Every October, thousands of artists embark on a journey, armed with only a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Their task: to go wherever their creativity leads them. Using a set of one-word prompts as inspiration, participants of the Inktober challenge create an ink drawing every day for the entire month of October. After creating the art, challengers often share their work online so other artists can see the differences in their interpretation of the prompt, or just simply admire the work of a fellow artist. Created in 2009 by Jake Parker, this challenge allows artists to develop their skills, build positive drawing habits, and explore the limitless possibilities within a sheet of paper and a black pen.
Artists are free to follow as many or as few of the prompts as they like, but they are encouraged to be consistent in order to improve their drawing habits. The order of the prompts is not rigid either, and can be rearranged or manipulated to tell whatever story the artist dreams up of. However, it is certainly fascinating to compare one’s own creations with the work of others following the same prompt and see how many different interpretations can exist with just one word.
Inktober is not limited to traditional drawing; it can encompass writing and digital art as well. Participants can use any tools they wish, but the premise of the challenge is simplifying one’s options as an artist and discovering different ways to express one’s creative ideas using only the bare essentials. Most importantly, the Inktober challenge is a chance for artists to have fun creating art they can take pride in and sharing it with anyone they want. In the words of Jake Parker, “Anyone can do Inktober. Just pick up a pen and start drawing!”
Here are the Inktober prompts for 2019:
- Ring
- Mindless
- Bait
- Freeze
- Build
- Husky
- Enchanted
- Frail
- Swing
- Pattern
- Snow
- Dragon
- Ash
- Overgrown
- Legend
- Wild
- Ornament
- Misfit
- Sling
- Tread
- Treasure
- Ghost
- Ancient
- Dizzy
- Tasty
- Dark
- Coat
- Ride
- Injured
- Catch
- Ripe