Usagi Yojimbo fan art by Jake Parker.
With fall right around the corner, it’s time to pull out your pens and prepare for Inktober!
What’s Inktober? It’s a month-long art challenge created by our own Jake Parker that’s aimed at improving your ink skills and developing positive drawing habits. Here’s how it works:
Make a drawing with ink (you can follow the official prompt list or do your own thing)
Post it (on whatever social media platform you prefer or even just your fridge - just share it with someone)
Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2023
Repeat!
Inktober runs October 1-31 and allows you to plug into a vibrant online community of artists. Whether you want to improve your inking, make daily drawing a priority, or just have fun, this challenge is open to you!
Below are five ways to set yourself up for the best Inktober experience.
1. Choose Your Weapons
Before we dive into this challenge, it’s important to have everything you’ll need ahead of time, that way you are ready to go when the challenge kicks off October 1. While most Inktober participants choose to stick with traditional black ink or pens, you are free to do whatever suits you - start with a pencil underdrawing, add watercolor, use digital ink, etc. If you need some great ink or paper recommendations, check out the Tools page on the Inktober website.
2. Review the Prompt List
Inktober posts the official prompt list on Instagram and Inktober.com each year on September 1. While you don’t have to follow them, the prompts give your drawings direction (which makes keeping a daily practice much simpler). The lists are varied and have included words like gargoyle, salty, radio, precious, and bluff. Sometimes it’s challenging to come up with a drawing based on the prompt, but that’s part of the fun! Take a look at the list ahead of time and start brainstorming early. Jot down any ideas that come to mind so you’re prepared to jump into drawing when the time comes. Want the prompt list a week early next year? Sign up for the Inktober newsletter and get it delivered to your inbox!
3. Schedule Your Drawing
When you’re forming a new habit, scheduling it into your day is a must; otherwise, you’ll likely put off doing it until you’re either too busy or tired. You might find it helpful to set a reminder on your phone to keep yourself on track. While Inktober is designed to be a daily challenge, you can do the half-marathon version and draw every other day, or even do just a day or two a week. What’s important is that you set a goal and make time to work on it consistently.
4. Set a Timer
This one’s for the all perfectionists out there. Sure, you could spend hours refining your drawings, but that’s a pretty time-consuming habit to keep up every day. Setting a timer, whether for an hour or five minutes, will limit your overthinking and train you to make bold choices with confidence. Plus, it helps develop a sustainable practice. By the end of the challenge, you’ll prove to yourself that you can fit drawing into tiny pockets of even the busiest days.
5. Improve Your Thinking
To get the most out of Inktober, develop a healthy mindset around the challenge and your art. Recognize that this isn’t homework or a competition; it’s a skill-building adventure. Some days, your drawings won’t turn out as well as you hoped. Don’t give up! Today’s work will lead to better art tomorrow. Be prepared to hit a wall and feel like quitting at some point. That’s normal, but the payoff from keeping your commitment is much greater than taking a day off. You’ll be glad you soldiered on when you’ve completed the challenge! That said, if you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Just start again the next day. Improvement comes not from being perfect, but from being committed and trying again. So pick up your pen and remember to have fun!
Ready to dive in? We can’t wait to see what you create! If you need more support, check out our amazing ink classes on SVSLearn, including Inktober Bootcamp. You can take these classes for free when you start a two-week trial of SVSLearn!
Happy inking!