whimsical

We are so excited to announce this month’s Challenges sponsored by Skillshare! Skillshare is an amazing e-learning platform with video classes covering a wide range of creative categories. The top winners each week will take home Spoonflower credit and a Skillshare Premium subscription to start learning everything from how to create a surface design using motifs (taught by Spoonflower community favorite SammyK) to “The Basics of Photoshop”, “Hand Lettering” and so much more! And, for the first time ever, all submissions into May’s design challenges are automatically entered to win the grand prize full of design goodies worth over $1000! Ready to get started? Then dust off your watercolors because this month’s themes are all about using this soft, painterly medium to create motifs and surface patterns. If you’re more of a digital kinda person, there are plenty of great watercolor Photoshop brush packs out there to give you a similar effect that are a lot of fun to play with. We can’t wait to see what you create!

New to watercolor and need some help getting started? Check out our post from renowned Spoonflower watercolor designer, Emily Sanford to help guide you!

Whimsical Watercolor: Fantasy Creatures | Results Announced May 4

We couldn’t decide which mythical fantasy creature we loved best — fairies, mermaids, yetis, dragons, unicorns — they all capture our hearts and our imaginations. Use watercolors (or digital watercolor brushes) to create a whimsical surface patterns inspired by fantasy creature motifs.  Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21″ x 18.”  Submissions close April 25, 2017 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Voting begins April 27, 2017.  See official rules.

Whimsical Watercolor: Abstract | Results Announced May 11

Big bold brushstrokes, paint drips, and gestural, broad swaths of color and shapes. The best abstract designs can change your mood and lift your spirits — and they just happen to be some of our favorite designs for garment sewing and wall art alike. Whip out the watercolors and give us your take on an abstract surface design! Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21″ x 18.”  Submissions close May 2, 2017 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Voting begins May 11, 2017.  See official rules.

Whimsical Watercolor: Fruit | Results Announced May 18

Sometimes we like to get our recommended 2 to 3 services of fruit in the form of a surface design. Nothing says spring and summer fun like a whimsical watercolor fruit pattern!  Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21″ x 18.”  Submissions close May 9, 2017 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Voting begins May 11, 2017.  See official rules.

Whimsical Watercolor: Insects | Results Announced May 25

Creepy, crawly, and in some cases — surprisingly beautiful. Get inspired by your favorite backyard bugs (…or at least maybe just the ones that don’t totally freak you out!) and create a watercolor design worthy of collecting and saving forever in a shadow box! Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21″ x 18.”  Submissions close May 16, 2017 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Voting begins May 18, 2017.  See official rules.

Whimsical Watercolor: Cityscapes | Results Announced June 1

We were so inspired by our friend SammyK’s Skillshare class about creating motifs inspired by your city, that we knew we had to turn this theme over to our community! “Throw down for your home town” and create a watercolor design inspired by your locale or one of your favorite cities. Entries will be previewed at the fat quarter size: 21″ x 18.”  Submissions close May 23, 2017 at 3 p.m. Eastern. Voting begins May 25, 2017.  See official rules.

First Place

The 1st place winner will receive a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription (valued at $96) and $200 in Spoonflower credit. Winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters, professional photography of their printed designs, and social media mentions, the extent of which shall be in Spoonflower’s sole discretion.

Second Place

The 2nd place winner will receive a 6-month Skillshare Premium subscription (valued at $72) and $100 in Spoonflower credit.

Third Place

The 3rd place winner will receive a 6-month Skillshare Premium subscription (valued at $72) and $50 in Spoonflower credit.

The rest of the top 10

4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit.

All of the top 25

Each of the top 25 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed and made available for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if Winners are verified sellers.

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Randomly Selected Giveaway:

• All design challenge entries submitted during the Skillshare partner design challenges (04/12/17 – 05/23/17) will be entered into a drawing; one lucky contest entrant will be randomly selected by Spoonflower for the Grand Prize on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. The grand prize winner will receive a 1-year Spoonflower PRO membership (valued at $249), a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription (valued at $96), one Wacom Intuos Pro Pen and Touch Small Tablet (valued at $218) and a 1-year Adobe Illustrator Creative Cloud subscription (valued at $240). The grand prize winner will be announced Thursday, June 1, 2017.  

Good luck, designers! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!  See the current top 10 winners.