Hi, my name is Rosie (RosieSoCosy) and I run this blog, as well as several Cosytober accounts on socials.

What is Cosytober?

Cosytober is a cosy challenge that takes place in October. While mostly focused on art (both traditional and digital), other forms of creativity are more than welcome as well. There is simply one important rule: NO AI. It has to be human-made. Don't even come at me with AI-art is art too.

A few examples of the types of creations that are welcome: drawings, paintings, journaling, handlettering, pixel-art, 3D creations, cross-stitching, paper crafts, woodworking. Basically, just as long as it's made by you, and it fits the prompt (subject) of the day, it's all good!

There are no rules as to whether you should participate every day. This is entirely up to you. I don't want Cosytober to be stressful for anyone. So if you can't do every day, just stick to what you can and want to do. If that means you only do one or three of the prompts, that's completely fine! If you want to start later in the month (or even after October is over) by all means, go for it!

You don't need to be a professional illustrator, everyone is welcome to join in, no matter your level of expertise. No stress or pressure allowed either. It needs to be cosy and fun, otherwise what's the point of a Cosytober challenge, right?

If you tag me on Instagram or Mastodon, I will share/like/boost/favourite your creation.

Where did the name Cosytober come from?

There's some history to unpack if you want to fully understand how I came to the Cosytober name.

A few years ago I changed my Twitch name from SNWgames to RosieSoCosy. If you want to know more about that, there is an in-depth article over on RosieSoCosy on the history behind the previous name I've had for years, and the reason for the new one.

With this name change, I also changed my blog, and all my other socials. Everything became RosieSoCosy, emphasis on the cosy part!

I always wanted to join in on Inktober. For those unaware, Inktober is a yearly challenge that takes place in October, where artists of all kinds try to draw or paint something based on a list of prompts the creator of Inktober comes up with.

Several years I tried to do Inktober. But I usually didn't finish it. The only year I actually did finish it, was when the people behind the Sketch a Day app decided to take the Inktober prompts and put them in their app (which I didn't agree with btw, but that's a story for another day). I didn't like the Inktober prompts much. I just couldn't connect with them. But it is very popular. The fact I don't vibe with the prompts, well, that's my problem.

Still though, I really want to do challenges. Preferably those that connect us smaller artists. And so I decided to come up with my own list of prompts. Cosy prompts of course! They had to be cute, cosy, simple. I feel a lot people give up because they can't do the challenge a full month, or like me they simply don't feel a connection to the Inktober prompts.

Obviously I couldn't use the name Inktober for this, nor did I want to. I needed to come up with a fitting name. That's when I thought of Cosytober. Because my own username has Cosy in it, and it's for the month October. So Cosytober made a lot of sense! After searching through the Cosytober hashtag on Instagram, I came to the conclusion it wasn't currently in use. No one seemed to have a Cosytober challenge planned. It hadn't been used in years. So that is the name I went with.

Cosytober 2025, 5 versions? What a mess!

It was quite a success if I say so myself. People definitely resonated with the prompts (and rules) I came up with. And a lot of people participated. Mostly on Instagram, but also on Discord and other socials. I tried my very best to keep up with everyone's creations. Unfortunately doing so on all the socials, whilst also participating myself, it proved to be pretty exhausting. I did not do all my own art in advance, so my entire month consisted of Cosytober haha. Whether it was drawing or painting myself, or sharing other people's art. But I love it enough to do it again and again.

In September 2025 I came up with a new list, with mostly new prompts. Due to personal life I was a bit late sharing the list, but I had made it clear on various occasions I was going to host another Cosytober challenge this year.

I did not realise this year there are at least 5 lists with the same name and hashtag! Now I don't own the name or the hashtag. I can't tell people not to use it, or not to "occupy" the hashtags. But clearly the other artists didn't bother to look up the hashtag before deciding to create a Cosytober list, and it feels a bit disrespectful? Especially since I hosted one last year. And I wouldn't know what else to call my challenge considering my name literally has Cosy in it, you know? The hashtag on Instagram feels cluttered and useless now. I gave up trying to check on posts through the hashtag. So once again, if you do decide to participate in our version, please tag me so I can find your creation and share it with others too. ♥️

The future?

Well, you're looking at the official website for Cosytober. There will be future versions! In 2026 I will make sure to post my list by the end of August. I will likely also share other challenges through this website and the socials. So keep an eye out for those. ☺️