Theme Week - Stuck in traffic

Okay, it’s a Saturday night and we’re still doing this, so let’s all get ready for a super fun theme week. The theme this week will be “Stuck in Traffic.” Each entry should contain:

  • A scene relevant to the phrase “Stuck in Traffic” which need not be taken literally.
  • At least four (4) vehicles. We’re using our loose definition of vehicles from other contests, so most means of conveyance will apply. Horses, bicycles, monster trucks, and freight trains all count. 
  • Vehicles which are drawn with enough effort so as to avoid the danger list. We like things sketchy, but going to slapdash on the vehicles will be a primary reason for entries getting voted onto the danger list.

And that’s it! We look forward to seeing your entries and being one Theme Week closer to the end. Good luck!

Theme Week - The Elephant in the Room

It’s time for another super-fun Sketchbet Theme Week. Because I have clearly run out of any good ideas, the theme for this week will be: The Elephant in the Room.


For this theme, each entry must include:

  • At least one (1) African or Asian Elephant. Mastodons and Mammoths are also acceptable.
  • A room for the animal to be contained therein. Each day’s entry must present an identifiably different room with an identifiably different purpose. For example, one day might show an elephant in a kitchen. The next day may feature an elephant in a conference room, and so forth.
  • Please show the majority of the elephant. No slacking off with just a trunk poking through a window. Clothing for the elephant is acceptable and will not count against you, unless it is clearly a way to avoid drawing the elephant.

Theme week starts Sunday, August 12. Happy Shark Week.

July - The Start of Double Theme Weeks

Okay, if the blistering summer heat wasn’t enough to tell you that summer is in full swing, you’ve also got the step up in theme weeks to announce the changing of the seasons. Starting this month, there will be two (2) theme weeks every month.

For the first of these, we thought we’d do something fun and open-ended. This week our theme will be re-imagining. Take a property you think could be interesting in a new setting and adapt it. 

Each entry must have the following components:

  • At least four (4) figures
  • A background which establishes the setting.
  • *Edit 7:34 PM* Each day should have a different property and a different setting. Let’s keep this interesting!

For example: Say that I think Gilligan’s Island would be interesting if it were about Greek mariners in the Aegean Sea. I might draw Gilligan and the Skipper as period sailors, Ginger as Helen of Troy, and maybe the Professor as Aristotle. And I’d plop it in front of some Mediterranean cliff side or shore. There we go! If you can come up with a punny name, all the better! (Entries will not be judged by the merits of any puns that may or may not be present.) Due to the nature of this theme, the fanart restriction has been lifted for the week.

So there we go. Thanks for sticking with us so far and good luck to all the participants. The Theme Week starts this Sunday, the 8th of July.

Theme Week Whatever the Hell Number: Street Scene

Posting this a few hours early to give folk time to prepare. We call this one the Widow/Widower Maker.

Things appear to have stagnated here at Sketchbet. We long for your cries of agony yet our sadistic ears go unsated. This must be rectified.

So now we engage Sketchbet: Hard Mode. This theme week is no joke.

Every day, you will be required to draw a street scene. In this street scene, you will be required to have the following items present in EACH day’s entry.

  1. At least three (3) human or humanoid people.
  2. A vehicle such as a horse, carriage, car, tank, etc.
  3. Practical light source such street lights or traffic lights.
  4. At least one (1) item of plant life.
  5. At least four (4) signs. Signs present on other items, such as a Post Office sign on the side of a Post Box will be counted.
  6. The scene must be drawn in linear perspective with a minimum of two (2) vanishing points.

It’s still a sketch, mind you. We’re not expecting finished work. But each of these items must be attempted.

Happy Drawing! :) The week starts 12:01 AM CDT Sunday May 20.

Theme Week - Horse Battle Spectacular - April 8 - 14

This week’s theme is horses. Every image you submit must contain a horse. If part of the horse is obscured or cropped out, you must add this missing portion of the horse elsewhere in the drawing.

Note: It need not come from the same horse.

Sea horses and other such puns and trickery are excluded. Unless it is a full land-type horse with fins added, or the like.

*Edit* Additional note: Self-obscuring of the horse is not considered an issue requiring further drawing elsewhere. We’re not trying to make non-euclidean horses. Basically, each horse submission should have as much horse in it as would appear if you took a photograph of a horse. But please, do not try and and do an extreme close-up so the head of the horse obscures the rest of the body and such. Let’s be adult about this.

Theme week: March 11th - 17th Style Change

It’s time for the second theme week of sketchbet!

THE THEME IS Style Change!

What does that mean?

Pick an artist you like and try to draw in their style. This is to push you to try new things. So pick an artist significantly different from how you usually draw. If you don’t, we won’t put you on the danger list, but we will make a note for you to pick a different artist. You don’t have to stick with the same artist all week. Please link us to who you picked for each post though.

What should I draw?

You can draw anything as long as it’s in the style of that artist.

So Fanart?

The one-fanart-a-week rule is still in effect. So don’t think drawing in another artist’s style means you can post Hellboys in Mike Mignola style all week. You can only do that once. Maybe draw your character in that style or your friend in that style.