August 2026 Art Challenge: Kiki's Epic Adventure

[sooz]

Hello Krita Artists!

This month’s challenge was created by @Mythmaker, winner of the July art challenge. We asked that this month’s challenge involve Kiki in some way as August is Kiki month on Krita-Artists. He was way ahead of us and had already conjured up some interesting ideas before settling on this one. Enjoy!

Kiki’s Epic Adventure

Your challenge for this month is to:

• Illustrate a scene depicting Kiki, the Krita mascot, as an explorer on an epic adventure.
• The scene can be any scale - from a broad dramatic landscape to a cavern or forgotten crypt.
• Kiki is an android, so should be well-equipped to survive all kinds of terrain: Under/over land, sea and air or even space (or time?!).
• Consider if she needs any particular attire, equipment or adaptations for the chosen environment.
• Whatever the setting, try to give it an epic feel - like a still from a blockbuster movie. Think carefully about composition and atmosphere. I recommend doing thumbnail sketches to help you problem solve before you start your main piece.
• You can find information about Kiki along with lots of images here: Mascot | Krita

Optional additional challenge

Try creating some assets for your scene in a separate document, then copy and paste them into your image. This can be particularly useful for things like textures or repetitious elements; you can replicate and use the transform tools to help build a complex scene more quickly.

Feel free to ask questions about this or the main theme in the WIPs and discussion thread.

Happy painting!

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Please post only artworks and discussion related to submitted artwork in this thread. There is a WIP thread for each monthly art challenge in which you can ask questions and post your works in progress (WIPs).

August 2026 Art Challenge – WIP and Discussion Thread

Rules

• The composition must be created from scratch and should be your own and not an exact copy from someone or somewhere else. If you are using a reference photo taken by anyone other than yourself, please ensure the license allows for its use and include a credit to the photographer with your submission. No paint-over or tracing allowed.
• Photobashing is allowed only when explicitly specified in the topic.
• Artwork should be at least 90% Krita. Example: 3D bases made in Blender (or other non-AI app) are allowed as long as you made the 3D scene yourself.
• The theme changes every month. Your submission should be somehow related to the theme. If possible, please add a few lines explaining your idea and image.
• No AI-generated images are allowed, not even partial use of AI for composition ideas or paint over. It is unfair for those who are drawing from scratch.
• You can post a maximum of 3 entries and also edit the entries until the deadline.
• In order to have the image featured, the entries need to be safe for work so please avoid any NSFW or controversial content. The moderators can use their discretion to disqualify the image from the contest with prior notice. Of course, the artist will be given the chance to submit an alternate image or change it up until the deadline.
• Please do not post your submissions in any other category on Krita-Artists until voting has closed and the winner has been declared.

How to Enter

Post each submission as a reply in this thread – one image per post.
Submissions will be accepted until 2026-08-26T18:00:00Z, at which time the topic will automatically close. You can check how much time is left at the bottom of the thread.

Voting

We will hold a poll at the end of the challenge period. Each submission will be voted on individually. The artwork with the highest percentage of votes will be the winner

Prize

The winner will be featured on this website in the featured artwork row.
The winner will have the privilege to set the next topic of their liking. If the winner is not available or reachable, then the 1st runner up will be asked to provide the topic and challenge. The winner will also be awarded the Monthly Art Contest Winner badge.

Please spread the word about this art challenge by posting your artwork on various social media websites with the hashtag #KritaChallenge. If possible, include a link to the forum post.

I hope we will enjoy this exercise so let us begin!

P.S. Note we can change the rules based on the feedback on this contest and modify the format. Any suggestions are welcome. To submit feedback, please create a new topic in the Site Feedback category.

[Elixiah]

My entry for this month… Kayaker Kiki

Optional challenge:
I drew Kiki and her kayak in a separate document, then imported it as a new layer in the background document. I also copy/pasted the Krita logo that I had saved from previous pieces.

[Bread-on-toast]

My entry for this month is Kiki managing to cross space and find another planet, trying to find something to draw, and somehow gets distracted trying to sneak into and infiltrate a company that uses ai to generate images in an attempt to stop the ai images from discouraging artists from posting online, and getting anxious people will say it’s ai generated. Which can mean sneaking past guard bots and being able to look cool doing it, and can also mean making things explode to make it like an action movie! But right now, the only concern should be actually trying to sneak past all of them the boring way so she doesn’t get caught and set off an alarm or whatever that box funnel microphone thing the evil guard bot is holding.

(I thought I’d make the description light-hearted and kinda funny also the robot holding the fake paintbrush is saying the classic ai phrase, “Of course!”…that’s just a stereotype though.)

[eysselia]

Kiki goes dominate plant vs zombies ranking or exploring the game in 3D.

[Soph_Soph]

Kiki the K-pop star

I tried making an idol version of kiki because it is something that can represent her in another dimension

[Pixalisk]

Kiki Discovers Lake Olympus

EDIT: The image is rather large, and the forum software shrinks it considerably, so that some details are hard to make out, especially in the more backward parts. Here is a link to a full-size version.

Having climbed a good way up the steep slopes of antique Olympian Mountains, Kiki unexpectedly stumbles on the path leading to Lake Olympus. Not quite as well known as Mount Olympus, but the place to be during hot antique-Greek summers. She uses this unique opportunity to paint a quick image of the scene unfolding before her.

The guests include various characters from Greek mythology. Some of them in a pose inspired by well-known depictions of them, others interpreted freely.

Extreme foreground:

• Kiki, creating a virtual drawing-panel with her right hand, painting on it with her left hand. I decided to give her a rather mechanical look, for no particular reason. Reference.

Foreground, left to right:

• Perseus, with sword and mirror-shield. Pointing at his enemy Medusa, discussing lively with Herakles. Drawn from imagination.
• Herakles, with club and lion’s fur. Working as bouncer, telling Perseus in no uncertain terms that hostilities will not be tolerated here. Drawn from imagination.
• Medusa, with snake-hair. She and each of her hair-snakes are wearing sunglasses in snake-fang-design, to avoid accidental petrifications. Drawn from imagination.
• Echidna, half woman, half snake. In mythology, she is the mother of several well-known monsters, so I decided to give her a slightly more monstrous head-design. Drawn from imagination.
• Echo and Narcissus. Narcissus lying on the ground, gazing spellbound by his own reflection into a shallow pool. Next to him, the flowers he shares that shares his name. His girlfriend Echo is pulling his hand softly, only slightly annoyed, sadly used to this kind of sudden distractions. Reference.

Middle, left to right:

• The Labyrinth, here a water-playground in shallow water. Inside, the Minotaurus, here just a guy with a bull-mask, waving friendly at Theseus, but refusing to leave the Labyrinth. Drawn from imagination.
• Theseus, holding the yarn of Ariadne that led him out of the Labyrinth, taking cover on a Hippocampus sculpture, looking fearfully at the Minotaurus, his sword lost, lying in the shallow pool. Theseus drawn from imagination, Reference for the Hippocampus sculpture.
• Ariadne, sitting in the sand, face-palming as she sees Theseus’ behaviour, her knittings and yarns lying next to her. Drawn from imagination.
• On the parasol: Arachne, a spider, skilfully fixing a hole in the fabric using two small yarns. Drawn from imagination.
• Argus, the many-eyed giant, as beach-attendant, blowing a whistle at Cerberus - no dogs allowed in the water! Drawn from imagination.
• Artemis, with a long bow, pulling an arrow from the quiver. Reference.
• Apollo, pointing to a tiny dot far out at sea, as a target for his sister Artemis. What that dot is? Ah, don’t worry, probably not important. Reference.
• Cerberus, the three-headed dog. One paw in the water, when he hears Argus’ whistle. That guy really has his eyes everywhere!

Background, left to right:

• Charybdis, causing a whirlpool. Drawn from imagination.
• Cetus, here just a harmless inflatable swimming toy (as demonstrated by the plug), but still scary enough to cause a small panic. Used a reference, but cannot find it right now.
• Perseus, wielding a spear, defending his girlfriend Andromeda against the monstrous Cetus. Perseus has already appeared in the foreground, so let’s just assume that this is another Perseus, and the name-likeness is by chance. Drawn from imagination.
• Andromeda, chained to the rock. Reference.
• Odysseus, bound to the windsock-pole, listening spellbound to the Siren’s singing. Reference.
• On the diving-jump-rocks: Two sirens, singing their alluring songs. Loosely inspired by the same reference as Odysseus.

[CatMonk]

hey, that looks cool, love the colors

[kuroneko25]

My entry.
Kiki encountered a cat deity(?) while exploring an ancient temple!
For additional challenge: palm trees and hieroglyphs were created separately and then pasted in my main picture

[Michelist]

Cool! Here we see the ancient Egyptian picture puzzle for the question:
“What is a black cat on the rocks called?”

The answer is likely to surprise many researchers because of its simplicity:
"It’s Purrfect”

Cool picture. Meow!

Michelist

[Corentin]

The stone is probably a CATalog of some sort…

[Karsten_Beoulve]

I’m probably way too much of a beginner for this, but this is my Kiki attempt, in the style of Indiana Jones. Couldn’t avoid putting in the giant stone ball

Took way too long to admit and it’s really bad, but to my excuse… Kiki’s outfit is a mess to draw LOL

[sooz]

Welcome, @Karsten_Beoulve. That’s a good adventure for Kiki.

[Karsten_Beoulve]

Thanks a lot, I was thinking of some star adventures at first, then deleted the idea

[steve.improvthis]

No such thing as too much of a beginner! I think your Indiana Jones style Kiki fits right in!

[steve.improvthis]

If Kiki is going on an Epic Adventure, then I thought it should be cinematic!
I figured trying out this month’s picture in the style of a “Casablanca travel montage” would be fun.

[Brushmaniac]

Here is Kiki western style in in a painted desert with pen holstered and ready. Draw!

[Colorjay]

Here is my entry

Cave exploring

The Thunder rock cave is said to have hidden treasure, but no one has dared venture in to the cave for fear of the rumored cave monster.

Kiki is up to the challenge. Ready for an adventure. She’s not afraid of any “monsters”.

But as she ventures deeper and deeper into the cave

she can’t shake the feeling

she is not alone.

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For this one I used Tombofnull’s stipple beast brushpack. The brushes were great for texturing and adding speckled details. And helped it look more cave-y.

[Karsten_Beoulve]

very kind of you, but looking at other entries I can see where I am

[Karsten_Beoulve]

This is so perfect for a kid’s book!

[Karsten_Beoulve]

Ok, I was so unsatisfied of my previous effort that i tried something I’m a bit better at more anime style, no hands in sight, straight forward portrait LOL

The idea of this is a Kiki in a Sci-Fi setting, with dramatic light from above. Think like Being on board of the Enterprise, caught during a teleport.

I’m a lot more happy of this one; but as I’m posting I’m already seeing faults everywhere oh well. In any case it was kind of fun to draw, and i tried a few techs i saw on youtube