When your kid makes a piece of art, they’re also building confidence, processing feelings, and creating connections. That’s what we’re celebrating with the Outschool Visual Arts Showcase—and your kid could win up to $1,000 USD* in prize value, a one-year Outschool Membership and a billboard in Times Square!




*or the equivalent amount in local currency depending on jurisdiction of residence
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These Outschool art teachers are experts in their fields and champions of creativity.





My drawing is called Winter Day. Drawing this made me feel peaceful. I imagined the crisp cold air, the softness of the snow, and the joy that comes with a winter day. I wanted to show how winter looks, and how it feels. It looks so beautiful. Even though I live in a place where a lot of snow is rare, I thought of my past memories of playing in the snow with my sister and what a perfect snowy day would look like.

Hi, my name is Kinsey. I like watercolor because I can express myself. What inspired my painting was I wanted to do something tropical and with flowers. This painting makes me feel happy and like I am walking through a rainforest. Someday I would like to hike through a rainforest.

I am an avid writer and artist with a passion specifically for animals. This piece was inspired by a book I want to write following the first two leaders of a wolf pack called the Rose Kingdom. Over the course of this drawing I grew even more attached to these two characters and even spent hours meticulously fussing over details just so I could do them justice. Now that the piece is finished, I look at it as one of the best pieces I've ever created and the characters as some of my favorites.

I was inspired by survival in the wild. In my painting, a girl and her cat are camping in the wilderness. There are many different trees and plants around them, and many shades of green that make the forest look full of life. In the middle of the picture, there is a warm campfire lighting up the girl. She is fishing by the river with her cat beside her. You can see their reflections in the water. Far away in the wilderness, there is a rainbow that you can faintly see in the sky.

Each bubble shows a different part of who I am. The flute shows my focused, connected side - the part of me that loves being in harmony with others. The drums show my wild, energetic side - the part of me that loves the thrill of a big performance. And the guitar shows my private, peaceful side - the part of me that just enjoys being in my own world.

I love painting birds and I particularly loved painting this large bird of prey because I had never heard of them before and we don't have them in Australia. I really like the contrast between the background and the main subject. I also really like how I painted his feathers in layers and the slight tilt of his head. I tried my best to capture his curious facial expression and crest feathers on his head, which resemble a quill.


I love dinosaurs and I want to learn how to paint all the dinosaurs in the world! The stegosaurus is my mom's favorite dino and pink is my sister's favorite color!

I am inspired by cats because they're so cute, fluffy, playful and cuddly. I decided to see what would happen if I turned myself into half a cat and half normal. I have fostered kittens for my entire life and it has taught me to care for animals that need my help. I am now responsible and caring because of taking care of cats. I want to be more like cats and be loving to everyone. My picture shows me being more like cats.

Good day to you. My name is Adaire Renee and I've alway been fascinated with painting and literature. This painting is inspired by the book, "Bridge of Clay" written by Markus Zusak. Hence the name of the painting. The book is strongly recommended though there is some crude language. I hope you like them both.

I’m Addy! I do traditional and digital art, and I have been drawing since I was 10. With this piece I wanted to show warmth and color and evoke a feeling of hope. I also tried to challenge myself by coloring using a wide range of hues and shades as well as using semitones and hatching, some techniques which I don’t normally do. This piece makes me feel optimistic, and I proud of how it turned out!

~ Sun and Moon, sisters in soul, pass each other in a fleeting moment of wonder; dancing in starlight. ~ Hello, thank you for reading this and viewing my art! My name is Madeline and I've always loved making art, but I didn't start digital art until 2020 during the pandemic. Since then I have enjoyed following my art journey wherever it has led me. The inspiration for this piece came from eclipses as the concept has always fascinated me, and I recently viewed one from my backyard.

I’ve always loved art as long as I can remember, but the aspect I love most about it is how a person can imagine what it is. I hope that is what this piece represents to you. This was also a way for me to express different art styles that I admire. My portfolio is primarily all gaming related, and this is my first attempt at drawing...well...myself. I hope you enjoy it!

My name is Lucy, I enjoy being creative, and I play guitar. My piece was inspired by Frida Kahlo. Frida inspired my piece because of her resilience through the physical trauma she experienced and how she broke cultural and gender norms. My piece makes me feel a sense of confidence because of the effort I put into it.

The first thing you should know about me is that I love to write - and of course, draw! This illustration is the cover for a novel that I currently am writing. It is a love story about a girl and a prince who despite their circumstances, build their own happy ending. This book in particular is inspired by my favorite author, Jane Austen. This story holds special meaning for me because I have been working on it since I was seven years old.

Hi, I’m Mia. I was inspired to draw this by my love for cats! Though it is not my cat, which I have two, it reminds me of my cat. I used 2B for outlining and chalk pastels for coloring. I took the risk of at first using alcohol markers, and when I didn’t like it, I decided to use chalk pastels. I had to cut the cat out and glue it on another piece of paper. Thank you for your interest in my drawing!

Hi! My name is FionaI love to paint and i love the pretty sparkly galaxies and i love the night skies sparkly stars so i thought why not paint a galaxy painting so i did and this painting i got tons of inspiration to make it and it is so sparkly! And i got so many compliments!


I love to do art because it allows me to use my hands and helps me to focus. Art helps me to feel better by calming my mind. When I do art, I can be creative in making many characters. I enjoy making faces with lots of details. My art is called Dotty Frost. She is named Dotty Frost because she has on Poki dotted and frosted clothing. I love her shiny hair with one braid on each side. At the end of each braid, she has a claw to hold hearts, and other things. Dotty Frost is a kind character.


As a cancer survivor, I am always trying to make up for my own perceived loss of time during treatment. Often I work like a machine - balancing school, dance, kickline, acrobatics, work, art and time with my friends. Similarly, dance requires perfection. There is no gray. You either nail it or you don’t. This creates tremendous stress which I struggled with for many years. The juxtaposition of the dancer and the machinery represents how I am overwhelmed by my own expectations.

This art piece was inspired by a weeping willow and represents loneliness. I created it late at night and had soo much fun bringing her to life. Now she hangs in my stairway and depending on the day, the characters expression seems to change. Sometimes she appears peaceful; others she seems much more sad.

Hi! My name is Lindsay and I am turning 14 near the end of April. My piece was inspired by myself and my progression over the years. I wanted to capture how I have changed over the last couple of years. Since I normally do not do self portraits, this was a challenge for me. I have always struggled with portraying myself, or anything related to me, so I am incredibly proud. This was a step out of my comfort zone, and I’m proud of what I have created. Thank you!

This artwork was inspired by my love of bright colors, which reminds of my personality, and, birds! I enjoy creating digital art because it allows me to experiment with blending colors and trying new techniques. I used what I learned from practicing digital painting to create a cheerful bird with a colorful, imaginative background. Art makes me happy because I can turn ideas in my mind into something beautiful to share with others.

★ This awesome sauce artwork I made is inspired by peaceful and happy moments in nature. I love how animals can live together in a calm, playful way, like sharing a quiet stream or relaxing in the sun. Nature inspires me because it feels gentle, colorful and full of small, joyful moments. It makes me feel safe and happy. :D No matter what I draw, it almost always connects back to nature through the colors, patterns and peaceful feelings I see :] ★

I love drawing: it’s a way of telling about myself. I got inspired to make this drawing when my art teacher said we will be making a sleeping mythical creature I knew I wanted to make a fox . The fox is sleeping inside the den until the sunset rises. While sleeping, the world is becoming a colourful and peaceful place to live. Like our dreams, sweet dreams…

My name is Krisha and I drew a Fennec Fox on the Procreate app. I think I did a good job!!!! I want people to feel calm when they look at this picture because of the warm colors and the fox’s relaxed position. I want people to imagine going on ian adventure with the fox! Also let me give you a quick fun fact: they can hear underground!!!


Before I started HIP HOP I was shy and not always willing to try new things. But now that I am doing HIP HOP, I am confident and more brave. Hip Hop makes you flow lets you know you can do it Hip Hop is a vibe you can't hide it's inside you Just give it a try! Try it,Try it, Try it -Come On! (written to the beat of "I Can Make Ya" by Fingazz)

What inspires me to make this is The animal grooming truck I saw outside my house. my favorite part was the puppies. The smaller parts represent that they are far away the and the bigger ones represent. They are closer in the picture. my other favorite part was the rainbow with the crown, unicorn horn and puppy ears.

I enjoyed creating The Man in the Turban. This beautiful person of color has so much emotion in his eyes. I wanted to capture it! Experimenting with texture in the jewelry, wrinkles, and turban challenged me, in a fun way! They required time and concentration to get just right. I’m enjoying using new tools like high-quality “artist” pencils. And finally, my Outschool teacher, Ms. Kristy, makes drawing super amazing and fun.

I have always been fascinated by dinosaurs and could never wrap my mind around the fact that these creatures were Earth's first inhabitants. Although they are gone now, their presence is something recognized by all, even 65 million years later. As such, my picture shows a T-rex, the epitome of the dinosaurs. It captures the bold and fierce nature this creature once had, roaming through the jungle with an intimidating aura. This drawing reminds me to always be confident, no matter the challenge.

This artwork of mine is based on what inspires me - music, my family (from Norway), Tae Kwon Do, and hearts for being kind. In this piece you can also see a bear eating a cake. That cake is actually called ‘Verdens Beste Kake’ meaning ‘Worlds Best Cake’ in Norwegian! It’s a cake that me and my grandma make together for our families birthdays. It’s really special to me, and she inspires me so much. The background is based off of me and things I like/inspire me, which means a lot to me.

Hi! I'm Samantha and I have been doing art as long as I can remember, and I have always loved it! My piece is a surprising friendship between a yellow Labrador and a Mallard duck along a pond with a beautiful mountain setting. I love this piece because it reminds me of my favorite animals along with my favorite setting, mountains. My love of the outdoors and animals is also what inspired this piece.

Since I love DELTARUNE, I decided to draw a character from one of the game's AUs (alternate universes). I was inspired to draw him because I love his theme song! Scampton is a character from DELTARUNE: Chapter Rewritten. He's a clown who goes insane after being forgotten in a castle dungeon for a long time.


Im Lacey, military child following her dad. Just pulled from the sunshine of Florida to the winter of the Midwest. My piece is inspired by the warm sun that my skin misses so deeply. It makes me feel that Gods masterpiece is worth sharing. We are created to create.

My name is Nola Mae and I have been riding horses since I was 6, For 8 years now, since I first started riding, I dreamed of competing at a place like CHP, and a few months ago I was able to make that dream come true and compete there winning first place with sarge, I used what exactly went through my head when I won, all my little 6 year old memories playing back in my head during my last stride to the winning last jump and all the hard work I did to get there

My name is Evie. I’m homeschooled and I have been taking art class for 3 years with Ms. Z. I chose to draw penguins and title my piece Love In All Things, because God gave love to all creatures great and small. You can see that penguins love each other because they look after their chicks. It makes me feel good, because God loves penguins and so He must love us. It also reminds me of God’s beauty and grace.

My grandparents live in Rome and I would like visit London and Rome. It’s a magical bridge that can take you to different places. The colors are bright and make me feel happy. My favorite parts are the Colosseum and the colors of the water. The person on the bridge is me.

Something that inspires me is the idea that robots can help people and improve communities in the future. I enjoy robotics and engineering because they, along with creativity, can be used to solve problems and make life easier. My LEGO creation, “S.E.R.V.” (Scorpion Emergency Response Vehicle), was inspired by the idea of a robot that could help during emergencies and dangerous situations. I designed it to show strength, multifunctionality, and the ability to protect and even rescue people.

I am artist, a writer, a singer, and much more. I enjoy being outside and around animals, and the place you will find me is in my room, in my bed snuggling and reading with my cats, or at my desk writing and creating worlds, in art or writing. I enjoys singing, and can be found singing my favorite songs. My dreams inspired me to create this art piece. I used bright colors and symbols to represent my bright spirit, and put a hot air balloon to represent her soaring creativity.

My name is Juniper and I am 10 years old. My artwork titled Unicorns in New York symbolizes possibility. Even in tough times, imagination can carry us somewhere new. That is why possibility inspires me the most, it can become anything and I want that for everyone!


Stories are my main inspiration, I often find them leading to many of the drawings I create, either through abstract ideas presented by the story or by characters I like. In this piece I tried my best to combine these things, the laptop and the phone represent stories told through the digital world like video games, anime, and webcomics. While the books and manga show the stories that come in a physical form. Lastly the fan and meneki neko represent the influence Japanese media has on my art.

My name is Ellie. I like cats, dogs, tacos, and gaming. What inspired the piece is that I like pastel colors, Kawaii fashion, and gamer cat fashion, too. Plus my love of pets has brought me to a scene that has a girl not pay attention to the sign that says it's a dog park and bring her cat which gets into a scuffle with a dog.

I made this because I lived in a city for 8 years and I loved it. The lights, the sounds, everything. It makes me feel at peace because I remember looking out the windows and hearing the honking of the horns, seeing the lights, and being up in a tall building being able to see everything below. And all of that, to me was very peaceful and calming.

As a stargazer, seeing a night sky filled with different kinds of wonders always amazes me. This inspired me to combine many different night-sky objects together. It makes me feel peaceful and fulfilled. I think anyone who sees this in real life will be breathtaken and amazed to the eye!

“I enjoy drawing anime because it inspires my imagination. I like creating characters with strong expressions and unique designs. Anime shows like Naruto inspire me to practice drawing and improve my skills. When I draw, I feel creative and excited because I can bring my ideas to life through art.”

I'm Kiran and I love road and city design. I can spend hours designing elaborate cities in chalk that span the sidewalks of my cul-de-sac. I get so excited looking at my piece because it makes me feel like I'm there. I try to add as many details as I can to make it realistic.
Whether your kid is just starting their creative journey or has a project ready to go, you’ll find classes that meet them where they are and bring out their best.
Learners ages 6 to 18 in the United States, United Kingdom, (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland only), Australia and Canada (excluding Quebec) (see showcase rules for regional participation limits and award eligibility details) can enter if their family has an active Outschool Membership or enrollment. New to Outschool? Become a member today!
Not at all! The Visual Arts Showcase is open to every eligible learner, whether they’re new to creating art or already taking classes. They don’t need to be enrolled in an Outschool art class to participate. What matters most is their creativity, effort, and artistic voice.
Log in to your Outschool account and fill out the form above. Upload a high-resolution image or a 1-minute video of your learner’s artwork (vertical 9x16 preferred; max 150MB) and add the artwork’s title plus a note about why your learner chose it. If you have trouble uploading, check our troubleshooting tips or contact Outschool Support for help.
Make sure to enter using the parent email linked to your Outschool account. If a teacher invited you to the Showcase, add their profile link so we can thank them. Submitting for more than one learner? Fill out a new form for each.
Artwork should connect to the theme, ‘Something That Inspires Me,’ and must be original and created by the learner. If your learner uses any material they did not create themselves, it must be clearly changed into something new and original, not just copied or lightly edited. AI tools may not be used to create any part of the artwork. Learn more about our submission guidelines here.
Our team reviews your learner’s artwork to make sure it meets the showcase rules and submission guidelines. This could take up to a week. You’ll get an email once it’s in the Showcase. Keep an eye on this page for updates. Entries will appear here when ‘Showcase Favorite’ voting begins on or around March 13.
Submissions can’t be edited once they’ve been sent, so be sure to review your upload and entry form carefully before submitting. Each learner can have only one entry in the Showcase, and judges will review only one submission per participant.
Outschool’s teacher judges review entries for creativity and originality. Learners submit their work in one of two categories: Physical Art (e.g., drawing or painting) or Digital Art (e.g., animation or digital illustration). One finalist is chosen in each age group for each category. Showcase Favorite voting happens on the Showcase page and is open to those aged 18 or older. Public voting for Showcase Favorite is open only to individuals who are legal residents of jurisdictions where participation is lawful. Notwithstanding the foregoing, residents of Canada are not eligible to participate in the public voting portion of the Contest.
Finalists are featured in the live virtual event, and the Showcase Favorite winner is decided by public vote. Entries from Canada are eligible for judging and award selection in all categories except for public voting for the Showcase Favorite award.
The live virtual Showcase will be hosted by Outschool on April 25. It’s a free celebration of the finalists and their artwork, featuring judges and moments highlighting each artist’s creative process and inspiration. Families can join to view the artwork, hear directly from the artists, and celebrate their creativity together.
Two Grand Prize winners, one in each category, each receive a $500 USD Outschool Gift Card, a $500 USD Amazon Gift Card, a featured placement on a Times Square digital billboard, and a one-year Outschool Membership at the $70 USD monthly tier. Finalists receive a $250 USD Outschool Gift Card, and the Showcase Favorite winner receives a $250 USD Outschool Gift Card and a $250 USD Amazon Gift Card. Finalists are announced on April 20, and Grand Prize winners will be announced live at the Showcase event on April 25. Prizes are sent by email after the contest concludes. All prizes are stated in US dollars (USD) or the equivalent amount in local currency, depending on the jurisdiction of residence.