Inktober Diaries

Art in any form is therapeutic, it is meditative, it is calming, creative and innovative. But like everything else, a lot of practice goes into art to attain mastery. It is very important to practice everyday. Ok, I know I am preaching to the choir, writing is a form of art too and this is exactly what os.me has been inspiring people to do.

In the book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, she writes that we should make it a habit to write morning pages everyday the first thing we wake up. These pages could contain anything that comes to your mind, be it how your sleep was or how the mountains look or how Cinderella gifted her glass shoes to her mouse friend. She explains that this will help us evade any conscious or sub-conscious negativity we might be withholding in out mind, thus helping us carry on with the day fruitfully. I personally believe this would enhance our creativity too as the best ideas comes when our brain isn’t biased with other surrounding thoughts. My art sir too used to ask me to wake up every morning do 10mins of random sketching. Sadly, I never got into the habit of doing it (I have not left hope, I will start it off soon).

Image Copyright Inktober- Jake Parker

With similar intentions transpired the birth of INKTOBER. Inktober is a daily challenge created in 2009 by Jake Parker. It happens in the month of October and that’s why the name- Ink + October = Inktober. 31 prompt words are given (well in advance), one for everyday of October and sketches can be made based on these words. The whole point of this is to improve your skills. According to his website:

Jake Parker created this challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.

I first came to know about Inktober in 2018 and took part part in it too but did not manage to complete all 31 days. 2019 followed with a few more but not them all. Then came 2020, the year accomplishment, the year that I completed all my 31 inktober sketches. It was difficult for me, as I had a baby at home and during pandemic, we had no extra help or support, it was just my husband and I managing the whole show. In between all this, with my husband’s extreme push and paramount support, I am proud to say that I did it, I completed the Inktober challenge!

I chose a theme for my 31 sketches,

it being various characters from animated movies (as I love animation). There was a lot of planning that went behind it, a lot of brain storming for ideas and a lot of character image searches. Below are a few of my sketches from last year’s Inktober list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These were just a few, if I post any more pictures here, then this platform too would be named instagram 😜

But if you are interest, you can go to my instagram profile here and check out all my Inktober2020 artworks (and other artworks too).

PS: A sneak-peak into Inktober2021. I have decided to have all my prompts revolve around 2 fictional characters I’ve come up with. So it’s their stories, how they have adventure and fun doing things. 

#TheWriteChoice

PC: Photo by Katrin Hauf on Unsplash