October Art Challenge
Learning to stay motivated
October is full of art challenges on Instagram. Maybe people feel more artistic because of the crisp air and the autumn leaves. You put on a cozy cardigan and sip a warm, pumpkin-flavored drink, ready to get yourself into a month of creativity. Not so in Florida. It’s still humid and hot. Also, it’s still in the midst of hurricane season. In fact, we were just spared by the wrath of the monster hurricane Milton.
Nonetheless, I enjoy participating in art challenges. I have joined the well-known Inktober twice and a few less-known ones. Inktober and many other art challenges provide 31 drawing prompts, one per day. The prompts are given ahead of time so you can plan and think about what you want to create. I take a more laid-back approach for the art challenge so I look at the prompt on that day. I usually start out very motivated and excited. Scrolling through the Inktober Instagram feed is inspiring. I intentionally try not to look at the feed before drawing because I don’t want to be overly influenced.
I’ve never attempted to finish all 31 prompts of the October art challenge. I’ve participated casually in the past so I put less pressure on myself. In my first year of Inktober in 2019, I drew 7 prompts, which I was happy about. In 2020, I did 13 prompts and made a 2021 calendar from the pieces I drew. Though I participated in other art challenges, I skipped the Inktober/October art challenge in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Drawing all 31 prompts in a month had seemed like a huge mountain to conquer.
The top two pieces are from Inktober 2019 and the bottom two are from Inktober 2020.
As I mentioned in my first post, I challenged myself to start sketching daily at the beginning of this year. I have a separate Instagram account for my sketchbook work and I’ve been posting there consistently. It wasn’t always easy to create every day but I’ve pressed on and now it has become a new habit. Following prompts and having accountability help me to keep going.
For the first time, this year I am attempting to finish all 31 prompts of Inktober. Not only that, but I’m also participating in SCBWIArtober (SCBWI: Society of Children’s Writers and Illustrators) and Theydrawtober. I don’t know why I’m feeling so ambitious but I wanted to push myself more. I realized that putting some pressure on myself is not a bad thing when I create. So far I’ve finished drawing 11 days and 34 prompts. I’ve combined two, sometimes three prompts for a sketchbook page. It’s like solving puzzles and keeps me curious and motivated.
Limiting the drawing materials to three colored pencils (I use Caran D’Ache Luminance) keeps it simple but adds some challenges. I’m learning to blend colors to show variety, while still only using the same three colors. I’m also trying to include various subjects like children, grown-ups, animals, pets, landscapes, plants, food, etc. for practice for children’s book illustration. I also want to experiment with different perspectives, contrasts and lighting.
I’m feeling hopeful to complete the Inktober challenge this year. Seeing my own Instagram feed of the Inktober drawings encourages me to keep creating. Like the little train from The Little Engine That Could, I think I can climb this huge Inktober mountain, and hopefully, in the process, I will learn something valuable.
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What’s your favorite October art challenge to participate and/or follow along on Instagram? I’d love to discover new ones so please comment below if you have any!
Thank you so much for reading! Hope you’ll enjoy the lovely autumn season.🍁
I've only been aware of Inktober, and this year I just can't keep up. I've done six of the prompts and only posted two. But I like this year's prompts because they seem to tell a story; I'm hoping even if I don't finish them this month, I can complete the challenge in my own time and then put them all together in one picture which may or may not also be ink.
Because of the story-like feel of those prompts, it occurred to me that it might be fun to launch a "Draw Your Own Advent Calendar" art challenge in December (which of course no one has time for!). What do you think? Is there any merit in this idea? Do you think anyone would go for it?
I hope you are enjoying the challenge but giving yourself grace if you have a day hijacked by other things. Love you two 2020 pieces you included in this post. So vibrant!