FAI Young Artists Contest: Paint a Day in the Sky

FAI Young Artists Contest: Paint a Day in the Sky

Editorial overview

FAI’s Young Artists Contest connects handmade art with themes around air sports. That combination gives an aviation enthusiast something different to do with their interest: imagine the human experience of flight and make it readable in a picture. CompeteMap sees particular value in the space between an accurate aircraft drawing and an expressive scene. An aeroplane can be carefully observed, but the surrounding composition still needs a point of view. Who is looking up? What draws their attention? Where does the eye travel? Those questions make this an art project with an aviation subject, rather than a technical drawing exercise with decoration added afterwards.

Our view is that this suits a child who enjoys making up scenes and is willing to develop an idea through several attempts. The challenge is keeping a lively subject coherent: filling the sky with objects is easier than giving a viewer a clear visual journey. Families should also be comfortable allowing the child’s own decisions to remain visible. An adult can help organise materials and ask what a picture communicates, but correcting every awkward shape can remove the character that makes the work interesting. The useful outcome is a more considered picture and a better understanding of composition, regardless of selection. Read the current theme before beginning, then let the child decide which part of that invitation makes them want to draw.

Quick Facts

Review Evaluation

For current dates, eligibility and registration details, see the FAI International Aviation Art Contest (Young Artists Contest) competition page.

Review Evaluation

Rated Intermediate. The main challenge is turning an imaginative scene into a coherent, finished composition using permitted permanent media; national selection is required for international judging.

Give the sky a point of view

Start by discussing what a visitor might notice at an imagined air-sports celebration. The most useful answer need not be the largest or fastest object. It could be the concentration of a pilot preparing to fly, a spectator following a glider, or the contrast between activity on the ground and the space above it. These are possible planning exercises for discussion.

Ask the child to make several small compositions before choosing one. In one version, the viewpoint might be close to the ground; another could look across a field. Moving the horizon changes how much attention belongs to the people and how much belongs to the sky. That simple experiment can reveal a stronger approach before a large sheet becomes difficult to revise.

A picture can include several activities without giving them equal visual weight. Choose a focal point, then consider how colour, scale and direction lead towards it. A balloon and a glider placed at the same size and contrast may compete for attention. Changing one of those relationships can make the whole scene easier to read.

Imagination becomes more convincing when the viewer can follow it.

Children need not turn preparation into a technical aviation course. Looking carefully at the shapes and movement of the chosen subject may be enough to make a scene feel intentional. Encourage observation, then ask the student to decide what to emphasise. A picture should communicate an idea rather than demonstrate how many reference images the artist collected.

Let the materials shape the picture

Artwork should be on thick white A3 paper, signed on the back, without a frame or outlined border. Permanent handmade media are permitted; digital art not handmade, collage using other art, pencil, charcoal and other non-permanent media are not permitted.

Read that distinction before buying materials or beginning the main piece. A familiar sketching tool is not automatically a suitable submission medium. Use a spare sheet to test the chosen colours, coverage and drying behaviour. A small test can prevent an avoidable problem after the composition is already established.

The medium can influence the visual idea. Broad paint shapes may support a spacious sky; a permanent pen may suit intricate activity on the ground. Combining detail everywhere can make the picture harder to understand, even when each individual part is carefully made. Encourage the artist to decide where detail earns its place.

Work from large relationships towards smaller ones. Establish the main areas of light and colour, check whether the picture still reads from a distance, then add the details that help the story. This is preparation advice, not a required production sequence. Different artists work differently; the useful habit is to pause and assess the whole picture.

Find the national doorway before making promises

FAI members organise national contests before selected artworks reach an international jury.

Submit first to the national contest organised by the FAI member in the country of residence; individuals do not submit directly to FAI.

That route is the practical first check for a family. Confirm that the member is participating, ask for its current instructions and use its local timetable. An international competition page does not establish that every country is accepting entries in the same way. In particular, this guide does not confirm current United States participation arrangements.

Use the current official category boundaries rather than estimating from a child’s school year. The competition page records the current edition details; the national organiser should resolve any uncertainty about the appropriate category or local paperwork before the artwork is sent.

National FAI members select three entrants in each age category for international judging.

The winners of each age category receive a Diploma with Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal, distributed through the FAI member.

For CompeteMap, those outcomes should remain separate from the value of making the work. Selection is a comparative decision and cannot tell a child everything about their artistic development. A useful conversation afterwards might compare the early studies with the completed composition: what became clearer, which choice was difficult, and what would the artist try differently next time?

Key Takeaways

• Choose this opportunity for a child who wants to develop an imaginative visual scene and make their own artistic choices.
• Treat composition and permitted materials as part of the creative problem. A crowded picture is not automatically a richer one.
• Confirm the national submission arrangements before promising participation, and let the learning from the artwork remain valuable whatever the selection outcome.

Sources checked

Checked on 29 October 2026. Consult the competition page and the national organiser for current arrangements.

• https://www.fai.org/young-artists-contest
• https://www.fai.org/page/rules
• https://www.fai.org/page/theme