Today we're doing a quick wrap up of Inktober 2017.
This past October I participated in an art challenge called "Inktober", the goal of which is to produce a finished, inked drawing every day of that month. A full disclaimer before I begin: I am not experienced at all in art, even in a hobbyist capacity. No formal education whatsoever. Aside from the occasional doodling and art electives in middle school, I have never endeavored to create an art practice. This year I've been trying to expand my artistic horizons by simply filling sketchbooks with studies, cartooning, and even some hand-lettering. Having filled one sketchbook, I looked to the Inktober challenge as a way to get at least 31 pages of my new sketchbook filled.
What I Learned
It turns out that it is really easy and helpful to get into a drawing routine. I eliminated a lot of decision-making stress by making each drawing as simple and routine as possible. Stress can come from deciding what to draw, how much time and effort to put into it, how much to shade/color, etc. I stuck to a general spooky/generic Halloween theme to keep the ideas flowing and used maybe 1-2 reference images for most drawings.
Starting with a reference image definitely eased me into drawing each day. I would sometimes just scroll Instagram or Tumblr or be on the lookout for a Halloween-related image that day to get started. As long as the image was fairly simple with clean lines and easy-to-see contours, it worked for me. I also learned how to use references effectively. If I was drawing something specific, I learned how to lay down guidelines, get the sizing down, and to break down even simple objects into simpler shapes and segments. I really can't draw from memory at all because I don't have that visual mental art dictionary that artists tend to build up over the years. References were key!
Another way I simplified the process was to not focus on color much. In general I stuck to black and white with the occasional accent of orange/green/purple (for Halloween of course) and a few instances of red. So each drawing was essentially a main object/figure or group of objects, using minimal reference images, with some hand-lettering practice to write the date on each page.
Because I didn't focus on full-color drawings, another thing I learned a lot about throughout this process was shading. I had never generally worked with ink or ink shading before, so this was all new to me. This month I experimented with inked cross hatching, squiggles and loops, diagonal and horizontal lines with varying spacing, dots, and mixing all of the above with different line thicknesses. I really liked the variety that the shading possibilities gave to the drawings. Just mixing a few shading techniques gave my simple drawings more texture than they usually would have.
Something I hadn't really considered before Inktober was eraser quality. My art supplies are pretty bottom of the barrel -- #2 pencils, the erasers on the end, some ballpoint pens, Sharpies, and a $5 hardcover sketchbook from the craft store. I quickly found myself going crazy when lines wouldn't erase or when I was left with shredded eraser bits everywhere. I've learned to covet kneaded erasers and art-quality erasers in general. A good eraser adds to that satisfaction of drafting a very rough sketch, inking it out, and erasing all of the dirty work that made the picture in the first place.
The Take-Away
The last thing I learned from Inktober is that, provided one doesn't stress out too much, art can be very relaxing and fun! It got a lot easier to get sucked into a drawing when it became routine. I reach for my sketchbook a lot more often than I did before thanks to building my discipline with practice. Even if I'm just sketching, I also usually feel like properly finishing pieces with inked line work now as well. Finished drawings are just so satisfying. Before I would have a bunch of studies or doodles in my sketchbook, but to have a clean, inked drawing feels like I've really accomplished something at the end of the day.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed and recommend Inktober and art challenges like it. Any challenge that reinforces an artistic practice with a time limit is going to be useful. Following along with drawing tutorials on Youtube can be fun, but I learned the most just sitting down with a reference image and figuring it out for myself.
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