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Artist Challenge! Inktober 2016

Day 1 Inktober Piece by Artist Brett Kelley

            As the fall foliage welcomes crisp weather, pumpkins and the upcoming onslaught of door-to-door spooky visitors, an artist tradition has overtaken the internet these past few years – Inktober!

            Created by illustrator Jake Parker seven years ago, Inktober is meant to be a challenge for illustrators, cartoonists and artists of all ages to brush up on their skills in a series of exercises surrounding inking tools, pens and everything in between.

            There are a couple different ways to participate. You can use Jake Parker’s Official list of prompt words to inspire the subject of your choosing for that day. Or, you can use other artists’ prompts if they are posted. Stacy Fahey has a list that is completely focused on Halloween themes, which can help keep you in the autumn spirit! Some artists will even ask their friends to give them prompt words just to engage with people over the course of the month. If prompts aren’t your thing, you can just challenge yourself to create something once a day for the month of October.

            Once you finish a drawing for the day, post your illustration to your social media of choice using the #inktober and #inktober2016 hashtags so other artists and fans can find and enjoy your work.

            It’s a great way to not only hone your skills, but also open your work up to new people online! If people like your work, you may get some new followers come November. Some artists will compile their drawings into a book or zine to sell or promote, others give them away as spooky gifts. The possibilities are endless!

            So there you have it! There’s no pressure, just some good old-fashioned fun and practice while sharing your work and putting it out there for others to find and enjoy. Inktober is only a few days old at the time of this writing, so you have plenty of time to catch up! And hey, if you miss out this this Halloween, you can always prepare for Drawcember, but that’s a different topic altogether.

Happy inking!