This year, for the first time ever, I decided to participate in Inktober.
I’ve always wanted to but never even dared to try in fear I would drop out and fail, BUT NOT THIS TIME! I participated and against all odds, I completed it too! ✌?
If you didn’t know, Inktober is a yearly drawing challenge. A bit like NaNoWriMo and similar projects, except here the focus is art. You’re supposed to draw something every day for a month.
Drawlloween is basically the same thing, only with fun spooky prompts. Since I’m such a massive Halloween lover I decided to do Inktober but with the prompts from Drawlloween.
The tools
A few months ago I bought a set of beautiful leather-bound notebooks that I had no idea what to do with, so I picked one of them to be my “drawing book”. The paper has a bit of a yellow tint, and is slightly too soft so the ink tends to bleed, but the book was so pretty I decided to use it anyway. :)
For sketching I had a regular cheap graphite pencil (+1 for Moomin though) and the inking was done with a set of Staedtler Pigment Liners.
The drawings
Below are a few of my favourites, but collages of all my Inktober drawings can be found on Deviantart. You can also see them on my Instagram, so far they’re still near the top of the feed. :P
I think the one I like the best is the “mist monster”, the creepiness levels were pretty spot on there, haha! I also like the hairless cat and the portrait of my Goblin Death Knight in World of Warcraft. And of course, the werewolf. Because werewolves are always awesome.
The aftermath
The first thing that hit me when starting this challenge was how much I miss drawing.
I used to be such an active and productive artist, and while I still draw occasionally I’ve clearly been doing it less and less as the years go by. I could say I’m too busy, but that would be lying. The real reasons are that I’m just lazy and waste too much time on the Internet.
This challenge was a great reminder how much I love to draw, and that I really should try to do it more often. If I want to call myself an artist I have to create art, and I hope I can convince myself to do so more often in the future.
Drawing every day for a whole month I also quickly realised that Something is better than Nothing, and Finished is better than Perfect.
Looking through all my drawings I can definitely tell which days I’ve been in a rush or uninspired, but even the worst of these were still fun to make. It may not be my best work ever, but afterwards I was always pleased with myself. I felt joy and pride over having done at lest something. Something is, at least, practise. Something can be improved and learned from. Nothing is just… nothing.
This was a really fun and educational challenge for me and I’m glad I participated.
There’s still plenty of room in the book too, so I think I’m going to try some other art challenges soon. If nothing else, I’ll definitely try to do Inktober next year too. :)
Wow, I love all of these! I think Horses and Headless Men is clever and fun. The werewolf is so cool. I love tentacles! What Lies in the Mist looks like it could be a page in a children’s book. I hope you draw more in the future, too, because this is great :)
Thank you, I’m glad you like them :D ❤️ I hope I draw more too, haha!
I have really enjoyed seeing your drawings. You are really good at drawing and I love that you merged two prompts together!
I recently went to a conference where an illustrator did a talk about her career – she had only been an illustrator for four years, and prior to that she couldn’t even draw something as simple as a cup. She showed her progress over the years and encouraged everyone to practice something small, because sometimes a tiny bit of practice each day really does help you improve. Something small is definitely better than nothing. :) I personally want to get back into writing poetry because I miss it a lot. Even two lines is better than none :)
Thank you! ?
And yes, that illustrator was spot on, practise does make perfect if you just keep at it. My biggest issue has always been that I tend to go “all or nothing” on projects, instead of doing small, manageable tasks and finish them I aim for something way too big and complicated that will inevitably be abandoned halfway through. This challenge was really good because the limited time frame forced me to keep it simple and just draw without some “big picture” in mind.
Perhaps you could do something like NaNoWriMo but with poetry? Writing a few lines every day and posting them online to keep accountability? :)
I loved seeing your Inktober sketch each day on Instagram! You’re so good at drawing, and I thought each of the drawings were great, even your rushed ones! I liked that you used the prompts from Drawlloween for it. They’re so fitting for October :) I used to draw a lot when I was younger, and every time I draw something now, I realize how much I miss it too. One of these days, I’d like to give Inktober a try!
Congrats on completing the challenge though! I’m glad it was a good experience for you!
DUDE!! I get so jealous whenever I meet people who can draw… beyond, ya know.. stick figures. Which is all I can do. Haha! Anyway, looking forward to seeing what you come up with! – http://www.domesticgeekgirl.com
Is that Cthulhu? I LOVE IT! I love all your drawings! I think you have a great knack and skill for it! Woot~
Haha, sort of :P And thank you, Michelle! ❤
These are so amazing. Have you ever thought about making some to sell, because I am sure that many people would love them. :D
Thank you so much! ? I’ve thought about selling art prints online, like on Zazzle or Society6 etc., but I’d have to buy a scanner first. Or maybe I could just sell my original drawings, we’ll see if I ever stop being lazy and get on it :)
Wow, you are truly talented Karin! Your drawings are jaw dropping. I am so much in awe right now.