Inktober

An inked piece Parker created for Inktober. It features the work of careful stippling and hatching to create dimension and texture. Illustration by Jake Parker

Originating from the U.S., Inktober has now become a global art challenge for artists in all areas of the world. This annual challenge brings the art community together and allows other artists to support one another. 

Of course with so many artists participating, there are bound to be clashes with differing opinions. Some may argue that digital artists shouldn’t participate as they aren’t “real artists”. Others may just want to participate in this fun activity.

Not only is the concept of Inktober intriguing, but so is the history behind it! Inktober, a combination of the words ‘ink’ and ‘October’, is a challenge in the art community where artists create an ink piece every day for the month of October. 

Jake Parker, an American artist, started this challenge mainly for himself in 2009. The main goal was to focus on improving skills and developing beneficial drawing habits. After finishing every piece, artists post their work online under the hashtags ‘#inktober’ and ‘#inktober(year)’. 

Since then, Inktober has gained massive popularity worldwide. Participating artists have plenty of reasons for partaking in this activity; such as practice or just for fun!

Jennifer Hyunh, freshman, said, “I participate in Inktober because I saw other artists doing it and I thought it would be a fun challenge,” Hyunh continued, “I also enjoy inking and it would’ve been good practice for me.” 

Some artists such as Hyunh partake in this challenge purely for their love for art and creative challenges. Inktober is meant for artists to be able to improve, refine their skills, and most importantly– have fun! But what skills are they improving?

Yen Sophaphone, sophomore, said Inktober assists him in the improvement of his art. It helps him improve his lineart, confidence, and values in his pieces. 

“Inktober also challenges me with prompts and doesn’t let colors get in the way of my sketch and lineart.” 

Hyunh mentioned that because the work is permanent, it forced her to move on and practice her inking skills.

“Inktober helped me improve my art because it forced me to not be a perfectionist," Hyunh said. 

Although many artists participate in this annual event, there are several that choose not to– for various reasons.

Both Sophaphone and Hyunh shared similar positions. Despite the fact that Inktober was a daily challenge, both said that it was very time-consuming. 

“However I think that if they do have that time [that] they should at least try it,” Hyunh said.

“Practicing art daily is a great thing that all artists should do. It helps you to get your brain into a

creative mindset," said art teacher Shellie Kacillas. "Inktober isn’t my favorite daily art challenge, to be honest. But it can benefit all artists.”

With the long-term debate of whether or not digital artists are “real” artists comes a question: Should digital artists be allowed to participate in Inktober?

“I think Inktober is specifically for drawing ‘ink’," said Kacillas. "However, that shouldn’t stop anyone from daily art practice in whatever medium they want."

“I think while digital artists can have fun with the prompts I don’t think you could say they truly went with the challenge," said Huynh. "The point of Inktober is to challenge yourself to a limited amount of materials and digital art doesn’t have that same limitation. Basically, they can participate but it doesn’t exactly count.” 

In other words, both artists think that although this challenge is more directed toward traditional artists, anyone is allowed to participate. It’s clear that without a doubt, this challenge has several appealing aspects. Whether it’s improving or bonding, Inktober leaves many artists satisfied.

One thought that Kacillas, Hyunh, and Sophaphone had in common was the fact that Inktober allows for creativity to flow and brings the art community together. Hyunh also enjoys the limitations given. “It forces you out of your comfort zone and to be creative with it.”