I’ve been having a blast with the 2017 Inktober challenge. I’ve tackled this challenge for the past three years sharing my favorite illustrations on FaceBook. This year, I’m posting my favorite drawings on Instagram. Since I’ve been nearing the completion of my next book, Color Theory with Pencils and Mandalas, my mind is deeply entrenched in the mandala mode and so there are quite a few of these popping up in Inktober collection. Check out my Instagram feed to see my drawings. All of my sketches are tagged with #inktober2017 so you can do a search and see the collection.
What is Inktober?
The brainchild of pro-illustrator Jake Parker, Inktober began in 2009 with a 30-day challenge to help improve his inking skills and techniques. Over the past 8 years, the challenge has gained in popularity, with artists of all skill levels, media, and styles taking on the project. The mission is simple, make an ink drawing every day for 30 days. Jake puts together a list of prompts for artists who want to work together. However, you can come up with your own theme or subject matter. The beauty of this challenge is that you choose how you want to participate. Can you start today? Heck YEAH!!! If you decided to give it a go, and share your images on Instagram, be sure to message or tag me so I can see your work!
Inktober on YouTube
This year, many fantastic artists have taken on the InkTober challenge and are documenting the process in the form of videos. I’m particularly enjoying British artist Minnie Small who has created a great Halloween theme of Haunted Houses. Her artistic style is appealing, her handling of the media is inspiring, and her videos are all high-quality and easy to watch.
My Inktober
When I started my Inktober 2017 journey, my mission was to pull out pens that I hadn’t worked with for a while and revisit them. I have completely fallen out of the habit of sketching. So my theme was new pen every day, and just doodle to get a feel for the tool. But of course, since I’m working on the mandala book, it seems to have become my subject of choice. Here are a few of the examples. These are all done on super cheap tracing paper, and I begin by pulling out a radial grid to slide under the paper to use as a rough guide, then I pick my pen for the day. 
I’ve made a few discoveries along the way. The first is that I have a LOT of dead pens! So this has given me the impetus to declutter and reorganize my art tools. The second thing I’ve learned is that I’m looking forward to doing another challenge in November. My goal for November is to dust off my fashion illustration skills and make a series of sketches in preparation for the next big book project, code-named ABCD (Assiut Belly Dance Costume In Detail.) But the biggest discovery I made during this first half of Inktober, is how much I missed drawing daily, and how easy it was to slip back into the habit! In times of deadlines and busy, a steady art practice is what falls to the wayside. Picking it back up again is a personal triumph, and I look forward to creating more illustration work and sharing it on social media.
Now, time to take out this bag of trash. Dead pens to the recycling bin!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
October 13, 2017