A Creative Challenge You Can Use All Year
If you’re looking for art prompts you can use all year round, this 30-day creative challenge from November Squares 2025 is designed to help you build a joyful, sustainable making habit. Using Sketch Squares as a simple creative tool, these 30 prompts gently guide you through playful exercises that encourage experimentation, mark-making, observation, collage, colour, composition, and creative thinking.
Whether you’re a professional artist, beginner, teacher, student, or someone simply wanting to reconnect with creativity, these prompts are flexible, low-pressure, and designed to fit into real life. You can work through them daily, weekly, or simply dip in whenever inspiration strikes. There’s no right or wrong way to use them; just permission to explore, create, and discover at your own pace.
Want to try the prompts yourself?
If you’d like to use the same tool I use throughout this project, you can also order a Sketch Squares from my shop. They’re designed to support playful exploration, experimentation, and creative discovery and I ship them worldwide!
➝ Download the PDF prompts by clicking here
➝ Shop Sketch Squares by clicking here
Day 1 – Hello Hello! This Is Me!
We kicked things off with introductions. I used my Sketch Squares to make a 15-square comic strip of my life, from being born in Watford all the way to inventing Sketch Squares themselves. A beautiful way to start the month and get to know each other.
Day 2 – All the Ways to Play
This was our exploration day. I made mini landscapes, a concertina book, a big square with a writing space, simply using Sketch Squares in all sorts of ways. A brilliant warm-up for the month and a reminder that this little template is incredibly versatile.
Day 3 – Frame Your World
A sunny Brighton day! I took my Sketch Squares on a walk to the post office (with David), framed snippets of sky and colour, and enjoyed seeing so many people noticing little moments around their homes and neighbourhoods.
Day 4 – One and Only
A special one — my son joined me. We gathered every blue material in the studio and made marks together, even fingerprints. Quick, expressive, meaningful. I’ll treasure this piece forever.
Day 5 – Dippy Dip
Fifteen dipped edges, lots of ink and water, twenty minutes of pure play. Soft bleeds, surprises, and a piece that looked wonderful next to the pink passion flowers in the garden.
Day 6 – Back and Forth
Coloured pencils, flowing lines, tiny abstract landscapes. A fabulously simple warm-up that fed beautifully into my new landscape collection.
Day 7 – Peekaboo
This one made me laugh. I set out to create playful hidden faces… and accidentally painted everyone into balaclavas! Menacing but fascinating. It made us focus entirely on the eyes.
Day 8 – Rediscover
Found treasures! I used practice sheets from a calligraphy course I was terrible at and turned them into something beautiful. A triumph of looking at old work with new eyes.
Day 9 – Let It Brew
Swirling pinks, purples, and blues in a jam jar. A prompt that requires patience: leaving your squares to brew and transform over days. A little creative science experiment.
Day 10 – Feel the Beat
One of my absolute favourites. 40 minutes responding to one of David’s DJ mixes. Totally joyful, freeing, rhythmic, and immersive.
Day 11 – Shape Shifter
Three shapes (an orange circle, a brown hill, and a blue oblong), cut 15 times and shifted in each square. Bold, graphic, and a brilliant composition exercise.
Day 12 – Cardboard
Textures galore: ripping, wrapping, punching holes, layering. The print didn’t work (a total disaster!) but the blue paint on cardboard was gorgeous. A great reminder that even failed attempts offer discoveries.
Day 13 – Lost and Found
A gentle, mindful walk with a Sketch Squares concertina book. I collected tiny treasures: leaves, little scraps, colourful bits; and glued them in. A beautiful exercise in noticing small things.
Day 14 – Same Same
I drew my favourite mug (by Nicola Gillis) 15 times with different tools: biro, Sharpie, crayon, charcoal, watercolour, acrylic. Slow, observational, and surprisingly calming.
Day 15 – Rip It Up
A wonderfully freeing collage day. Ripping magazines and old papers into a Sketch Squares grid — no scissors allowed. Rough edges, bold shapes, and no perfection in sight.
Day 16 – Build
A sculptural day! I cut 15 patterned squares from thick paper and slotted them together without glue or tape. A balanced structure and so many possibilities for future play.
Day 17 – Layer Upon Layer
Paint, scrape, paint, scrape; colours poking through, textures emerging. A beautiful abstract piece built through repetition and surprise.
Day 18 – Digits
Finger painting! Big dots, tiny dots, drags, smudges, taps; all with watercolour and fingertips. Childlike, freeing, joyful, and fast.
Day 19 – Transfer
Homemade carbon paper. The crayons didn’t work, but the oil pastels did. Quick transferred landscapes appeared through pressure — soft, simple, and effective.
Day 20 – Masterpiece
A quiet 45 minutes with my 1996 20th Century Book of Art. I used my Sketch Squares to focus on small sections of works I thought I knew. And yes, I included Richard Wilson’s 20:50, currently on show at Saatchi Gallery.
Day 21 – Pebble Path
A gorgeous sunny day in the garden with Clair. We let pebbles roll our pencils across the page, then used Sketch Squares to select 15 favourite sections. A joyful shared moment.
Day 22 – Reveal
One of the most satisfying prompts! Cutting and folding little windows, placing an old painting underneath, and revealing pockets of colour. I can’t wait to explore this one further.
Day 23 – Hamlet
A tiny village built from simple drawings: a house, a hill, some foliage, each in its own square. Cut, stood upright, and arranged. A perfect family activity (and future Christmas decoration idea!).
Day 24 – Bundle
Layering natural items, leaves, sticks, feathers, with watercolour, then bundling it all together to weather over time. I’ll unwrap mine after November Squares finishes.
Day 25 – Wish & Wonder
A Christmas decoration made from leftover paintings: triangles folded and stuck into a 3D star. A festive evening project (wine and cheese highly recommended).
Day 26 – Fonts
Using the Artists Open Houses brochure: maps, titles, tiny type, bold type, to fill a Sketch Squares grid. A perfect tie-in with the start of the AOH weekends.
Day 27 – Feelings
A late-night prompt in pyjamas. Sleepy, dreamy blues and purples reminiscent of The BFG dream bottles. A soothing end-of-day moment.
Day 28 – Tiny Dancer
Quick painted dancing figures inspired by Matisse and dedicated to Elton John (Watford forever!). Simple shapes full of movement and joy.
Day 29 – Repeat Repeat Repeating
An early 6:30am start before Open House. Not my best moment but a reminder that not every day can be perfect. A prompt I’ll come back to for a long, relaxing colour session.
Day 30 – Celebrate Good Times (Come On!)
A combined celebration of my favourite prompts — the ones made with other people. A final page mixing Pebble Path, Reveal, and moments shared with my son and friends. A joyful end to a month full of play.
A Month to Remember
November Squares has given me:
• two sketchbooks bursting with ideas
• new marks, textures, and experiments
• creative surprises
• shared moments with friends and family
• and a community full of inspiration
Thank you
Thank you for taking part, for sharing your work, for tagging me, and for filling this month with so much creativity. It’s been a real joy to witness and be part of.
Explore. Create. Discover.
And if you’d like even more inspiration, you can continue your creative journey and explore “November Squares 2024” for another 30 art prompts by clicking here.
Want to use the same tool I use?
If you’d like to explore these prompts in the same way I do, you can order a Sketch Squares directly from my shop.
Sketch Squares are designed to support:
• playful exploration
• mark making
• composition
• creative confidence
• building a regular creative habit
They’re used by artists, teachers, students, parents, and anyone wanting to bring more creativity into their everyday life.
You don’t need to be “ready”. You just need to begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to start at Day 1?
Not at all. You can start anywhere, repeat prompts, skip around, or return to them months later. The prompts are designed to be flexible and work around real life.
Do I need Sketch Squares to take part?
You can absolutely join in using a ruler or by drawing your own grid. But Sketch Squares was designed specifically to support this process and make it easier, quicker, and more playful. Many people find it become an essential part of their creative toolkit.
Are the prompts suitable for beginners?
Yes. Completely. These prompts are for everyone: beginners, experienced artists, teachers, students, and anyone who wants to reconnect with creativity. There is no pressure to be “good” at this. The focus is on process, curiosity, and enjoyment.
How long does each prompt take?
Some take 5–10 minutes. Others invite longer exploration. You decide. That flexibility is part of the magic.
Can I use these prompts with children or in workshops?
Absolutely. Many people use November Squares with children, families, in classrooms, creative groups, and workshops. They’re brilliant for opening up creative conversations.
Can I share my work online?
Yes please. Tag me on Instagram @faye_bridgwater and use #novembersquares and #sketchsquares. I love seeing and sharing your creations.