In 2009, artist and animator Jake Parker invented Inktober as a means to promote daily practice in artwork. Since then, it has spread online and branched off into many other daily art tasks in similar veins. Senior Shanum Ghafoor discusses the creative venture from an artist’s point of view.
“It’s an annual art challenge that takes place in October, where artists draw every single day to improve their inking,” Ghafoor said. “It’s basically the process where you go over your sketch in more refined line work, which tends to be something that people struggle with.”
Ghafoor has been familiar with its concept for years.
“I have known about it since fifth grade, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Ghafoor said. “Some years I do skip out, but it has been something that is really, really exciting to me.”
However, the contest can prove exhausting to artists.
“I have very mixed feelings about it — I feel like Inktober is the easiest way to get artist burnout,” Ghafoor said. “It is fun in theory and I feel like it is a good habit to be drawing everyday, but there is a certain amount of pressure – especially because one of the official rules is to post your work. So if you’re not constantly producing the content every single day, it becomes overbearing. If you end up missing a day then the art just starts stacking on top of each other.”
Ghafoor’s own experience with the art task offers insight into the artistic process.
“My process varies depending on if I’m doing digital or traditional artwork,” Ghafoor said. “[For Inktober,] I never color, and it’s a common thing to see. Part of it is probably just because of aesthetics. Part of it is because of time.”
The creator of the challenge has sparked controversy in the past amongst artist communities online.
“I think he’s got good ideas; he’s got good values in art,” Ghafoor said. “But also, I remember back in the day he was kind of contentious, because he said Inktober is not valid if you’re doing it digitally, which is a sore subject for a lot of artists. It’s kind of strange to say, ‘You have to do it the traditional way.’ At some point, he tried to copyright [it], which is not really great for an open challenge, but that’s just me.”
Many artists also believe that nontraditional participation is still just as valid.
“The point is to do line work — I don’t really see the point if you’re not,” Ghafoor said. “You should use it as an inking thing. But, I also think digital inking is still inking. Even if it’s on the computer, it’s still the idea of line work.”
It is easy to see that the idea of a daily art challenge in October has expanded far beyond its original concept.
“His prompt lists are usually not very favorable,” Ghafoor said. “I’ve even heard people say they don’t follow the lists the year they want to have fun. People usually make their own custom lists, post them online, and people will use those.”
Ghafoor holds intricate opinions on inking itself.
“It’s my favorite part of my art process, so I do like Inktober for that aspect; I think you should put more focus on that part,” Ghafoor said. “I take a lot of pride in it. A lot of people look at inking as just [a] sketch, but permanent — I feel like it’s nicer to look at it as part of the piece.”
