by Daley Wilhelm
October is typically characterized for all things Halloween: ghosts, pumpkins, witches, and all things spooky. For those immersed in the arts community, it’s a little different. For many artists, amatuers, and others October is Inktober, when doodlers of all sorts challenge themselves to produce a drawing once a day.
Image by Alexis Brooks
“What pushed me to actually try and do Inktober this was just wanting a change in my drawing habits.” said animation student Alexis Brooks, and this has been echoed by many other artists online. Along with the fact that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with. Drawing every day isn’t as easy as it might look.
“With Inktober, you have to draw every day, and as an animation student, drawing everyday can be a tough. For a while, I kind of fell out of the habit of drawing every day because I have been so busy with school and animation classes.” said Brooks, “I just saw this as an opportunity to grow as an artist, and I am try to take the bull by its horns.”
The focus of Inktober is improvement through practice. Sometimes improvement or change in style is visible over the thirty-one Inktober, whereas some artists compare their art from one year to the next.
Image by Alexis Brooks
“I don’t think I have been doing enough drawing for Inktober to see a huge improvement.” said Brooks, “However, I do feel a sense of peace when I actually sit down and do a drawing. I get excited, and I am reminded of why I am an in to art in the first place. I see it as a romance almost.”
Inktober is often the chance for artists to not only force themselves to improve, but also to explore new mediums and prompts. Any artist can tell you, one of the hardest things about art can be not the drawing, but deciding what to draw, exactly. This is what brings us to the origin of Inktober: Jake Parker and his yearly prompt.
Utah-based illustrator started Inktober back in 2009 to achieve the same goal Brooks is here and now in 2017—to create positive drawing habits and improve. Since then, the movement has expanded to include thousands. Each year, Parker posts the official prompt list, which consists of a single word for each day of the month of October for artists to find inspiration in.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="960"] Image from Jake Parker[/caption]
“I feel like I am also exercising my brain, focusing it to pull ideas from something as simple as a single word prompt.” said Brooks when prompted about the prompt.
While Brooks thinks that having restrictions can sometimes induce creativity, others encourage letting the ink flow wherever it may go.
Image from Jake Parker[/caption]
“I feel like I am also exercising my brain, focusing it to pull ideas from something as simple as a single word prompt.” said Brooks when prompted about the prompt.
While Brooks thinks that having restrictions can sometimes induce creativity, others encourage letting the ink flow wherever it may go.
promotes drawing apps on his site
