tech
March 14, 2026
Quick on the draw: the worldwide appeal of sketching 100 people in a week
Liz Steel and Marc Taro Holmes live on opposite sides of the globe, but connected through a sketching challenge. Now it's a phenomenon
TL;DR
- The #OneWeek100People challenge asks artists to sketch 100 people in seven days.
- Co-founders Liz Steel and Marc Taro Holmes started the challenge to stay connected and encourage practice over perfection.
- The challenge is designed to be accessible, with no expensive tools required and "success" defined by the act of trying.
- Participants describe the challenge as "exposure therapy" for perfectionism and a way to recalibrate their brains to notice people.
- Sketching is presented as an active, creative way to engage with the world, offering a "tactile relationship" with the environment and vivid memory recall.
- The goal is to encourage more sketching than usual, with advice to work small, simplify, and use limited materials.
- The practice can increase empathy and gratitude for the "ordinary" by encouraging people to look up and truly see others.
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