Smarter track · 100 day challenge
Paint 100: A 100 day painting challenge
$9.99 to unlock Your first pack is on us.
Join the waitlistPaint 100 picks up where Draw 100 leaves off, with color: mixing, light and a painting a week. Work in watercolor, gouache or acrylic. Each day starts with a 10 minute warm up of strokes, blobs or a tiny study, then the main task. Days 1 to 5 cover swatching every color, a value scale, a three color wheel, flat and graded washes and fruit from life.
- Daily workload
- 3 daily goalsDaily core: Paint a 10 minute technique study
- Difficulty
- Steady
Example: a sample day
Day 1: what a day looks like
- Daily core Paint a 10 minute technique study Same every day
- Task 2 Set up your station and swatch every color
- Task 3 Collect five colors you love around the house
Need a lighter day? Can't fit it in today? Use a Rest Day: your streak is kept and the day waits for you.
Free preview
Preview the first 7 days
Every day has 3 goals: your daily core (the same every day), Task 2 and Task 3, each with a short why. Open a day to read all three.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Set up your station and swatch every color
Clear a small table, cover it with newspaper or an old towel, and set out the paints you have (watercolor, gouache or acrylic all work), two water jars (one to rinse, one clean), a rag, any brush and any paper. Paint a swatch of every color you own and write its name in pencil underneath.
Why: A swatch chart shows exactly what each of your colors looks like on paper.
Task 3
Collect five colors you love around the house
Line up five objects in colors you're drawn to, like a mug, a leaf or a scarf. Keep them together for mixing practice later.
Why: Real objects in colors you love become mixing targets for Day 11.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Paint a ten step value scale
With one dark color, paint ten boxes in a row, from the darkest you can make to barely there. Lighten with water for watercolor, or white for gouache and acrylic. Aim for even jumps between each step.
Why: Practicing value shows you how light and dark shape a picture.
Task 3
Squint to find the darkest dark in a room
Squint at a room for a minute. Find the darkest and lightest spots and notice how few there are.
Why: Squinting blurs detail so you see value, the light and dark that hold a picture together.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Mix a color wheel from three colors
Using only a red, a yellow and a blue, paint a twelve part wheel: the three primaries, the three secondaries (orange, green, violet) and the six in between. Messy is fine. The mixing is the lesson.
Why: Mixing from three colors shows you where many other colors come from.
Task 3
Mix three browns without brown paint
Mix three small browns: red and green, orange and blue, and all three primaries together. Swatch each one.
Why: Knowing where browns come from gives you more choices when you mix.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Paint flat and graded washes
Tilt your paper slightly. Paint three flat washes (one even color, edge to edge) and three graded washes (dark fading to light), each about the size of a phone. With gouache or acrylic, blend smoothly while wet instead.
Why: Smooth washes are the base of skies, walls and backgrounds, and practice shows you how paint moves.
Task 3
Blend one color into another across a strip
Paint one strip that shifts from one color to another, like blue into peach.
Why: A smooth blend between two colors is the start of skies and soft backgrounds.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Paint a piece of fruit from life
Set one fruit by a window. Paint it with three values: a light, a middle and a dark for the shadow side, plus the cast shadow on the table. Stop at 30 minutes, finished or not.
Why: Your first painting from life. Three values is all it takes to make something look round.
Task 3
Start a painting journal
Start a page or Journal note titled Painting journal. Write what you painted today and one thing to try next time. Add to it whenever a later task asks you to note something.
Why: One place for painting notes makes it easy to look back and see how you've grown.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Paint a sunset sky, your first painting of the week
Painting of the week. Use your graded wash skills to paint a sky that fades from a warm glow near the bottom to cool blue at the top. Once it's dry, add a dark silhouette of hills, rooftops or trees along the bottom edge.
Why: Sunset skies forgive almost everything and look lovely fast. A great first finished piece.
Task 3
Photograph your painting in daylight
Photograph it flat, near a window in daylight, with no flash. Keep the photos in one album.
Why: A photo archive makes it easy to compare early and later work.
Daily core Same every day
Paint a 10 minute technique study
Why: Repeating one technique in a short study builds control over time and warms your hand up for the day's main painting.
Task 2
Hang your first week on a wall
Light day. Tape your week's paintings and swatches somewhere you'll see them. Write one thing you like about each piece on a sticky note beside it.
Why: Seeing your work every day reminds you how much you've already made.
Task 3
Tell someone about your first week of painting
Tell a friend, family member or coworker what you painted and what you liked. No one available? Write it in your Journal as if telling a friend.
Why: Sharing the start lets someone cheer you on as you keep going.
The other 93 days unlock when Paint 100 is yours.
Join the waitlist now
The app launches December 15, 2026. Join the waitlist before then and the Early Adopter badge is yours. The group starts Day 1 on January 1, 2027, and you can start earlier if you like. Sign up after launch and Paint 100 is ready when you are. Your first pack is on us.
How Paint 100 works
What you do each day
3 goals a day. Your daily core, Paint a 10 minute technique study, is the same every day. The other two are new each day: Task 2 builds the habit and Task 3 adds a different angle. Each one comes with a short why.
Time and effort
Most days fit around a normal day, all 3 goals together. Some days are lighter, and nothing needs to happen at a set time.
Difficulty and pace
Steady. Small daily steps that grow a little each week. Some days ask a bit more. Milestone badges at 10, 25, 50 and all 100 fully completed days mark how far you came.
Easier alternatives and rest days
Most goals have an easier alternative. “Choose an easier alternative” puts it in its place, and it counts the same as the original goal: the same square, streak and rewards. A rest day protects the streak on days life happens.
Pausing or switching
With another challenge going, you can pause this one any time. Resume later and you pick up on the same day you left. Remove it instead and your history stays: ticks, notes and photos. You always keep at least one challenge going. Up to 3 packs can be active at once, your main challenge included. Active and scheduled packs count; paused, finished and not started ones don't. You can own as many packs as you like and start them later.
What you own
Unlock Paint 100 on its own ($9.99 or a free credit) and it's yours forever, to replay any time. All Access opens every pack while you're subscribed. Credits never expire, so use them when you're ready.
Pack guide
How to use task details
The task title names the action. Open its details for the method, examples and any relevant precautions; Why explains the purpose. Save the stated output or record the action you actually took. Paper and other suitable tools are valid alternatives. Do not mark a real-world result complete merely because a planning note was written. Writing tasks can be done in Journal, on paper or anywhere you like. Linking them to Journal is optional.
Focus blocks
For any study or practice task: put your phone in another room or face down, write the one thing you will do, and set a timer for 10 to 25 minutes. When your mind wanders, notice it and come back. Stop when the timer rings and note where you got to.
Baseline and show and tell
Record or save a short first attempt early on as your baseline. Every few weeks, make a fresh attempt at the same thing, put the two side by side and note one improvement. On checkpoint days, show one piece to someone you trust or save a private recording.
Earn 4 milestone badges
10, 25, 50 and all 100 fully completed days of Paint 100: your first achievement, then bronze, silver and gold. Days finished late count too.
Paint 100 0 of 4
Who it's for
Is Paint 100 for you?
For anyone who wants to paint regularly with small daily studies instead of waiting for a big free afternoon. Especially good if you've been drawing and want to add color.
Watercolor, gouache or acrylic. Small daily studies that add up to paintings you are proud of.
What the 100 days cover
- Swatching and color mixing
- Value scales
- Flat and graded washes
- Painting from life
- A painting a week
Price and credits
What it costs
- This pack
- $9.99 once. All 100 days. That pack, owned forever.
- Free credit
- Your first pack is on us: every new account gets one free specialty credit for any pack, and it never expires. Use it here and it costs nothing.
- Smarter bundle
- $29.99 once. Own every pack currently available in this track, plus any new packs released in this track during the 12 months after purchase. All packs unlocked during that period remain yours forever. Packs released afterward are sold separately.
- All Access
- $39.99 a year (7 days free, then $39.99/year unless canceled), or $4.99 a month with no free trial. Every current and newly released standard pack while you're subscribed. Access ends when your subscription ends. Packs you own stay yours.
Questions
Good to know
Which paint should I use?
Watercolor, gouache or acrylic. Day 1 is setting up your station and swatching every color you have.
Do I need to do Draw 100 first?
Paint 100 is designed to pick up where Draw 100 leaves off, so drawing practice helps. The focus here is color: mixing, light and small studies.
How long does each day take?
Each day starts with a 10 minute warm up, then the main task. On busy days the warm up keeps the habit going.
What if I miss a day?
The app has Rest Days, so you can pick your brush back up. Your level never goes down.
How much does Paint 100 cost?
Paint 100 is $9.99 once: that pack, owned forever. Every new account also gets one free specialty credit, so you can unlock one pack like this one at no cost. The Smarter bundle is $29.99 once: own every pack currently available in this track, plus any new packs released in this track during the 12 months after purchase. All packs unlocked during that period remain yours forever. Packs released afterward are sold separately. All Access Yearly is $39.99 a year (7 days free, then $39.99/year unless canceled), or All Access Monthly is $4.99 a month: every current and newly released standard pack while you're subscribed. Access ends when your subscription ends. Packs you own stay yours.
Keep exploring
More Smarter packs
- Read 100Read about ten pages a day and remember more of what you read.
- Write 100Write a little every day and finish pieces you're proud to keep.
- Philosophy 100Explore one big idea a day and build views you can defend.
- Instrument 100Short, focused practice that helps you hear your own progress.
- Language 100Learn useful words and phrases, then use them out loud.
- History 100Investigate the moments that shaped the world, one source at a time.
The group starts January 1, 2027.
Join the waitlist before December 15 for the Early Adopter badge, then sign up after launch. You can start earlier if you like.
Join the waitlist