What is 'JaNoiry'?
‘Janoiry‘ (Ja-Noir-y) is a Film-Noir themed art challenge that takes place during the month of January. The challenge was thought up by myself in 2018 and launched in 2020 and has been taking place every year since with hundreds of participants taking part every year with their own unique take on the challenge. Since then it has blossomed into a community of creatives starting their new year with a new challenge.
I originally came to set up the challenge as a means of practicing value drawings, and the lack of Noir themed art lead me to develop the challenge and share it with everyone.
How Does It Work?
During the month of January, Artists, designers, photographers and more get to flex their creative muscles in a style they may not be familiar with.
Most art challenges rely on a daily commitment, to draw, paint and otherwise create an art piece each day (hence why it is called a challenge) So to help with the creative process, each year I release a prompt list.
Each prompt will give you a direction and idea of what kind of content to make, and you simply interpret the given prompts to the best of your ability. To make it simpler, the prompt list is only 15 prompts long, giving all participants ample time to keep up with and take breaks in between each piece throughout the month.
Rules?
- The piece must be Film-Noir themed!
...That's it! That's the only rule.
You're free to take any creative liberties you like, it can be a painting, sketch, photograph, a poster, cosplay, makeup, sculpture...you name it. You can make as many or as little pieces as you like. You can choose to follow the prompt lists each year, make up your own list or come up with something new entirely, all as long as it's film noir themed, anything goes!
As an example, I like to use anthropomorphic characters during the challenge, something I almost never did before this challenge came into being, but it's now become a something I pride myself in making for my projects, my clients and more.
Prompt: BETRAYAL
Prompt: BETRAYAL
Some of the participants from the 2022 Janoiry Challenge
