3 things INKTOBER taught me

Y’all I’m still absolutely OVER THE MOON that I finished Inktober this year! I keep looking through my little sketchbook still shocked that I managed to complete the challenge. I won’t lie, there were several days in there that I genuinely didn’t feel like creating anything, but the thrill of discovering more of Ivy’s story kept me going.

I learned a LOT during Inktober. I learned more about creative discipline, writing a narrative, creating sequential art, etc. But there are 3 BIG things I learned that I really want to share with you.

1) The importance of VALUES. If you want to learn more about creating value structures and developing monochromatic illustrations, I don’t think there’s any better method than practicing with inks. Inks rely SO HEAVILY on creating readability through value contrast. Because I was working monochromatically, my focal point always had to be the area of the highest value contrast. In many cases, this was positioning the bird skull on Ivy’s head (which was typically the lightest part of the piece) on a darker background.

2) Someone else’s favorite supply doesn’t have to be YOUR favorite supply. I originally got the Deleter dip pen starter set at the recommendation of Cosmic Spectrum on YouTube. I’m absolutely MESMERIZED by her ink illustrations! Seriously, that woman is a MASTER at dip pen drawing. She talks endlessly about her love for the G-nib, so that’s what I started out using. And honestly? I didn’t like it. Maybe I would like it better now that I’m more comfortable with my dip pen, but it wasn’t until I switched to the Nikko nib that dip pen drawing became more fun for me. I LOVE the Nikko nib! It’s capable of SO much line variation. All this to say, take other artists’ recommendations with a grain of salt. Their favorites won’t necessarily be YOUR favorites.

3) I am capable of WRITING A STORY. Okay, so I know this one isn’t drawing related, but it’s one of the biggest lessons I learned during Inktober. For so long, I’ve been adamant that I’m not a story writer, but I think a lot of that obstinance was set in fear. I truly didn’t have any confidence that I could. But by committing to thirty days of consistently practicing story writing (and combining it with something I already LOVED, aka drawing), I learned not only that I CAN write, but that I ENJOY it.

If you’d like to hear me chat more about my Inktober experience, I made a YouTube video about my journey!