Inktober Thoughts

"The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart." - Natalie Goldberg I've been doing the Inktober art challenge for six years. The challenge is to do one ink drawing a day for the month of October. People are encouraged to share their progress on social media. Artist Jake Parker started the challenge in 2009 as a way to improve his inking skills and develop good drawing habits.

One of the things I like about the challenge is that the rules are flexible. Mr. Parker gives alternatives if you find doing one drawing a day too time consuming. Post every other day or post once a week. Whatever you decide to do, just be consistent. 

I was really motivated my first year. I went all in and did thirty-one drawings in 2013. I dropped down to twelve in 2014. I did even less in 2015, only doing three. I brought that up to eighteen in 2016. Then in 2017 shot back up to thirty-one. I did thirty-one again in 2018 and 2019.

There are a number of things that I like about Inktober. It got me drawing more and it got me drawing regularly. Before I started Inkotober I almost always drew in pencil. This challenge got me using a variety of markers, brush pens, and sketch books. This led to me to trying new drawing techniques. I still have a long way to go but I feel the challenge has really helped me grow as an artist. Much more than the shelves and shelves of “how to draw” art books that I’ve collected over the years. Man, I’m a sucker for those books. I get excited when I see a new one, buy it, and then put it on the shelf with the others. Inktober got me to put in the work. 

Inktober does have some down sides. It can be pretty stressful trying to do thirty-one inked drawings. Although the rules are flexible, I pushed myself to do all thirty-one for the last three years. Work, life, and the unexpected can make it difficult to keep going and you can wind up stressing yourself out. Checking out some of the amazing art some people post can be a little demotivating. You have to remember not to compare yourself. I’ve also found that I still don’t draw enough throughout the rest of the year. I need to start carrying my sketchbook around again. 

As October approached this year, I wasn’t sure what kind of drawings I was going to do. I had a vague idea of telling a story one panel a day, but I never got beyond the thinking stage. Then a good friend of mine recommended doing a Yokai a day. Yokai are a class of monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. I first learned about them through the anime and manga, Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro by Shigeru Mizuki, years and years ago. The idea grabbed me because there are tons of Yokai and it sounded fun. It also got me reading the English translations of Kitaro which I’m really enjoying. 

I’m looking forward to the challenge again next year. I’m not sure what I’ll be drawing and I’m not sure if I’ll attempt thirty-one drawings again. I am sure that I’ll learn something new though, and I’ll have fun doing it.

Next: My NaNoWriMo Diary