I’m really excited to announce that Marc Taro Holmes and I are hosting another One Week 100 People challenge this year starting 9 March 2026. And amazingly it’s the tenth year!

The goal is to sketch as many people as you can from life or from photos and see if you can reach 100. You can do this any way you like – simple pencil/pen drawings are totally fine  – and you can take more time if you need! Marc and I originally did the challenge in 5 days which meant a goal of 20 per day – but you can take extra days if you like.

The idea is simply to push yourself to do more people sketching than you would normally do.  There is something special about striving for a big goal of 100 people sketches!

Find out more about the challenge on Marc’s blog here and I love his emphasis on quantity rather than quality. In fact the first time I met Marc (in Lisbon in 2011) he said something that has always stuck with me: ‘quantity has a quality of its own’.This challenge encapsulates that concept!

If you post your work to Instagram please use the hashtags #OneWeek100People and #OneWeek100People2026

Here are some tips for doing this challenge:

• Hitting 100 is not that important – the goal is simply to push yourself to sketch more than you would normally. But if you want to try for the 100 consider including some simple line drawings in the mix.
• As mentioned above, the challenge has always officially been for 5 days (making a nice goal of 20 per day), but if you need to extend the period or start early, that is completely fine.
• Sketches can be done from photos and do not need to be done on location. (If you are part of an Urban Sketchers group make sure your sketches comply with their guidelines before posting your work to the group.)
• Your sketches don’t need to be done in colour or include the full figure. You could even consider doing some blind contour drawings as warm-up on the first day.
• Working small helps, as does drawing with a pencil.
• Drawing people on location is hard! Don’t be discouraged by the results on the first day. Just keep going, and you’ll be surprised by the work you’re doing at the end of the week. Your overall collection of sketches will be impressive!
• The goal is to have fun! Sketching people on location can be a little scary at times, but I always find that doing this challenge (and having my pages filled with lots of people sketches) boosts my confidence. If anyone stops to talk to you, tell them about the challenge, and chances are that they will cheer you on!

Last year I did all 100 sketches on one double-page spread in my sketchbook (see more here) and I loved doing the challenge this way!

This year I’m planning to modify this approach – working larger and over multiple pages but still working within a grid.

A few years ago I did 100 people in one sitting by doing small drawings with my fude pen. It only took just over 1 hour so that was under 1 minute per person including time waiting for people to appear.

Do what you can, think about the simplest (and fastest) way that you can draw people, and then see how much you can fit into your week (on your commute, while waiting in line etc).

I also recommend you do a trial run beforehand. Work out your approach and get an idea of how many people you can draw within a certain timeframe. This will help you set realistic expectations for the actual challenge.

Don’t stress about achieving 100 and please take more time (or adjust the dates) if that suits you better!

This challenge is meant to be fun but at the same time push you a little outside your comfort zone.

Will you be joining us this year?