Have you noticed that Hive seems to love contests?
At least that's what I've seen in my limited experience so far, lol. In the few months I've been here I've been invited to a surprising amount of contests. To name a few:
- A mandala contest - I was a winner here.
- A stuffed animal photo-story contest - I was a winner here too.
- A logo contest held by AcidYo - I was not a winner here, (despite having more logo experience/mastery than any of the other contestants, hehe :P)
- I even proposed my own Hive Art Wallpaper Contest!
- And many more I can't find right now hosted on other people's pages.
My guess is Hiver's like contests because they're a fun way to spark engagement (on a platform that could use it)?
Keeping in line with my many contest invites... today @trippymane invited me to participate in a graffiti-lettering contest for the word 'start.'
I'm pretty sure he was referring to 'traditional' graffiti lettering, but he did say I could do it digitally, so I ended up putting my own spin on it.
Disclaimer: (If any street-art 'purists' hate this, I get it, but I'd appreciate if you could restrain from vocalizing your displeasure, thanks so much in advance.)
Here is my contest entry.
I had never used 3D in Photoshop before, ever. It always kind of 'intimidated' me, or I felt more 'comfortable' in 2D. Should I bother studying lots of 3D ins and outs? Nah, given the theme of the contest, I figured I'd just START.
So I dove in.
As I made my first ever 3D letters, it got me thinking about the power of 'start.'
Starting something is surprisingly powerful.
Especially compared to all the other options, such as 'avoiding starting', 'thinking about starting', or 'getting ready to start.'
Let's say you wanted to learn swimming for fitness: What gives you more momentum, progress, and growth... studying swimming-theory or dipping your toe in the water, then wading in a bit, then trying some strokes with a life-jacket?
Or say you wanted to run your own business for wealth: What's more powerful... studying business, or starting a low-stakes lemonade stand to learn the ins and outs of business for real?
The point is, most people will do everything they can to stay in intellectual theory, rather than step up to actual, actionable practice.
Most people have dreams worth committing to, but they refuse to even start.
Everything we want is a journey (whether short or long,) and the only 'first step' available is to start.
We have a desire, we start our journey towards it, then keep progressing, adjusting course as necessary.
Starting can't instantly make you rich or healthy...
...But for either of those things, 'starting' is a powerful (and essential) first step that is best not delayed too long. Because the real learning, growth, and progress comes along the journey, getting our 'hands dirty' in the arena, not sitting in the stadium studying how to do it.
Anyway, these were just some thoughts inspired by this contest that I felt may help readers.
So...
What will you start now that you've been delaying?
I'd love to hear about it in the comments, but either way, thanks so much for reading, voting, sharing, or even skimming. I appreciate you.
P.S. I know @brittandjosie is participating in this contest, but I'm not too familiar with the street art community. If any of you know any cool hive artists who are worth checking out, please let me know, I'd love to see.
P.S. The winter image is from Unsplash.com , and the font is from Envato.com.