated to cool art, and yours will fit right in!

Before I sign off, I wanted to thank all of you. Every one of you who enjoyed reading the weekly challenge posts. To each artist that submitted their work. To each and every person who interacted with this series in one way or another. Without you, there wouldn’t have been four amazing years of Artists of Legend! And, of course, a huge thank you to Adam for starting us all on this crazy journey to begin with!

Until next time, have fun, remember that your art is enough, and be safe out there!

Cover image was created by long-time AoL creator, Ariluci! Thank you so much for your fantastic work!