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Join Dubai Municipality and its distinguished panel of International Judges this year for Go Wild Dubai 2020. This is your chance to win prizes and show the most inspiring and creative ways you can dream of, what you know about the rich diversity of nature in the Emirate of Dubai. All age groups and walks of life are most welcome.

Go Wild Dubai is an annual competition that was established in 2018 by the Environment Department of Dubai Municipality. Its aim is to encourage members of the public, to explore one or more of the eight marine, coastal, mountain and desert protected areas of Dubai and then express artistically what they have learned about the plants and animals that live there, and their habitats. The artist can choose to produce an inspiring canvas painting, a creative short story, or both.

Please note, that only wildlife found in Dubai’s protected areas should be depicted. This means animals like elephants, giraffes and monkeys should not be included. A check with an online search engine will quickly tell you which species are indigenous to the UAE and likely to be found in Dubai’s protected areas.

Given the challenges we are facing this year, movement around the Emirate is restricted, meaning that getting to protected areas or outside into nature is not possible. But there are other ways you can be inspired. If you spend a little bit of time searching from your residence you may be very surprised to see the great numbers of birds, insects and plants nearby.

What makes a great wildlife painting?

Composition
This is incredibly important as it gives the viewer a feel of being there. Depth, perception and scale are what create this “realness” in a painting. Have a look at some paintings considered to be masterpieces online to get an idea of what great composition looks like. Remember to keep your piece relevant to the theme and draw your inspiration from Dubai’s protected areas and nature.

Sketch First
This will help greatly with proportions. Sketching out an area or animal you want to paint, allows you to keep re-drawing and mastering the proportions before painting.

Plan
Planning is always important, particularly if you are doing a large landscape painting with several elements in it. There are a number of ways to go about this. You can initially do a sketch of the painting, adjusting the general setting until you are happy with it, and then sketch in where objects are to be placed, their sizes, shapes and other key features. Another way is to sketch the background of the landscape only
on the canvas, then draw on tracing paper all of the animals and plants to be included. The tracing paper figures can then be moved around the canvas until they are positioned and sized how desired.

Observe
If you are painting an animal or bird, watch first how it moves. You can do this using YouTube videos. Watching its movement will give you a better understanding of its anatomy and structure.

Colour
Colour choice is important, depending on the style of painting and messages you want to convey. If you are planning to create a realistic painting, then look closely for real colours that are actually there and try to match them. Perhaps you are intending to express the energy and feeling that the bird or animal gives you. In such cases the palette of colours you choose can be much broader. Painting in a more abstract
manner like this can be more challenging as the decision about which colour to choose can seem daunting. Colours are associated with emotions, red for example is colour used to express powerful emotions like anger or aggressive, while green is more peaceful and loving. A look through the Internet will help you learn about the fascinating meanings of colours.

What makes a great short story?

One Sitting
Write your first draft in one sitting to ensure fluidity and continuity. You can go back and edit later.

Good Grammar
Nothing can take away from an otherwise great story more than spelling errors, poor word choices, and run on sentences. Try to aim for a rich, diversity of words, and consider aiming for a combination of long, scene setting and short, punchy sentences.

Main Character

All good stories have an engaging and captivating main character. Spend time
developing your character’s main physical and personal attributes, viewpoint and
role in the story. One classic example is the Lorax, by Dr. Seuss.

Describe It
Use colorful yet clear language to set the scenes and events which happen throughout the story. You will know if you have painted th

Dialogue
Make sure there is a well thought out dialogue between characters. Each character should have a clear point of view and way of expressing themselves. Instead of “he said” and “she said” use more descriptive words like “he exclaimed” or “she announced”.

Think you have what it takes to enter a winning painting or story? We do!
To enter, send an email to: envas@dm.gov.ae

Good luck!