This month artists everywhere are participating in a challenge known as Inktober. Anyone can participate simply by following daily prompts–usually a single word–as inspiration to create a piece of artwork using ink-based tools like pen and ink, Sharpies, and outliners.
There is no money involved. The goal is just to build consistency of artistic habits. Many people who participate choose to share all or some of their works on social media.
Inktober began in 2009 and was originated by artist Jake Parker, an illustrator, writer and teacher based in Utah. According to his website, his original goal was to challenge himself to improve his inking skills and to “develop positive drawing habits.”
The list of daily prompt words can be found on Parker’s website mrjakeparker.com. The 2019 list features terms like: misfit, injured and ripe.
Since Parker began Inktober, many other artists have created spin-offs with their own themes such as the goth inspired Goretober and mermaid centered MerMay. However, Inktober still remains the most popular.
According to Mercer Game Design major Gianna Grindlinger Inktober “helps me get used to drawing a little every day” and “opens up more of my imagination.”
Grindlinger says she first got into Inktober in high school when her friends would share their Inktober drawings and creations which made her want to join in. She says she soon realized the habit of daily drawing expanded her creativity and opened her mind to new ideas.
Sometimes artists experience a lack of motivation to draw because they can’t think of any good ideas, experiencing a kind of artist’s block. Even professional artists find Inktober useful for pushing through and finding reserves of creative inspiration.
One such artist is James Kaminski an illustrator, designer and animator who specializes in the inking stages of artwork. He has worked for Nickelodeon and on comics such as Archie, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. He lived in the Mercer area until he recently moved to Pennsylvania with his wife and their new baby.
Kaminski says he found out about Inktober through his illustrator friends in 2012, but at the time it was not as popular as it is now and he was not sure if it was right for him. However, he says he got into it in 2014, when he was feeling artistically isolated after finishing college.
Kaminski says the challenge helps him as he strives to make as “clean and cohesive of a product as possible.”
Kaminski explains the event and its purpose saying:
“Inktober created a mass group of folks online doing the same thing and motivating each other to work.”
