Inktober is a month-long art challenge that takes place during October. The overall challenge is to draw every day, with consideration to the theme of the day. Inktober’s purpose stems from everyday practice. Artists are free to choose their own mediums but should remember to find an aspect of their art to practice every day throughout this month. Some artists choose a particular medium, like ink or colored pencils, or aspects, like anatomy or clothing. Inktober doesn’t even have to deal with drawing alone! Many writers and musicians take part in the annual challenge as well.
But how can this challenge apply to your life outside of art and October? Inktober instills a skill that anyone can carry in their life: the act of practicing every day. The simple act of doing leads for individuals to learn their potential, and overall improve as time goes on.
I went onto Twitter and asked for people to direct message me if they participated in Inktober before and were willing to answer a few questions. Nico Immormino, from UC Santa Barbara (‘23), was quick to respond. Here are his answers regarding making songs for this year’s Inktober.
How has Inktober taught you the skill of practicing every day?
“I try to approach Inktober from a more relaxed angle, so I don’t necessarily tell myself I need to get something finished every single day. I have, however, pushed myself to at least work on a piece every day, which has worked wonders already. Working on music this often has taught me that I don’t have to write something perfect every time I open my music software. That was the biggest roadblock keeping me from regularly working on music, so it’s very exciting that Inktober has allowed me to work this much and have fun with it. Plus, when I can’t motivate myself, seeing everyone else post their art or music for the day gets me excited to work myself. It’s a great way to hype each other up and develop good practicing habits.”
How have you seen yourself grow after these two weeks of October?
“I’ve found myself experimenting a lot more. I’ve struggled with understanding anything beyond basic music theory for a while but giving myself the opportunity to try different things has changed that already. I’m definitely seeing improvement, which is crazy for only two weeks. I’ve also seen a huge change in my mindset towards music—my perfectionist mindset is finally easing up and I”m having a lot more fun writing music.”
Due to your improvement, will you encourage others—even if they don’t identify as artists—to participate in Inktober?
“Yeah! Inktober can apply to a lot of different things—art, music, writing, sewing, and a lot more. Any creative hobby can be practiced during Inktober, thanks to the vagueness of the prompt. Even if you don’t plan on doing every day, creating something based on a prompt can be a great way to expand your creative horizon. It can be especially great for people who want to pick up a hobby but don’t know where to begin since they’ll have a prompt to go off of. Any way you approach Inktober can be very helpful, so I’d recommend it to basically anyone.”
Have you participated in Inktober this month? If not, try for a day. You never know how it’ll affect the rest of your life.