My first art contest entry was, objectively, a disaster. Not because the drawing was bad — it was actually pretty decent. A watercolor portrait of a cat that took me four hours. The problem? The contest theme was 'Cityscape.' I'd somehow missed that part entirely.
I still cringe thinking about it. But that embarrassment taught me more about art competitions than any tutorial ever could. So here are five mistakes I made (and watched dozens of others make) that you can avoid.
Mistake #1: Not Actually Reading the Theme
This sounds obvious. It's not. When you're excited about entering, you click, you see the prizes, you see the deadline, and your brain immediately goes to 'I'm going to draw that thing I've been wanting to draw.' The theme becomes background noise.
But here's the truth: judges eliminate off-theme entries first. It doesn't matter how beautiful your cat portrait is. If the theme is cityscape, you're done before the evaluation even starts.
How to avoid this: Before you pick up a pencil, write the theme at the top of your paper. Keep it visible while you work. Better yet, brainstorm three different interpretations of the theme before settling on one. The less obvious your angle, the better you'll score on originality.
Mistake #2: Leaving the Background White
I used to think the drawing WAS the art, and the background was just... space. Wrong. A drawing floating on white paper looks unfinished. It's like serving a gourmet meal on a paper plate — the presentation undermines the craft.
Our judging data backs this up. Over the past year, entries with completed backgrounds scored 40% higher on average than those without. Even a simple gradient wash, a soft shadow, or a solid complementary color behind your subject makes a massive difference.
You don't need to paint the Sistine Chapel behind your cat. A warm-to-cool gradient using two colored pencils takes five minutes and transforms the entire piece.
Mistake #3: Submitting a Terrible Photo
My first entry photo was taken at 11 PM under a yellow tube light with my phone at a 45-degree angle. The shadows were so harsh that half the drawing was invisible. The yellow light made my blue watercolors look green.
Photography is the last step, but it's arguably the most critical. Judges see your photo, not your original. If the photo is bad, the drawing is bad — at least in their perception.
The fix is embarrassingly simple:
- Daytime. Window light. No direct sunlight (it creates harsh shadows).
- Lay the drawing flat on a table or pin it to a wall.
- Stand directly above (for flat) or directly in front (for wall-mounted). No angles.
- Turn off your phone's flash. Always.
Mistake #4: Submitting at the Last Minute
I get it. Deadlines create urgency, and urgency creates motivation. But there's a difference between 'productive pressure' and 'frantic panic.' When you submit in the final hour, you skip quality checks. You don't review the photo. You rush the background. You might even upload the wrong file.
Beyond the practical issues, early submissions on platforms like Art Battle .live get more community views and engagement in the gallery. That visibility matters — some contests factor community interaction into the scoring.
Mistake #5: Copying a Reference Too Closely
Using references is perfectly fine. Every professional artist uses references. But there's a line between 'inspired by' and 'copied from.' If your drawing is a near-identical reproduction of the first Google Image result for the theme, judges will notice. They've seen every popular reference image hundreds of times.
The sweet spot is combining elements from multiple references, adding your own stylistic choices, and interpreting the theme through your personal lens. That's where originality lives.
The Silver Lining
Here's what I've learned after dozens of contest entries: every single artist who regularly competes gets better. Not because competitions teach technique (that's what practice does) but because they teach you to finish things, present them well, and handle both praise and silence gracefully.
My cat portrait was a failure. But the cityscape I drew for the next contest placed third. And that only happened because the cat taught me to read the rules. Ready to make your own mistakes and learn from them? Our [contests are live and waiting](/contests).
