Richard Gray's Squigmas 2026 Challenge Celebrates Creativity Over Technical Polish

Richard Gray, the miniature painting tutor and content creator behind Richard Gray Creations, posted the official results for the Squigmas 2026 painting competition on March 17, 2026. The write-up landed as a snapshot of how smaller, theme-driven contests are encouraging experimentation across the hobby, rewarding the act of finishing a piece over chasing technical perfection.

Squigmas ran through the 2025 festive season, with entries open from November 6 to December 23, 2025, under the theme of festive fun in the Da Red Gobbo universe. Participants painted everything from squigs in tin armor to scenes of greenskin cheer and holiday chaos, drawing on the mischievous visual language of Da Red Gobbo and his squig companions. The banner image for the challenge depicted a goblin Santa leading squigs through snow, setting the tone for what organizers framed as a celebration rather than a competition.

That distinction mattered to how the event was positioned. Unlike structured contests such as BONEZONE, Squigmas was designed around creativity, community, and the satisfaction of completing something, regardless of where a painter sits on the skill ladder. Entry was free for all Patreon and website members, and eligibility was open to everyone. Judging was handled by Richard Gray alongside a second judge listed only as Rebecca, while a separate Community Pick award went to the public vote favorite.

The results themselves, posted nearly three months after the December entry deadline, represent the 2026 edition of a challenge that had previously announced January 2026 results for its 2025 iteration. That the format keeps returning suggests the Da Red Gobbo universe has found a reliable home in the hobby calendar's quietest, most distraction-filled stretch, keeping brushes moving when motivation is hardest to sustain.