It's October 1, and that means, for me and for many artists around the world, that the Inktober 2018 challenge has started.
Inktober is the brain child of Jake Parker, an illustrator who wanted to improve his inking skills. He created Inktober in 2009 and the movement has been growing strong ever since. The challenge is simple enough in practice: an image a day for 31 days. The @Inktober Twitter feed publishes a prompt list annually, in a number of different languages, which you may either follow or ignore as you see fit.
I took part in Inktober for the first time last year. I was mostly unfamiliar with the medium, so I used the month as a way to experiment with styles and techniques, trying some of the things that have worked for me previously with watercolours or acrylics, discovering differences between working with pencils and pens. Rather than running with the official list, I used my poetry for prompts, with the aim of illustrating Life Wires. There were some failures, such as the attempts I made to draw the ink with salt (a watercolour technique to produce mottled finishes), or those along the path to learning to shade using stippling and linework. Additionally, I didn't manage to complete an image a day. It's a lot to ask of an artist, and it can be highly stressful to attempt to output so much, so frequently.
At the end of October 2017, I had produced a lot of artwork. Out of 24 pieces I completed in the month, 11 of the works ended up in Life Wires. Many of these can be seen on my Artwork page, with more on my Deviant Art page, and originals are for sale.
This year I will try to produce something small each day, but I won't be worried if I don't. I have a number of large projects on the go right now, and I am managing my expectations. I encourage artists to give it a try, especially if you are breaking into using ink and want to improve your skill set, but please remember to not push yourself beyond your means, whether that is physical, mental, or financial.
Inktober is the brain child of Jake Parker, an illustrator who wanted to improve his inking skills. He created Inktober in 2009 and the movement has been growing strong ever since. The challenge is simple enough in practice: an image a day for 31 days. The @Inktober Twitter feed publishes a prompt list annually, in a number of different languages, which you may either follow or ignore as you see fit.
I took part in Inktober for the first time last year. I was mostly unfamiliar with the medium, so I used the month as a way to experiment with styles and techniques, trying some of the things that have worked for me previously with watercolours or acrylics, discovering differences between working with pencils and pens. Rather than running with the official list, I used my poetry for prompts, with the aim of illustrating Life Wires. There were some failures, such as the attempts I made to draw the ink with salt (a watercolour technique to produce mottled finishes), or those along the path to learning to shade using stippling and linework. Additionally, I didn't manage to complete an image a day. It's a lot to ask of an artist, and it can be highly stressful to attempt to output so much, so frequently.
At the end of October 2017, I had produced a lot of artwork. Out of 24 pieces I completed in the month, 11 of the works ended up in Life Wires. Many of these can be seen on my Artwork page, with more on my Deviant Art page, and originals are for sale.
This year I will try to produce something small each day, but I won't be worried if I don't. I have a number of large projects on the go right now, and I am managing my expectations. I encourage artists to give it a try, especially if you are breaking into using ink and want to improve your skill set, but please remember to not push yourself beyond your means, whether that is physical, mental, or financial.