Hey First name / friends!

 

Happy 2026! I'm thrilled to be kicking off another year with you. And I've got some very exciting news to share! 

 

 

What better way to start off the year than with a collection of marketable, strategic artwork? The challenge starts right now, and you're invited! Over the next 4 weeks, you’ll create a small but mighty surface design collection that will be a strong addition to your portfolio. 

 

And guess what? I'm working on a brand new collection, so I'll be creating alongside you in real time each week! (Keep reading to see my first design!)

 

Joining the challenge is simple!

 

 

Ever year, I come out with an in-depth trend report based on months of research. Trends have been a cornerstone of my portfolio for years, and I've personally seen how trend-forward artwork can pay off big time. 

 

Tapping into trending motifs is one of the best ways to instantly make your portfolio more marketable and appealing to art directors. They're looking for artwork that will sell well with their customers, and popular trends fit the bill. 

 

You know I don't do anything without a solid strategy behind it, so this challenge is here to help you go from simply reading the trend report, to building an entire collection from it in just four weeks.

If you complete all four prompts, you’ll be entered to win a full-ride scholarship to my mentorship program, The Art of Collections, which opens again on February 3rd.

 

Yep. One lucky artist is getting in totally free! 💃 (Last year's winner was the lovely Hillary Holt who has been an amazing addition to our community! Check her out on Instagram @hillaryholt_art!)

 

So if you’ve ever wanted to join the program but weren’t sure, this might just be your moment.

But wait, there's more!  😅 As a special bonus during the challenge, I’ll also be sending a weekly email with an actionable business tip to those who are on the waitlist for my program, The Art of Collections. 

 

These are filled with the same kinds of strategies and insights I teach inside The Art of Collections. Practical, strategic ideas that can help you grow your art into a sustainable business. 

 

Plus, Insiders also unlock an extra vault of emails with a raw, unfiltered, no-gatekeeping look at my experience in art licensing over the past decade. 

 

So make sure to sign up for those extra goodies here. We’re not just making art over the next four weeks. We’re building momentum. 💪🏼

Select a trendy motif from my 2026 trend report to focus on for this challenge. I'm doing a mini collection based on the water garden and frog trends!

 

Read my blog posts on mini collections + how to plan a collection below

 

Design your hero illustration!

 

A “hero illustration” is the main focal point of your collection. It typically dictates the collection theme, and is the perfect starting point when designing a collection. You can have multiple heroes in a large collection, but with this mini-collection we’re going to start with one.

 

I started a new mini collection a few weeks ago while I was on vacation in Krabi, Thailand. There were water lilies and lily pads everywhere outside of the gorgeous bungalow I was staying in, and it reminded me of one of the trends on my report: Dreamy Water Garden! So I knew I had to use that as the inspo for my first collection of 2026! I also wanted to add a little bonus second trend to the collection, so I'm adding a dash of the Frog Forward trend, too! 

 

My hero illustration features lily pads as the main motif because 1) I had firsthand inspo right out of my doorstep, and 2) they are an iconic motif for both the Dreamy Water Garden and Frog Forward trends! It's a win win!

 

I'm so excited to build out a collection alongside you and share my process along the way! Here's a little more behind-the-scenes about my drawing process for this illustration.

 

Every week, you'll get more than just a prompt. You'll get a full tutorial on how to design a stand-out collection!

 

Since we're just kicking things off, I wanted to share a blog post about how to plan a collection.

 

This will help you understand the different elements of a collection like the hero illustrations, secondary patterns, and simple blender patterns. It also walks you through how to plan your collection based on the product categories you want to target!

I’m soooooooooo excited to see what you create this week! 

 

Don’t forget to share your hero illustrations on Instagram with the hashtag #CreateWithCatCoq  and tag me @catcoq in the actual photo of your art for a chance to be featured in this newsletter and on my Instagram Stories.

 

I’ll be featuring submissions each week so you can cheer each other on and connect during this challenge! 

Let's kick 2026 off with a bang! 🎉