An inkling towards ink

In 2009, Jake Parker, an artist from Utah, decided to take up a 30-day drawing challenge to “improve my inking skills and develop a positive drawing habit”. What started as an artist’s attempt to sharpen his nib has now turned into a world wide drawing frenzy that brings out the most creative side in people. Aptly dubbed as the ‘InkTober drawing challenge’, it is the rage among fine art enthusiasts all over the world.
 
With the help of various social media websites like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, these artists are displaying their best inks for a whole month, much to the excitement of art connoisseurs. Just like any challenge, this too has some “rules and regulations”. A month-long task that happens every October, it requires a ‘participant’ to be consistent — a person can do it daily, every other day or weekly, but they must keep up the pace as it is about bettering one’s skills.

Sonaksha Iyengar, a fashion blogger and artist who is doing it for the first time, says that although this is her first attempt at participation, she has been following the campaign for a while. “Yes, I’ve been doing it everyday. I couldn’t post all of them online because I’ve been having issues with my phone but I’ve done them everyday. The best part is that once I get into the mood I sometimes end up doing more than just one a day.” She further elaborates, “I use just about any kind of paper I can find around. Usually they are postcard sized because I love drawing on that size. When it comes to materials, I stick to brush pens, microns and brushes with ink.”

For almost a year, Madhav Nair has been trying to get into the habit of drawing. “The ‘Inktober’ challenge really helps because you are letting people keep tabs on you and your works, so guilt is a strong factor. Ideally, the habit shouldn’t die after October ends. I do it every day — if you’re serious about getting into something, you really need to figure out how to put in the hours,” he says. 

Artists like Deeganto Joardar, however, find it hard to keep up the consistency, but love taking part nonetheless. “There are constant challenges online and it’s great to see what other people are coming up with. ‘Inktober’ is special because, with the rise of digital art, this promotes traditional media. But I don’t get the time to do it everyday because I’m working on projects most of the time.” Harini Kannan, an independent illustrator, adds, “I just started it. I’m hoping to make at least 10 sketches by the end of the month. It is good to take a break between commissioned assignments. The challenge gives me a chance to touch pen and paper and put the pentablet to rest.”    

The artists spend a lot of time and effort crafting each piece. Reshmi Chandrashekhar, who is taking it seriously this year, says, “I usually do music based art, but this time I’m trying to work with a lot more fantasy based art, practicing my typography skills and other areas I lack in.” Explaining some of her works, she adds, “One piece is inspired by nature with exaggerated elements of wildlife in it.” Says Sonaksha, “Some of my pieces are from conversations I’ve overhead or people I’ve found sitting at cafes. I just really enjoy putting all of that on paper. One was inspired by Miranda Priestly’s ‘Florals for spring’ dialogue from ‘Devil Wears Prada’, which I was re-watching at the time.” Deegantho has made expression studies of Marilyn Monroe and Zoe Saldana. So, if you want to be a part of this, just ink something, upload it on to a social networking site and use the hashtag #Inktober.