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Inktober 2018 – 10 tips to fail

Inktober 2018

We are at the end of the Inktober 2018, and I can admit –  ups, I did it again. If you don’t know what Inktober is, and why it is worth to take part – please read 7 reasons why you should participate in Inktober.
I am not the right person to advise you how to make all 31 illustrations of Inktober. But I surely can say, how to not complete this great challenge.
Here are my competences on this subject:

  • years in which I participated in Inktober: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • the number of finished Inktobers: 0/4
  • the number of half-finished Inktobers: 0/4
  • the highest score: 10/31

You can find some of my Inktober works in the Sketches section.

I have noticed that there are many bits of advice about how to complete this challenge. Considering, I have never made it from a start to an end, I can’t be a reliable source to tell you how to accomplish the task.
But! I can share my rich experience what to do to fail with Inktober for sure 😉
You can watch the process of making ink illustration from last year and hear my heavy Polish accent, or read on.

Ten tips to fail Inktober

0. Don’t even start!

It guarantees total success. It was my plan for Inktober this year. October is very busy for me this year, so I knew there is no way to make even a half of illustrations. But I am a weak, weak person. And I participated anyway…

1. Don’t make any preparations before.

Don’t think about Inktober in previous months at all. It isn’t easy. Your favorite artists and illustrators will shout out about their preparations, plans, new tools for inking, etc.Close your eyes, shut your ears. Do not throw yourself into preparations.

2. Be extremely busy

The more duties you will have in October, the more chance you will not find time for Inktober at all. And even if you will, you will be too tired for everyday drawing.

3. Surprise yourself

Everything seems to be too easy when you know which tools are you going to use, what themes list will you illustrate and what time of the day you will be working on Inktober. Don’t make any plans and sketches. Be spontaneous! Thanks to that you will be stuck waiting for ideas, not being able to decide you should use a fine liner, a pen or a brush. And the only moment you will have for a drawing will be 15 minutes in a wobbling bus.

4. Choose a difficult subject.

If you feel the need of choosing a subject of your Inktober, choose a topic which isn’t easy for you. You don’t feel strong in drawing faces – draw faces! Architecture isn’t your thing? Be ambitious and challenge yourself!
Drawing difficult themes can only make you better, right? Well yes, no doubt. But drawing an illustration every day is very hard itself. Choosing subjects which aren’t comfortable for you is a straight way to discouragement.

5. Wild-goose chase

Make an assumption, that each of your Inktober illustrations will be a masterpiece. Try as hard as you can. If you have an impression that you finished the illustration, just take a break. Search for mistakes, there are some for sure! And correct them immediately. It has to be perfect!
It isn’t? Well, there is no glory and fame. Maybe you should give up?

6. Don’t make additional drawings when you have time

Have you finished today’s illustration already? Do not start another!
Take your time, do something productive like I don’t know, clean your windows or iron your cat? Every extra illustration which you can use on a day you won’t have so much time is a chance that you will believe you can finish the challenge.

7. The first skipped day treat like a failure.

Do you try to convince yourself that one skipped day isn’t a problem? Wait. Take a step back and realize that you actually failed. There is no sense to keep trying. If you will not finish with 30 illustrations – it is a failure. So maybe it is better to give up now before you will believe you can catch up on skipped days. And that can cause you will still participate in Inktober. Maybe even you will notice progress in your works and consider it as a success!

8. Watch other people’s works and compare only with the bests!

Spend tons of time on Facebook, Behance, Instagram telling yourself, you are searching for inspiration. Give yourself a chance to realize how much work and afford you have to put in, to be able to compare your works with your favorite artists. You will feel discouragement and tiredness right away!

9. Bad comments? Take it personally.

Don’t lose time on searching constructive critique. Don’t try to correct your mistakes and errors. Make the assumption that your works are bad, and commenting people have bad intentions.

10. Don’t show you illustrations to anyone.

It is the best option. Yes, you won’t receive critical comments (which can make you don’t want to draw anymore). But you also won’t receive good ones as well. The good ones are especially sneaky! They can make you believe in yourself, and that causes people being unpredictable! You can even believe that you actually can make all 31 drawings next year!

If you will put all these tips into practice, there is almost no chance to finish Inktober. I tried myself, and it works!
It works not only in case of Inktober. You can use it to sabotage a learning process of any kind!
Can you add more “golden tips” to this collection?

Seriously speaking…

It is so sad when I catch myself (or others) on making these mistakes. It is easy to believe that Inktober is a failure when you will make a few drawings only. But it is only an art challenge! The main goal is having fun while drawing. And that is it!

Materiały, których użyłam do wykonania zeszłorocznej ilustracji:

  • papier kredowy
  • ołówek automatyczny NB
  • cienkopisy
  • ekoliny: ciemno szara, sepia, szafirowa
  • kredki akwarelowe
  • długopisy żelowe: biały i złoty