For all you Instagram and art lovers, October is a month full of drawing thanks to the annual Inktober. The concept was brought about by @jakeparker seven years ago and it involves a drawing (in ink- the name tells us that much) every day in October. These beautiful pieces of art are then shared on Instagram under #inktober and #inktober2016. It’s a perfect opportunity to get your work out there or to just challenge yourself and have a bit of fun! You can either follow the official list of ideas every day, which this year includes ‘Hidden’, ‘Creepy’ and ‘Escape’, or you can create your own list or just go with the flow!
So, without further ado, here are my top 5 favourite Instagram accounts that are taking part in Inktober:
1) @lianahee
She used to work for Nickelodeon but has recently celebrated a year of being an independent artist. I absolutely adore her style with plenty of clean, smooth lines with the additional use of beautiful gouache paints every now and then!
2) @sibylline_m
I particularly love this artist’s black and white pieces, they are so clean and detailed that it’s clear they’ve been well thought-out.
3) @jakeparker
Of course, we can’t leave the creator of Inktober out of this article! Jake has followed his official 2016 prompts to make a creative timeline of Little Bot, the main character from his book ‘Little Bot and Sparrow’. Following Little Bot’s adventures throughout Inktober, Jake accompanies each drawing with captions regarding these travels so it’s like a little story every day!
4) @pernilleoerum
This artist has created their own list of prompts for each day of Inktober and it revolves around all things spooky and scary, perfect for the time of year! I love the creativity that is ever-present in every single drawing.
5) @karolinepietrowski
Along similar lines, Karoline also had a Halloween theme for her Inktober, but with a bit of a twist. Rather than following the typical stereotypes that you might imagine for particular prompts such as ‘Witch’, ‘Skeleton’ and ‘Scarecrow’, she represents these categories very subtly, often through the clothing they’re wearing. I think her ideas are extremely clever and guaranteed to keep people gripped throughout the challenge. Here is her representation of ‘Black Cat’:
I’ve really enjoyed following along all of these artists’ Inktobers, I hope this article has inspired you to pick up your pen and start drawing! If you head over to @hercampuslancs on Instagram, you can see an attempt at getting involved in the spirit of Inktober. Don’t forget to follow us and give it a like!