024: Can You Lend a Hand? #propstober

Wherein we form an army of Art Encouragement together.

Will you help me encourage more artists during the upcoming month of October with Draw or Die Club and #Propstober? I’ll be giving away shirts, buttons, stickers, and upcoming new merch items to to those who join the cause.

This week’s newsletter marks 6 months of continuous content creation focused around a singular goal. Encouraging Artists. And so far, it’s working. I can’t begin to tell you how motivating it is to sit down at the end of the day and read the messages I get in response to my content. I hear from subscribers and followers that they needed someone to tell them it was ok to take 15 minutes for themselves to draw. Or that they were creatively locked up, but when they allowed themselves to draw a simple prompt, without overthinking it, everything else melted away and it felt amazing. But… I am bothered by a recurring theme that comes through in some comments.

“I have been in online art groups/forums before and they always feel hyper-critical and negative.”

Faceless internet trolls steal the joy that drawing makes us feel. I have had those experiences too. I have been excited about a piece or a project only to be gutted by comments online. Sometimes from people I thought were friends and colleagues. It’s easy to run from these places. To hide your art and your projects and your dreams. And most often when we hide something from the light it withers and dies. What can you do? Some people are assholes, and the internet tends to make them bolder, meaner, awful.

Well… I think there is something we can do together.

I’m asking you to help me to bring Art Encouragement to a broader group of artists. Over the past few years October has become the default month for art prompts and drawing challenges. For 31 days artists like us challenge ourselves to consistently put pen, brush, pencil, or stylus to the drawing board. (More about the Draw or Die Club October prompt list in next week’s newsletter.) 

But first, most importantly, I am mobilizing a Draw or Die Army of Art Encouragement. Let’s GIVE PROPS to our fellow artists. We will tag it #Propstober. And, it will increase the likelihood that others will keep drawing and Stay Encouraged. Maybe they will even become part of the Draw or Die Club community.

Let’s start a movement! It goes like this:

• Help promote #Propstober by encouraging friends and other artists to get involved.

• Everyday during the month of October search your favorite social media for the hashtags #Drawtober or #Inktober

• Find folks posting original art with those tags and add some positivity in their comments sections: “This is awesome”, “I love how you ______”, “This is great. Keep going!”, etc. 

• Sign your comment with #Drawordieclub and #Propstober.

• Please do not offer suggestions for improvement or constructive feedback. Keep it simple.

I really want this effort to succeed so I’m adding some incentives to get your attention. I’ll give away the following Draw or Die Co. merch by random drawing to anyone who spreads encouragement and reports back:  

• 10 Button Packs

• 10 T-Shirts

• 10 Sticker Packs

• 5 Mystery Merch items - (these will be special!)

EARN YOUR ENTRIES:

• 25 Entries: Create video content promoting #Propstober and post it publicly during the month of September on any social media video platform like REELS, TikTok or Youtube. Send people to propstober.com for all the details.

• 10 Entries: Create a graphic promoting #Propstober and post it publicly during the month of September on any social media platform. Send people to propstober.com for all the details.

• 7 Entries: October 1st - 8th, Give Props to 7 random artists on any social media platform sharing October drawing prompt art. Add the tags #Propstober and #Drawordieclub to your comment. example:

“This came out fantastic! - #drawordieclub #propstober”

• 7 Entries: October 9th - 15th, Give Props to 7 random artists on any social media channel sharing October drawing prompt art. Add the tags #Propstober and #Drawordieclub to your comment.

• 7 Entries: October 16th - 22nd, Give Props to 7 random artists on any social media channel sharing October drawing prompt art. Add the tags #Propstober and #Drawordieclub to your comment.

• 7 Entries: October 23th - 31st, Give Props to 7 random artists on any social media channel sharing October drawing prompt art. Add the tags #Propstober and #Drawordieclub to your comment.

You MUST self report your entries using the webform HERE to be entered to win. Fill out the form each week to report your entries, or wait until October 31st and report them all at once.

I’ll use random.org on November 7th to pick the winners.

Oh and one more thing … the legal fine print. There is no purchase or consideration required to win the random drawings. Full legal Terms and Conditions can be found at propstober.com.

Who’s with me?

Drawing out logos or handtype logos can be fun. You can do whatever handtype you wish, but if you draw “PROPSTOBER” maybe we can use it to help the mission!

Don’t forget we have Daily Drawing Prompts to keep your pencil and mind moving. Try it for free.

Looking forward to encouraging even MORE artists out there together!

👁 Connect with me elsewhere? I’m @djcoffman on Instagram / TikTok / Twitter

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