It's Inktober, let's make art and stuff! October 4, 2018 8:13 AM Subscribe
Do you draw and/or not draw? Great, time to draw some stuff! (Or sketch, or paint, or whatever the hell your jam is or you would like your jam to be.) That's right, it's Inktober, and I reckon we should congregate in this thread with our various stuff-you're-drawin' feeds and such.
What is Inktober? Just a thing somebody came up with, I don't really know. It has rules, there aren't very many of them, and you can totally ignore them. It has official daily prompts, and you can totally ignore them; there's also a bevy of alternate daily prompts folks have come up with, which you can also totally ignore. Basically it's an excuse to just make a dang thing every day (or to hastily catch up a couple few days at a time sometimes, or to write off a few days because you'd rather draw something today than feel guilty about not drawing things last week).
Doesn't have to be good! Doesn't have to be bad! Pros do it, enthusiastic amateurs do it, people who always wanted to try to learn to draw but never have and are gonna do a super rough job of trying do it. Mostly it's an excuse and nudge to just do the dang thing in a supportive "we're all doing this together" context.
Main thing is: draw or paint or draft or whatever a something every day, and post it somewhere (social media, your blog, on a nearby utility pole ) and share it with each other. People usually tag stuff with #inktober on the social media platforms.
So! If you're already doing it, toss a link to your feed or whatnot in here! If you're thinking you want to jump in, it's never too late, so get on it! And if you want to chatter about art ideas or processes, or ask questions about same, or look for help getting started on this or that, that's cool too. I'd love to see MeFites getting their art-thing on in here.
Let's art it up!
What is Inktober? Just a thing somebody came up with, I don't really know. It has rules, there aren't very many of them, and you can totally ignore them. It has official daily prompts, and you can totally ignore them; there's also a bevy of alternate daily prompts folks have come up with, which you can also totally ignore. Basically it's an excuse to just make a dang thing every day (or to hastily catch up a couple few days at a time sometimes, or to write off a few days because you'd rather draw something today than feel guilty about not drawing things last week).
Doesn't have to be good! Doesn't have to be bad! Pros do it, enthusiastic amateurs do it, people who always wanted to try to learn to draw but never have and are gonna do a super rough job of trying do it. Mostly it's an excuse and nudge to just do the dang thing in a supportive "we're all doing this together" context.
Main thing is: draw or paint or draft or whatever a something every day, and post it somewhere (social media, your blog, on a nearby utility pole ) and share it with each other. People usually tag stuff with #inktober on the social media platforms.
So! If you're already doing it, toss a link to your feed or whatnot in here! If you're thinking you want to jump in, it's never too late, so get on it! And if you want to chatter about art ideas or processes, or ask questions about same, or look for help getting started on this or that, that's cool too. I'd love to see MeFites getting their art-thing on in here.
Let's art it up!
I have NO ARTISTIC TALENT. None. And I'm going to do this anyway just because not having any talent never stopped people like Paris Hilton or Fred Schneider.
posted by holborne at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by holborne at 9:49 AM on October 4, 2018 [9 favorites]
I'm probably doing drawtober more than inktober because these days I've been sketching mostly in pencil. But I'll be trying.
posted by ardgedee at 9:50 AM on October 4, 2018
posted by ardgedee at 9:50 AM on October 4, 2018
It's good to draw. It's good to draw. It's good to draw.
I am participating in #Inktober2018 and enjoying it immensely, not only requiring myself to keep up, but also seeing all the lovely things being submitted.
posted by chavenet at 9:51 AM on October 4, 2018
I am participating in #Inktober2018 and enjoying it immensely, not only requiring myself to keep up, but also seeing all the lovely things being submitted.
posted by chavenet at 9:51 AM on October 4, 2018
I am drawing very amateuristically every day and posting to the tweeter (open) via my instagram (locked), links to both in my profile.
I am just drawing with a free pen I got last week at a conference, on bound notebook paper, and not even drawing in pencil first! Perfection is the enemy of the good, and even good, in my case, is the enemy of Doing The Thing.
posted by jillithd at 11:02 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I am just drawing with a free pen I got last week at a conference, on bound notebook paper, and not even drawing in pencil first! Perfection is the enemy of the good, and even good, in my case, is the enemy of Doing The Thing.
posted by jillithd at 11:02 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Totally okay to link in thread, fwiw; I'm posting my daily stuff in a few place, but instagram's probably gonna be the most focused, uncluttered stream: @josh_cortex_millard.
I'm using the month as an excuse to finally try and have a serious go at watercolors, which I've had one-day-long flirtations with three or four times in my life but never really given serious attention. It's feeling very very different from oil painting so far, in both bad and good ways, and I'm enjoying the experimentation even though I had to learn the hard way that my cat Boaty McBoatface will sit right the fuck down on wet lumps of watercolor tube paint and then walk around the house sitting on things and turning them as colorful as her ass newly is.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:20 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm using the month as an excuse to finally try and have a serious go at watercolors, which I've had one-day-long flirtations with three or four times in my life but never really given serious attention. It's feeling very very different from oil painting so far, in both bad and good ways, and I'm enjoying the experimentation even though I had to learn the hard way that my cat Boaty McBoatface will sit right the fuck down on wet lumps of watercolor tube paint and then walk around the house sitting on things and turning them as colorful as her ass newly is.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:20 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
I have been working on a serialized cartoon version of a 13th century astrological treatise entitled the 146 Considerations for a year and a half now. Separately, I also made some linocut talismans of old magical glyphs, printed at an astrologically auspicious time, naturally.
posted by Atrahasis at 12:24 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Atrahasis at 12:24 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
I should clarify that for Inktober, I have been preparing new pieces, but not one new piece a day!
posted by Atrahasis at 12:26 PM on October 4, 2018
posted by Atrahasis at 12:26 PM on October 4, 2018
I had to learn the hard way that my cat Boaty McBoatface will sit right the fuck down on wet lumps of watercolor tube paint and then walk around the house sitting on things and turning them as colorful as her ass newly is.
Instagram that stuff! Kitties get to participate in Inktober too you know.
posted by JanetLand at 12:46 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Instagram that stuff! Kitties get to participate in Inktober too you know.
posted by JanetLand at 12:46 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Where can I host photos? I avoid social media. I would like to post bad drawings. I am newly-unemployed and have free time again.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 3:22 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 3:22 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
> Where can I host photos?
mltshp.com is a nice hang. It's not free, but it's cheap and it's a small, friendly community with a lot of mefites.
posted by ardgedee at 3:39 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
mltshp.com is a nice hang. It's not free, but it's cheap and it's a small, friendly community with a lot of mefites.
posted by ardgedee at 3:39 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
I'm trying Inktober again this year, though I won't be posting every day. I decided to work on faces because they're freakin' hard, and I just avoided drawing anything with a face so I wouldn't have to deal with them. I'm posting to Instagram here.
posted by malthusan at 4:29 PM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by malthusan at 4:29 PM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
I've been participating in Inktober, which so far has done a good job motivating me to draw something every day, as well as practice my inking. I'd like to develop my skill beyond "pictures of my OCs awkwardly posing on a blank page" but so far that's about all I have time to do during my work breaks each day. I've been posting them to Twitter, here's everything so far if you're interested.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:53 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 4:53 PM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mltshp is great and you may know one of the owners; her name is jessamyn. :)
I created an Inktober mltshp "shake" (i.e. a custom group feed) to feature all the Inktober-related posts there; feel free to follow along and/or join as an editor.
I'm doing an easier-mode version of Inktober and trying to create/share (on mltshp) at least one drawing a week, of a subject I like, and -- maybe the most challenging part for me -- trying not to overthink it. I am not an artist and have never taken any formal classes, but I do like to doodle and I used to sketch things badly when I was in school. It's been so long where I've actually tried to draw anything (besides flowcharts and diagrams for work) that this has been a really nice, engaging way to escape the stress of the world for a bit. Thanks to cortex for the nudge.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:09 AM on October 5, 2018
I created an Inktober mltshp "shake" (i.e. a custom group feed) to feature all the Inktober-related posts there; feel free to follow along and/or join as an editor.
I'm doing an easier-mode version of Inktober and trying to create/share (on mltshp) at least one drawing a week, of a subject I like, and -- maybe the most challenging part for me -- trying not to overthink it. I am not an artist and have never taken any formal classes, but I do like to doodle and I used to sketch things badly when I was in school. It's been so long where I've actually tried to draw anything (besides flowcharts and diagrams for work) that this has been a really nice, engaging way to escape the stress of the world for a bit. Thanks to cortex for the nudge.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:09 AM on October 5, 2018
I'm posting stuff to my Insta (@coreypress) if I have something that meets the prompt - my turn around time is measured in weeks, so keeping up with daily items is tricky.
Still, here's Day #4 - Spell.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:58 AM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Still, here's Day #4 - Spell.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:58 AM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Am I the only one with Ella Fitzgerald singing a Cole Porter tune in his head after reading that post?
Pros do it
Enthusiastic amateurs do it
People who always wanted to try to learn to draw but never have and are gonna do a super rough job of trying do it
Let's do it
Let's art it up
posted by duffell at 6:45 AM on October 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
Pros do it
Enthusiastic amateurs do it
People who always wanted to try to learn to draw but never have and are gonna do a super rough job of trying do it
Let's do it
Let's art it up
posted by duffell at 6:45 AM on October 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
I've been doing lots of doodles recently. Instagram! And Facebook. I've got a Patreon too, if you want to sponsor me for a new pen or have me doodle aimlessly on something that you send me :)
posted by h00py at 7:55 AM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by h00py at 7:55 AM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
For anyone who doubted my assertion about having no talent, I give you this.
posted by holborne at 8:04 AM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by holborne at 8:04 AM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
h00py, are you doing Inktober on your canvas SHOES?!? That is AWESOME! I hadn't even thought of THAT as a possibility! I used to love to doodle in ink on the back of my notebooks and I feel like canvas shoes might be a similar texture/feeling.
posted by jillithd at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by jillithd at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Mr.Encyclopedia, I dig your cartoon style! Very cool.
posted by jillithd at 8:18 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jillithd at 8:18 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yay for all the stuff!
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:27 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:27 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
You just need good pens with nice little fine nibs and ink that doesn't bleed too much, jillithd. I'm loving it and will happily tag along (arr arr) with #inktober. The hard part for me is not just drawing knobs and flaps all over the place.
posted by h00py at 8:42 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by h00py at 8:42 AM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is my third year running in doing Inktober. I don't generally work off a prompt list, but we have a chicken so today's sketch was an exception. This time around I am practicing sketching with brush and ink. My sketches are posted on my Mastodon account.
posted by Numenius at 8:49 AM on October 5, 2018
posted by Numenius at 8:49 AM on October 5, 2018
MetaFilter: knobs and flaps all over the place
(sorry! sorry!)
posted by jillithd at 8:51 AM on October 5, 2018
(sorry! sorry!)
posted by jillithd at 8:51 AM on October 5, 2018
I'm making custom stamps! I consider this to be ink-adjacent at least, so it still counts. I sold stamp slots for each day in October and asked buyers to send me pet/animal photos. I'm carving one or two stamps a day. Proceeds from sales go to a local youth shelter.
I like to use Inktober to teach myself a new skill (last year it was watercolours) so this year it's stamps!
I don't have insta, so I'm just putting my stuff on twitter every day:
My stamps on twitter!
posted by robot-hugs at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
I like to use Inktober to teach myself a new skill (last year it was watercolours) so this year it's stamps!
I don't have insta, so I'm just putting my stuff on twitter every day:
My stamps on twitter!
posted by robot-hugs at 1:17 PM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Those stamps are so cool! Holy cow! I'm loving all the art and positivity in this thread.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:03 PM on October 5, 2018
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 2:03 PM on October 5, 2018
I feel wildly self-conscious putting this out there since I mostly lurk, which...probably means I should do it anyway. (The scary things are usually worth doing. )
posted by Vervain at 2:25 PM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Vervain at 2:25 PM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
(Spectacularly uncouth! Beer, you lead me into cliche and vulgarity once more.)
I’m loving everyone’s work!
posted by h00py at 3:26 PM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
I’m loving everyone’s work!
posted by h00py at 3:26 PM on October 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
Two months ago I had surgery for an endocrine disorder. The result is that my life is both dramatically improved and informed by a new sense of urgency born by how terrible I felt before, when I was exhausted all the time and thought I was heading for a memory unit. That, along with the ongoing Trump shitshow, means I'm all out of fucks to give and just want to do things I want to do. And it turns out that one of them is "painting" by manipulating acrylics as they flow across the canvas. Like this. I don't know if it's art, but I like making them and intend to continue until I'm done.
posted by carmicha at 6:39 PM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 6:39 PM on October 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
I can’t keep up with one a day (plus I’m doing a fanfic challenge!) but the ones I have are on twitter (maybe at some point I’ll even remember to thread them!) and instagram. <3
posted by wintersweet at 11:54 PM on October 5, 2018
posted by wintersweet at 11:54 PM on October 5, 2018
I’ve just posted my first one! @panda.suit
Am loving seeing everyone’s work!
posted by stellathon at 12:39 AM on October 6, 2018
Am loving seeing everyone’s work!
posted by stellathon at 12:39 AM on October 6, 2018
> I don't know if it's art
Heck yeah it is. It's lovely.
Applause for everyone sharing their work! Inspiring and impressive.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:47 AM on October 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
Heck yeah it is. It's lovely.
Applause for everyone sharing their work! Inspiring and impressive.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 12:47 AM on October 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
My sketches of pain before and after total hip replacement without opioids two years ago this month. I am not an artist but some might find this interesting. I used color to help get through it all.
PS so fun to see everyone’s artwork!
posted by kinnakeet at 4:00 AM on October 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
PS so fun to see everyone’s artwork!
posted by kinnakeet at 4:00 AM on October 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
The beginning of this month is crazy for me so I'm giving myself a pass on treating Inktober as an event, but I do keep an Instagram account for doodling, often in ink, some of which will be properly Inktober-themed in the coming weeks, I'm sure.
It's so awesome to find some MeFites to follow on there! I love it. Inktober's great.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 3:12 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's so awesome to find some MeFites to follow on there! I love it. Inktober's great.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 3:12 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I decided to follow along with the prompt list this year - you can find drawings on Instagram and Twitter (@mikepop at both)
I decided to draw them all in a blue Field Notes book I had on hand, and use only black markers along with a few shades of gray I have. The result being it looks like I'm drawing in shades of blue I guess. The process has been interesting so far in that is has shown me how much I "think" in color when drawing.
(You will also find the regular drawings I do for my kid's lunchbag and some autumnal pictures, but the blue notebook pics are easy to spot!)
posted by mikepop at 7:42 AM on October 8, 2018
I decided to draw them all in a blue Field Notes book I had on hand, and use only black markers along with a few shades of gray I have. The result being it looks like I'm drawing in shades of blue I guess. The process has been interesting so far in that is has shown me how much I "think" in color when drawing.
(You will also find the regular drawings I do for my kid's lunchbag and some autumnal pictures, but the blue notebook pics are easy to spot!)
posted by mikepop at 7:42 AM on October 8, 2018
Does painting and resin count? Cause pouring is my latest fascination.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:52 AM on October 8, 2018
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:52 AM on October 8, 2018
I myself am not participating but my favorite account that is made her own set of slightly southern a little gothic prompts. Give her a follow at churchgoinmule to see the results.
posted by komara at 1:08 PM on October 8, 2018
posted by komara at 1:08 PM on October 8, 2018
I’m posting inktober haphazardly (and other art regularly) on instagram here and twitter here if you would like to see drawings of plants and animals and mystery houses and an innovative qwerty ouija board for recent ghosts
posted by velebita at 1:14 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by velebita at 1:14 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I’ve only managed to finish one drawing for Inktober so far, and drawing is really not my favorite (or best) creative talent, but if you like following an irregularly updated Instagram with a variety of arty and crafty expression, please join me at plus one craft.
posted by booksherpa at 10:16 AM on October 9, 2018
posted by booksherpa at 10:16 AM on October 9, 2018
It's turned into make all the things to keep busy month, so I'm Inktobering too, despite not drawing good. I need to take photos and put them up on the flickr. I'll post a link when I get that done.
posted by monopas at 11:26 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by monopas at 11:26 AM on October 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
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Oh and
Let's art it up!
If you art me up I'll never stop never stop never never never stop
posted by the phlegmatic king at 8:18 AM on October 4, 2018 [6 favorites]