Tips & Tricks For Inktober

Inktober is just around the corner! It’s never too early to start prepping and hashing out the best gameplan for the extensive challenge of drawing every day for the month of October.
I wasn’t planning on participating this year as I feel like I have a lot on my plate already BUT after your persuasion, I thought I’d commit to it but go in with a good idea of what’s expected of me instead of just winging it like I did last year, in turn, adding a ton of unneeded stress to the whole event. To get myself pumped, I decided to make my own Inktober prompt for this year! I’ve never actually followed a prompt the past two years but I feel like having one will only help me break through the barrier of not knowing what to draw every day.
My prompt is called ‘Stars & Spells’ if you plan on participating, make sure you use the hashtag #starsandspells (excuse the hashtag on the prompt itself, I found out the hard way that IG doesn’t accept ‘&’), so I can see your creations too!

 
Let’s continue!
I’ve been participating in Inktober for the past two years. I have to give props to the challenge because thanks to it, I was able to develop my sense of ‘style’ so I really do believe in this challenge and how it works wonders! But with that said, it isn’t for the faint of heart. Here are some tips for the 31 days of inking:

1. Buy yourself a new sketchbook and/or supplies to get you excited to draw every day

2. Find a prompt that you can imagine yourself using or create your own

3. Plan beforehand your concepts. It may be that you start a few sketches early so all you have to do is wait to ink it OR start inking now to give yourself some breathing room during the event in case unexpected things arise.

4. Take it slow

5. Enjoy yourself! Don’t stress about NEEDING to complete it. If you miss a day, you can hop right back in. You can always make up those sketches again, or just move on. There’s no reason to beat yourself up over this event!

6. Review some inking techniques. I have been slacking on inkwork so I will be checking out other peoples works to see how they ink and refreshing my skills.

7. Support each other! I feel like the hashtag is the best place to meet new peeps and check out amazing artwork!

8. Doodle. If nothing comes to mind on that day, just doodle something in ink! No need for fancy detail or perfection!

9. Know your limits. Don’t push yourself. This isn’t a race! Ink throughout your day when you can but if you just can’t for that day, and you’re mentally drained. Don’t work on it. It’s ok! This is for YOU only! Don’t feel shitty if life gets the best of you. I mean, shoot! Who really has a whole month to commit to drawing?? Not many!

 
With all that said, let me hop into my supplies that I will be using for this year’s inktober. This is again, picture heavy! So brace yourself!! Also to note, I purchased this all off of Amazon and have provided links to all the products in case you want to snag things too!
Sketchbook 2 pack

I bought this helllza cute 5×7 sketchbook! It came in a pack of two for about $12 which is perfect for offspring and I. But after doing some test runs with the pens, I found that the pages make the ink ‘feather out’ so I’m not too sure if I will be using this specifically for inktober. Leda sketchbooks have reached out and will be sending me a sketchbook made for ink but they didn’t state if it will come in time for Inktober. We will see.

If you look closely at the pen swatches, you will notice that slight ‘feathering.’ For me, this strikes as a problem since I tend to do small detail around the eyes and through the hair. Other than that, this sketchbook is really worth the price!
It’s about 100 something pages which is a steal! I think pencil sketches would work better for it (which was what I had originally purchased it for). I love the brown stock looking paper and the inner pages are thick and slightly textured. It’s really a cute freaking sketchbook!- https://amzn.to/2QKq4yO
 
 
Tachikawa ‘School-G’ .2mm

Look at that dip pen style nib, what?!?!? It creates some beautiful fine lines, and I’m super excited to line hair and eyelashes with this bad boy!! Still messing around with it to get used to not rotating my pen when inking so it doesn’t skip lines. – https://amzn.to/2ODf0C7
 
4 Zebra Fude pens

 
From right to left- extra fine, fine, medium, and that grey one is called Usu-zumi. It’s just grey ink. You can buy each one individually but it was more of a discount to buy all four. I plan on giving one to offspring to get him pumped for his inktober participation too! – https://amzn.to/2Ddb7lV
 
10 Tombow Dual Brush Pens In Pastel

I’ve been wanting to play with copics for a while now but since I can barely afford ONE copic marker, let alone a pack, I went for these Tombow Duel brush pens in pastel. I’ve only swatched it once so I don’t know it’s fullest capabilities but I think these will be cool for blocking in borders around inked sketches. One end is a brush tip and the other is a small nib. Really excited for these! – https://amzn.to/2pnvx1T   
 
36 Fineliners- Huhuhero

Annnnnnd, last but not least, I got this set of 36 fineliners from Huhuhero. I’ve only played around with one pen so far but I figured these would be super fun for skin tone linework or colorful linework in hair. I complain a lot that black linework is so harsh so I’m excited to see how these fair!- https://amzn.to/2PT44k7
 
 

Well! That’s it for this heavy post! Will you be participating in this year’s Inktober? Do you have any specific tips or tricks that will aid you through a successful run? Feel free to comment down below!
***All links are affiliate links. If you choose to buy anything through these links, I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you *throws confetti* Thanks for your support!***
As usual, stay safe + stay hydrated
XOXO
AMA

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