As October began, artists nationwide grabbed their best pens and began Inktober’s first prompt: Crystal. 

Inktober is an annual art challenge where a set of 31 prompts are released, encouraging participants to complete a piece of art each day using only ink. The prompts range anywhere from Halloween-esque words like “Spirit” or “Moon” to random ones like “Fuzzy” or “Open.” Sophomore Jay Jarvis participated in Inktober.

“It’s really hard to keep up with because you have to do prompts every single day and it’s really frustrating not being able to erase, especially if you’re not really confident in art,” Jarvis said. “This year I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at art, [so I was] really excited to complete Inktober.”

The task of finishing 31 pieces of art consecutively is a daunting task for many participants. This is helped by the prompts given, but artists still experience fatigue. While it’s difficult, it still provides artists with a variety of benefits.

“It really gets you out of your comfort zone — you have to use ink and you can’t erase anything. It’s really difficult,” Jarvis said. “You have to be really mindful about where your lines are going.” 

Jarvis practiced throughout the month of September by drawing every day to get used to it. Besides practice, drawing frequently also helped improve their artistic abilities. 

“I love it — I love Inktober because it helps me get to my goal of being a better artist,” Jarvis said. “I want to do [art either as] a career or a hobby when I’m an adult, and I think it will get me to my goal of being really good.”