Folktale Week is an annual art challenge centered around folktales and fairytales. Primarily an Instagram challenge, many folks no longer on that platform are also participating. I joined the challenge in 2023, and created imagery around their prompt words.

It is a shorter challenge--lasting only a week--but the prompts are shared relatively early, and participants are encouraged to riff on them as they see fit. They can write stories, pull themes from tales they're illustrating, explore tales from other cultures, and use whatever medium they want.

I chose to use the Folktale Week prompts for 2023 to help me develop and flesh out my own version of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. I used the terms to help me explore possible story beats and plot points. I used them to help me grow the characters and advance their motivations and arcs.

The words for 2023 were: Lost, Ink, Sea, Sleep, Underground, Illusion, & Found.

The illustrations I made are below.