11 Virtual Paint Night Activity Ideas for Team Building
A virtual paint night is an entertaining team building activity that allows teams to virtually get together and bond while creating art. Virtual paint nights are a great way for team members to connect and get to know each other on more personal levels through a group activity that encourages creative expression. During a virtual paint night, participants are provided with the list of art supplies beforehand they will need to get, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to create the chosen painting. The event is typically led by an instructor who demonstrates each step and provides guidance and support to participants as they work.
Benefits of Virtual Paint Night Team Building Activities
Some specific benefits that your team will experience when they take part in a virtual paint night team building event include:
- Team bonding: Virtual paint activities can be a fun and enjoyable way for team members to bond and get to know each other better. By working on a common project and supporting each other as they create their paintings, team members are able to build stronger relationships and improve team cohesion which has the added benefit of improving employee engagement.
- Creativity and self-expression: Painting allows team members to express themselves creatively and explore their artistic side. This might not be something everyone on the team is used to doing, but even with limited experience, expression through art is a great way to boost morale on teams and increase job satisfaction.
- Stress relief: Painting can be a therapeutic and relaxing activity that helps reduce stress and provide relief from the demands of work. When teams are able to experience activities that help them relax and enjoy themselves, this helps reduce stress and improve their overall well-being.
- Virtual team building: Virtual paint night activities are a great way to bring remote teams together and foster a sense of community no matter where team members are located. The convenience of doing virtual team building activities makes it easy to keep remote teams connected and engaged.
Fun and enjoyment: Most people find painting activities to be a fun and enjoyable way to spend time together, and when done in a virtual work environment, this can be a great way to break up the monotony of the workday.
11 Virtual Paint Night Activity Ideas for Team Building
Virtual paint nights are a great way to engage your team in a fun activity while doing something creative. Here are 11 ideas to help you plan your next virtual paint night team building activity:
1. Group Art Challenge
A group art challenge is a great way to bring your team together and collaborate on creating an original piece of group art. The challenge is to have everyone be creative and come up with different artistic ways of interpreting a theme.
To do a group art challenge, start by having your team select a theme or art style, such as a beach scene or modern impressionism. Then assign each team member a section of the virtual art piece to work on, and have them create their individual pieces in whatever medium they prefer. Use a virtual conference room platform like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams so team members can collaborate and work together in real-time to share ideas as they complete the challenge. This will help foster a sense of teamwork and collaboration.
Once the challenge is complete, have each group share their finished artwork by either taking a photo or scanning their piece to a shared folder where everyone can see it. The final step is to bring it all together as one continuous art piece under the original vision, this is often done by creating a virtual collage, scrapbook, or mosaic of all the individual pieces.
2. Mystery Paint Night
The purpose of a mystery paint night event is to help team members learn about virtual collaboration and problem-solving in a fun and creative way. To do this, you'll have your team create an abstract painting by following a series of step-by-step instructions that are provided to them during the event. The mystery is that each instruction is only revealed after the previous one has been completed.
A mystery paint night activity works best in small groups, so break up your team into groups of three or four to make for easier collaboration. To start the activity, choose a theme for the mystery paint night. You can choose something general, like "beaches" or "flowers," or something more specific, like "sunset over the ocean" or "tulips in a vase". You'll want to keep the theme a secret from your team until the actual event.
Make sure to provide your team with a list of the art supplies they'll need in advance of the event, such as drawing pencils, paint brushes, palette boards (for mixing colors), and canvases. On the night of the event, provide an image of the final painting that team members will be creating, and then have the groups start creating their virtual painting by following the instructions provided to them. It’s important to keep everyone on task and collaborating during this activity so use a virtual conference tool with good video to allow for excellent real-time collaboration.
Once the virtual mystery painting is complete, have team members share their final work in a virtual gallery or virtual art wall to show off their work. This activity will help team members learn how to collaborate and problem-solve in a virtual environment while having fun creating something beautiful.
3. Recreate Iconic Art
As a virtual paint night team building activity, there’s nothing more fun than trying to recreate an iconic art piece. Recreating iconic art is something that everyone will gravitate towards because they likely recognize the art piece, and they’ll find it fun to see how close they can get. This activity can be done as an individual activity or in teams, either way it will help develop great team skills such as creativity and problem-solving.
To start the recreate iconic art activity, break team members out into smaller groups and have them choose a classic work of art to recreate. This could be anything from a Renaissance painting such as “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, to a pop culture icon like a famous album cover such as “Abby Road” by The Beatles. Make sure all the groups have all the art supplies they need ahead of time such as paints, brushes, and sketch paper.
Set a time limit for this activity and allow each team member or group to recreate their virtual artwork using whatever medium they prefer. During this virtual activity, encourage team members to share their progress and socialize with each other. At the end of the event, display all the art pieces virtually and have everyone describe their process and inspiration. This activity is a great conversation starter and something that the team can look back on with pride.
4. Random Art Night
Random art night is similar to mystery paint night except that instead of having a theme selected ahead of time, team members will create virtual artwork using random objects. This virtual paint night activity encourages team members to be creative and think fast. Random art night works best if you have a larger team, as it allows for more creativity and collaboration.
To start this virtual paint night activity, assign each team member three random objects from around the house. These can be anything from a spoon, or sock, to an old book. Team members should know that literally any object can be used – it doesn’t even have to be something they consider “artsy”, they just need to select a few random objects that would be fun to paint.
Once everyone has collected their objects and logged into the virtual conference room, assign the team a virtual painting or drawing challenge. This could be something as simple as “use your three objects to recreate a scene from nature”, or something more specific such as “create an abstract painting using only these three objects”. Give everyone 10 - 20 minutes to create their virtual art and present it when they are done.
This virtual paint night activity is fun and encourages team members to think outside the box. It gets everyone outside of their comfort zone to hone their sense of creativity. This activity also guarantees that everyone will have something unique to present at the end!
5. Paint by Numbers
Paint by numbers is an activity that requires no prior art experience. This classic game is easily adaptable to a virtual team building activity, and it's straightforward to execute as it only requires certain art supplies such as paintbrushes, paints, and coloring pages. Paint by numbers is a good activity to help team members learn how to work together in a virtual environment.
To do a paint by numbers virtual paint night activity, have team members select a virtual coloring page to work on. It could be anything from a classic painting such as Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”, to an abstract design of shapes and colors. These can be either purchased online, or you can have team members create their own customized coloring pages.
Once the coloring page is selected, have each team member get the supplies needed to put their virtual art together. During this activity, encourage team members to work together in discussing how they want to color their pages and provide tips and support to each other. End the activity with a display of everyone’s piece that they can feel proud of. The best part about paint by numbers is that it allows those with no prior art experience to explore their creative side while having lots of fun, and taking on very little risk of creating something terrible!
6. Drawing Duel
Drawing duel is a fun virtual paint night activity that is sure to draw lots of laughs from your team. In this activity, two team members will go head-to-head in a competitive virtual drawing duel. To set up each round of the duel, have team members select one random object from around their homes, such as a kitchen utensil or a piece of clothing.
Once the random object has been chosen, each team member will have to draw it as quickly and accurately as possible within a certain time limit. A drawing duel can take on different rules depending on what direction you want to go in, for example: whoever draws the most accurate or creative version of the object wins, or whoever draws the most abstract yet recognizable version of it wins. Provide each team member with either a virtual whiteboard or drawing paper and pencils to make their art with.
This virtual paint night activity is great for team building because it encourages team members to get creative and work under pressure. It’s also a fun way to introduce friendly competition to a virtual paint night event, which will make it all the more exciting.
7. Sketch Charades & Picture Pictionary
Sketch charades and picture pictionary are virtual paint night activities designed to get your team engaged and challenging each other. The premise is simple: one team member will draw an object or scene while the rest of the team tries to guess what it is.
To begin, assign two virtual rooms for the activity – one room with a virtual whiteboard or drawing paper for the “artist”, and another virtual room for the rest of the team to guess from. The artist will pick a random topic such as animals, food, or even fictional characters and draw it on their virtual whiteboard. Meanwhile, the other team members will have to guess what is being drawn within a time limit. The team that makes the most accurate guess wins!
Sketch charades and picture pictionary is great for team building because it encourages team members to bond and work together. It also gives everyone a chance to get out of their comfort zones and explore new ideas together.
8. Color Challenge
The color challenge involves team members working on a virtual canvas to compete against each other in creating the most interesting and visually appealing design. This virtual paint night activity is sure to get your team’s creative juices flowing.
To begin, assign two virtual rooms for the color challenge – one room with a virtual whiteboard or drawing paper that team members can use to draw their virtual painting, and another virtual room where everyone can view the virtual paintings. The team will then decide on a theme for the challenge, such as “tropical paradise” or “underwater scene”. With that in mind, each team member will have to create their own art design based on the theme.
The color challenge is a great team building activity because it requires team members to become visionaries and share their visions with the rest of the group. It also provides an opportunity for team members to collaborate on a project where everyone has a chance to contribute their own unique ideas and perspectives.
9. Paint Swap
Paint swap is a virtual paint night activity that will have your team working together to create virtual masterpieces. It’s similar to the color challenge, but instead of having one person draw a virtual painting on their own, multiple people take turns adding strokes or shapes to a virtual painting until it’s completed.
Just like with the color challenge, begin by assigning two virtual rooms – one room with a virtual whiteboard or drawing paper that team members can use to draw their virtual painting, and another virtual room where everyone can view the virtual paintings. Then, pick an image or scene that everyone will have to recreate on their virtual canvas.
Once the image has been selected, each team member will take turns adding strokes or shapes to the virtual painting until it’s completed. This virtual paint night activity encourages team members to work together to create something unique and beautiful. It also allows everyone to share ideas with one another and collaborate on a project that everyone can be proud of.
10. Blind Drawing
For blind drawing the premise is quite simple: one team member will draw an object or scene based on descriptions from the rest of the team, who can’t see what they’re drawing. The artist will have to draw based solely on the team's descriptions of the object. This virtual paint night activity will test your team's ability to communicate effectively with each other.
To begin blind drawing, have two virtual rooms set up – one virtual room for the artist to draw in, and the other for the rest of the team to guess from. The team will then pick a random topic such as animals, food, or even fictional characters. They will then give detailed descriptions of the object to the artist without saying what the object is. The artist can only draw based on the instructions given by their team, and cannot ask any clarifying questions.
Give teams 5 - 10 minutes to complete this challenge. At the end of it, judge the winning team based on how accurately their final drawing reflects the actual object. This virtual paint night activity is a great team building activity to develop stronger communication and sharpen problem solving skills, while having fun and developing closer relationships.
11. Collaborative Art Wall
Collaborative art wall is a paint night activity where the entire team creates simultaneously on one virtual canvas. This activity is great at encouraging team members to work together towards a shared vision and create something spectacular.
There are several ways to create a collaborative virtual art wall, some of which are more involved than others depending on your budget and technical expertise. The easiest and simplest option is to use a shared Google Doc. This allows your team to select work on the virtual art wall using a tool that everyone easily understands and can use.
Alternatively, you can use a virtual whiteboard such as Miro or even virtual reality tools like Tilt Brush to create more complex virtual art walls. These tools cost more, but they allow your team to create more elaborate virtual art walls and even ensure that virtual drawings remain consistent if team members need to step away from the project.
Once everyone is in the virtual art wall room, assign a theme or topic for the activity. Then leave it up to your team to use their creativity and imagination to create something beautiful. At the end of this collaborative virtual paint night activity, share the entire art piece with the team and have each team member explain their contribution. This paint night activity is sure to help your team bond, have fun, and work together more efficiently.
Conclusion
Virtual paint night activities such as blind drawing, collaborative art wall, and virtual speed painting encourage your team to collaborate, communicate effectively and create something beautiful together. Whether you’re looking for virtual paint night activities to bond over, or art activities for team building, virtual paint night activities are perfect for all types of teams.
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