My Low-Stress, High-Creativity Approach
Personally, I get anxious before I start to work on any project. There's something about the unknown and where it might go. Once I'm creating and in the zone, that anxiousness melts away. I become fully engaged and in my happy place. Before my first Inktober, I remember thinking, "How do people draw every single day and still have a life?!" If you've felt like this at any point during Inktober, maybe this will help. It's been my strategy for the past two years.
My Strategy
Plan Ahead
I was surprised when I found out most people don't know you can get the Inktober prompts a month in advance. This gives you an entire month to prepare your ideas, themes, and sketches to avoid last-minute stress.
Set Realistic Goals
I aim to create a drawing for every prompt. Thirty-one days of drawing sounds draining. However, the challenge is supposed to be fun and stress-free. Define achievable daily or weekly goals to prevent burnout. Large formats and wet mediums might be your favorite, but they're also time consuming. If time is something you're short on maybe reconsider microns and keeping it to 5"x7" or smaller. To take that a step further, you could also go all digital.
Use Reference Materials & Themes
A fun way to approach Inktober is to set a theme for the month. This can be anything that interests you—comics, cryptids, sports, whatever you're passionate about. Once you've done that, gather reference images and resources to aid your drawing process.
Create a Schedule
Establish a consistent drawing schedule to manage your time effectively. This supercharges the Plan Ahead stage. If you can dedicate 5, 10, or 15 minutes to sketch and organize ideas, that time will pay dividends when it's time to do your final drawings.
Stay Organized
Keep your art supplies and workspace organized for a smoother workflow. Stock up on any art supplies or anything else you might need during the month.
Take Breaks
Allow yourself short breaks to recharge and prevent creative block. Get outside, walk, hang out with your friends, family, pets, etc—get away from creating for a bit to recharge.
Stay Inspired
The next two focus on the community and social aspects. Explore various art styles and techniques to keep your motivation high. Having a few sketches or ideas allows you to pivot when something inspires you to call an audible.
Engage with the Community
Share your progress on social media and connect with fellow Inktober participants for support and inspiration. I meet so many new and talented friends every year. It's great to see friends you made during a past Inktober participating and how they've grown artistically.
Learn from Challenges
Embrace mistakes and challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement. Nothing ever goes 100% to plan. This time of the year is a great time to find out where some of your weaknesses might be and improve them after the challenge.
Celebrate Your Achievements
Honestly, I'm so bad at this step—so this one is a self-reminder. Acknowledge and reward yourself for participating in Inktober. Whether it's one prompt or thirty-one prompts, give yourself time to acknowledge and celebrate what you've created.
When participating in Inktober, it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Find out what approach works for you. Maybe you'll be giving me tips next year.
Explore my Inktober journey on Instagram and see how I've tackled prompts in the past.
No comments.