Inktober is an annual artistic challenge that encourages artists, both amateur and professional, to create a series of ink drawings throughout the month of October. The challenge was created by artist Jake Parker in 2009 as a way to improve his own inking skills and develop a drawing habit. Since then, it has gained widespread popularity and has become a global phenomenon in the art community. Inktober 2023 already started, but how to be prepared for it?
Choose your materials
It’s important to choose your materials ahead, because sometimes you will need some preparation. If you want to do inktober in a classic way, you should buy an ink. And of course decide which ink brand to choose, select suitable paper and pen. Or maybe you want to keep it simple and use a fountain pen with cartridges or just liner with a brush pen. Anyway I suggest you to do a little research ahead about the materials. I have a post about art materials I use, so you can see , some of them suit inktober pretty well.
Check the prompt list
Inktober posts a prompt list each year on September 1st. You can find the list on the website and instagram. Also you can get it a week before by email if you sign up for the Inktober newsletter. This way you can brainstorm earlier and decide what you want to draw on each day of inktober. Also you can choose a general theme for yourself, for example cats. And suit the words of the list to your general theme. For example if the first word in the list is “dream”, you can draw a dreaming cat or dreamy cat. Visit Inktober web and instagram for more details.
Schedule your drawing
Drawing every day is a great challenge. If you are not regular to draw every day it is better to schedule your drawing. It can be 10-15 minutes, it shouldn’t be perfect or a piece of art if you don’t have much time to draw but eager to participate. Choose a small sketchbook format, to finish your drawing quickly. This is one of the solutions to make a quick sketch. Read my post about how to make quick sketches ,for more tips.
Set Realistic Goals
Decide on your goals for Inktober. Are you aiming to complete all 31 days, or do you want to participate at your own pace? Be realistic about your commitment and available time. In my opinion it’s not always necessary to complete all the 31 themes. You can choose themes you like the most and draw them only. That’s what I’m going to do this Inktober. Also, I think you should understand why are you doing this challenge and what it will bring you? Is it to improve your skills or maybe meeting new people, maybe just for fun.
Stay open to adaptation
While it’s good to plan, also be open to adapting your ideas and embracing spontaneity. Sometimes the most creative and enjoyable pieces come from going with the flow. I think that it’s the matter of the challenge to adapt yourself to the prompt list without any preparations. Just spontaneously draw the first thing, your association of the word each day. Also you can use materials you have at home without any preparation. In short, do what you feel is right for you at this moment, this time.
Remember that Inktober is ultimately about the creative process and personal growth as an artist. It’s okay to make mistakes and learn along the way. The key is to enjoy the journey, challenge yourself, and connect with a supportive community of fellow artists. Have a creative Inktober!
