Inktober is an art challenge that takes place every October. Artists everywhere participate by drawing one prompt-inspired piece in ink every day, posting it to social media, and tagging it with #inktober. The challenge was started as one artist’s attempt to practice good drawing habits and improve his inking skills, but now many artists across social media are doing Inktober.
I haven’t drawn regularly since I was a freshman in high school. As I got closer to adulthood, my responsibilities grew and my free time and energy shrank. I’ll be the first to admit that the quality of my art has really suffered from it. Last year, I had really wanted to try Inktober. It sounded fun, and I really missed drawing like I used to. I just wasn’t sure I was capable of it— for someone who had been putting out about one piece every two weeks, one piece every day sounded pretty unrealistic, especially with how time-consuming college life can be.
A lot of artists shape Inktober to fit their needs. For example, some people start sketching a few days before October so they don’t get burnt out so quickly. For me, this meant doing a sort of half-Inktober where I put out a drawing every other day. I also, like many others, made my own prompt list. The official list of Inktober prompts tends to be pretty abstract and doesn’t fit what I like to draw very much.
Despite these handicaps, I was still forced to draw almost every day. This alone made my first Inktober challenge a success— I haven’t drawn so much in years! It felt so good to be putting art out again. As of the day I’m writing this, I only have two more drawings to finish to complete my challenge, and there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll make it.
As for the actual quality of the drawings, it could be hit-or-miss. Surprisingly, there were many days where the drawings looked pretty good:
Some days I felt pretty burnt out and it showed in the drawings. I definitely didn’t want other human beings to look at these monstrosities, but I had no choice but to post them. This one was scrawled down late at night from my best friend’s bedroom. I think I only had half of a sketch before I started inking it:
I also think I have arthritis due to coloring all of the little dots in the flowers on this one. I also really didn’t feel like drawing eyes that night:
In the end, I’m really happy I took the leap and gave Inktober a chance. I want to keep improving my habits, and maybe next year I can do the full challenge! If you’re interested in seeing more of my art, follow me on Instagram @moonlightmoving!