9 Tips for Taking on the Inktober Challenge!
Here are some quick tips on how to take on the inktober challenge. I am really excited for you because I do all my work in ink and I hope that you fall in love with ink art through this challenge. PS. You can do the challenge with whatever materials you’d like, doesn’t have to be ink if that isn’t something you want to do but I highly recommend trying it because it could boost your drawing confidence by a lot!.
Plan your drawings in pencil
Ink drawing can be very intimidating when you first start and drawing guidelines to help plan your image can greatly decrease this stress. Start by drawing in light lines using pencil and develop up the image, erase as much as you need to and dont feel any pressure to get it right from the beginning. All professional artists erase.
You can even use a lightbox or table to keep your pencil drawings and inking on two separate pieces of paper, this way you can retry as many times as you want. If you don't own a light table you also have the option of scanning in the rough sketch and printing it out very light so you can ink overtop.
2. Get Comfortable with your Tools
Experiment and have fun with different tools but try to pick a few tools that you want to get used to. Getting into the routine of working with the same tools will help make the process of falling in love with inking a lot easier.
There is always a learning curve to any new skill, think back to when you first learned how to drive or the first day at a new school/class, don't worry if it feels scary right now because it will feel natural after a few weeks of practice.
Here are some of my favorite tools and how I use them:
Prismacolor Col-erase - This pencil is great for laying down the rough guidelines for a final piece. The light blue erases away easily and I can quickly fix proportions and mistakes that come up as I work.
Staedtler Mechanical Pencils (0.5 & 0.7) - I use these pencils to refine the light blue lines for final drawings, this is especially useful for parts of the drawing that need to be very accurate and the light blue lines just arent enough. I tend to use these pencils specifically for the face where small line difference can have a huge impact.
Zebra F-301 0.7 - I use this pen for my idea sketching, I like to do tiny thumbnails in my sketchbook to keep my ideas flowing and continue to create a backlog of ideas. I draw thes ideas small and rough so I can easily redraw things if I want o try a different approach, Ive found that doing my thumbnails in pen forces me to redraw things and helps build my confidence with drawing.
Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3 - This is my favorite pen for all my finished work, all the ink drawings on this website are done with these pens. Ive tried many others but I really enjoy the dark ink and the way the nib rolls across paper. The pen you choose will be up to personal preference but I highly recommend you give this one a try because I havent found anything that gets close. The tiny tip allows me to get great details in small drawings.
At the bottom of the article I will link a long form video of me using the Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3 to do a finished ink illustration, but lets get back to some more tips.
3. Be Forgiving & Playful with your Art
Drawing with a pencil or working digitally is considered much more forgiving because you can always take a step back and fix mistakes, which isn't always true for ink. For many artists, the struggle with ink is that they worry too much about making mistakes. I know this is easier said than done but try not to take it too seriously, messing up a drawing won't affect your intrinsic value as a human being.
At the end of the day, the whole point of drawing is to enjoy the process of creating. If you fall in love with the creation process, end results won't matter. Think of drawing like the act of dancing, no one dances to get anywhere they only dance to enjoy the moment.
4. Use Photo Reference
Find ink artists that work in black and white that you really love and pay attention to how they play with dark and lights. This will be especially useful if you find artists that use similar subject matter to what you want to create.
Also use photo reference whenever you tackle a new subject or want to capture a mood or pose that you aren't familiar with. There is no shaming in using photo reference as long as you add your own flavor to it.
I compiled some of my favorite ink artists into an article with links to their websites and Instagram profiles that you can check out below!
5. Share Your Creative Journey
Inktober is really about the art community coming together and trying something new. The whole point of the challenge is for artists to share their experiences through the challenge and participate with the community as a whole.
6. Don't feel too constrained by the prompts
Part of the fun with Inktober is that there are plenty of lists and prompts that people like to use, this helps spread the feeling of community as different artists show their take on the same prompt. As you go through the challenge, don't feel like you have to stick to the prompts you began with.
The whole point is to enjoy making art, so anything that gets in the way of that needs to be diminished. Challenges can be tons of fun and are a great way to learn, but don't let the constraints make you feel like you cant follow different ideas.
7. Collaborate with Other Artists
Inktober is a great opportunity to get together with artist friends to collaborate on drawings and share ideas. Grab a coffee with your favorite creative and see what you come up with, even if they don't draw they might have great ideas that you could use.
8. Set Your Own Pace
The Inktober challenge is supposed to be a daily drawing exercise but not everyone can work at this pace. This is especially true if you are attending a school or working fulltime while taking on the challenge. Set realistic standards for yourself and keep in mind that you can finish all the prompts past October.
If you decide to do a drawing every few days, make sure to do a little bit of drawing daily and share your process! Your friends and followers will love to take the journey with you and see how things are made. The process might seem mundane or normal to you but its something that others would love to learn more about.
9. Brainstorm Ideas ahead of Time
Look at the prompts that are coming up and start brainstorming ideas in your sketchbook. Being a few days ahead will reduce the stress of having to come up with ideas on the spot. I like to do loose sketchbook drawings to generate ideas on a regular basis so I can just flip back whenever I need to make a new piece.
Ink Drawing Process : Draw this in Your Style Challenge
Here is an example of how I ink my drawings, you can see how I have put in light pencil lines and how I go in with trusty Sarasa Clip to ink this piece. One of the greatest benefits of working in ink is that the process can be quite quick once you get used to it. If you feel frustrated working with permanent tools, I highly recommend that you stick to it until you get used to it. It can be very rewarding to create finished pieces in short periods of time.
