Creativity and the use of imagination are very important for artists. Inktober, an art challenge that allows artists to practice and express themselves, takes place from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. During the challenge, artists draw an ink based project following a given prompt for every day of the month. Inktober is a challenge meant to encourage artists to create art and draw daily.
This challenge was created by Jake Parker, a New York Times best selling illustrator who creates film animations, comics and picture books. He started Inktober in 2009, but the official prompt lists for the challenge were first released in 2016.
Inktober has rules that artists are required to follow to participate in the challenge. An artist must create an ink-based drawing based on each day’s specific prompt, then post it on social media sites such as Instagram, X and TikTok. The artists can create their pieces in any type of art medium as long as ink is used.
Artists also need to tag “#Inktober” and “#Inktober2023” on their social media posts as well. This challenge has no prize, as it is meant to share art and spur inspiration amongst artists.
This challenge provides art students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School a chance to improve their skills and encourages them to draw daily. It allows artists to develop good habits and experiment with art mediums that they are not used to working with. For example, artists who are primarily painters are forced to work with ink.
“Inktober is really good for encouraging healthy drawing habits, drawing every day and also practicing,” art teacher Randee Lombard said. “Inktober is not only fun and creative, it’s also promoting practicing our skill as well.”
The types of art that people create can be anything. A popular theme that artists do is Halloween themed art. Artists also make fanart, cartoon art, realistic art, manga art and more.
“I think it’s a good challenge because it makes us more creative and brings out our creative side when forming our own interpretation and ideas surrounding the words for each day,” sophomore Emma Schwartz said.
Inktober is also a great challenge for artists who are going through an art-block, which is where an artist is not able to bring themselves to create new work and is unable to express their creativity due to circumstances like stress, lack of inspiration, demotivation or burnout. This challenge is meant to be a fun and stress-free challenge to help artists improve, as well as be inspirational for artists of all skill levels.
“To anybody just starting, or even people who have participated before, my biggest piece of advice is not to overwhelm yourself,” sophomore Benjamin Goldstein said. “Do as much or as little as you would like; the whole point is to have fun so don’t feel stressed about missing a day or two.”
Inktober supplies many benefits for artists looking to improve their skills and gives inspiration to artists as well. This challenge is a great way to have fun while using creativity and improving artistic skills. People can expect to see different types of art styles and themes, which can include Halloween, fanart of characters or even drawing their own original characters.
