Around this time last year I learned about Inktober. It’s an art challenge. Participants create an ink drawing each day during the month of October based on different prompts. The challenge has been around since 2009, and though I came late to the game I was so excited about it.
I ended up completing the challenge! I drew one drawing every day for 31 days. And I didn’t stop there. I took the challenge into November, December, and onward. Ultimately I fell off of doing it every single day, but sitting for a few minutes to create art has become an art habit I’m so glad to have cultivated.
It was fun to figure out interpretations for some of the prompts. For some of them, I tried to avoid being cliché. I tried to anticipate what others might draw and avoid that topic, which caused me to stretch what I might draw.
Sometimes I used online tutorials to help walk me through the different drawings, like with my ‘legend’ demon. (I made his horns go the wrong way from what they are in the movie though.) Whether I used a tutorial or not, I learned so much! And I stretched my creative muscles.
Tomorrow is the first day of October, which means it’s Inktober time again!
I hope some folks will commit to this challenge. Especially if you’re thinking, “I can’t draw” right now. I had the same sort of feeling when I took this on, and I created some things I’m really proud of. Some things I look at and cringe, but I’m still glad I made something! And I learned something from those drawings!
But as far as day 1 goes? I guarantee you can draw a fish!!
And a year out, as I look back through the art I’ve made, it’s really helped me cope with Covid. It’s helped me cope as white supremacists threaten our freedom and physically threaten black folks and those who support their struggle. It’s helped me cope with unsafe school reopenings.
A hashtag I use often when posting my creations in Instagram is: #artheals. Why do I create? Because it heals me. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to find and embrace it.
So I hope you’ll join me in the Inktober 2020 challenge!