My thoughts regarding Inktober (and any draw-everyday challenge for that matter)
Some general info about my participation:
Every art I've made for Inktober I started and finished on the same day.
The most time I spent on one artwork was 5h 29m for Day 18
The least time I spent on one artwork was 57m for Day 31 (but since that was a lazy doodle, the second-least time was 1h 17m for Days 7 and 10)
I missed two days but finished them later.
Positives that came out of me making art every day:
Daily practice, of course. I NEVER drew so much in my life, and I was having a blast. Most of the stuff I made was rather simple, but I loved it anyway.
Sometimes I made masterpieces, sometimes I made hot steaming piles of garbage that I hated, but that hate wasn't consuming me anymore. After 7 years of deep depression, the feeling of hating myself just a reasonable amount is AMAZING.
I finally made art of my characters because I was scared to do it for a lot of different reasons.
I'm pretty sure I learned to sketch and line faster, but that needs to be tested further.
TIME. As an adult with a j*b, drawing everyday consumed 90% of my free time, and after a while it was rather taxing.
A lot of ideas got into the "I'll do it later" pile, but we all know those ideas are usually never realised lol
My art school homework got ignored for three weeks straight. I also paused all my on-the-side learning to do the challenge.
Burnout, as it happens. I think I managed to avoid the worst of it, but the last Inktober week was very painful.
Should YOU try Inktober or any other draw-everyday challenge?
Generally, up to you. It takes a shit ton of willpower to do it regardless of your prerequisites.
If you have a lot of free time and/or plan to make a head start by drawing a few prompts beforehand, it might be a worthwhile experience, because thinking up an art piece to tie with the prompt was very fun to do. Almost all Inktober prompts have multiple connotations, including some you never knew or never thought about before.
If you plan to rip your ass as I did and draw everyday, prepare to sacrifice everything to finish. BUT it might teach you quick thinking, faster drawing and to be less of a perfectionist, if you struggle with any of that.
I think your chances of completing Inktober double if you have a hyperfixation.
Why I liked it but would probably never do it again:
As the month progressed, I was more and more stressed.
When you aim for something, things always go wrong. Art school starting, heightened pre-New Year workload at my job, burnout threat, etc. I think October was just not a great month to dab my feet in that sort of a challenge, but oh well. Now I know.
Overall, a whole month is a commitment you shouldn't take lightly. I've gained a newfound respect for people who keep up things like "one page one day" for a whole year. I also seen a lot of people here doing Inktober in color and it's just - woah. Humans are so tough and talented it inspires me immensely.
Anyway, I did it and I'm proud of myself, even if for just a little while.
Now it's time to not lose the momentum and continue to create things I enjoy.
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