Fall is a special time of the year for many people. The trees are turning bright colors and people are preparing for the holiday season. For many artists, the month of October also marks a special period where they can express themselves in a unique and communal way. Once a year, artists from around the world come together to complete a drawing challenge called Inktober.
Inktober is a drawing challenge where artists are given 31 prompts, one for each day in October, to draw whatever their mind can come up with. Prompts will usually be one word, such as “berry,” and artists will have to take that word and interpret it in a way that they believe works best. Traditionally, artists either begin their drawing with ink or they can ink a pencil sketch.
Inktober is not just for people that do art professionally. As noted on the official Inktober website, “Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.” Since then, Oklahoma Christian University has joined the global phenomena, and there are many students who participate in Inktober to further their portfolios.
“I like Inktober not only because it helps me practice my drawing skills consistently, but it also can challenge me with its various prompts, which are usually things I don’t draw normally,” Sam Cole, a graphic design student shared. He “enjoys seeing how other artists interpret prompts as well as how their style shows up in each drawing.”
Anyone can participate in Inktober, whether or not they are art majors, or even artists. The thing that makes it so special is that it helps build community while also improving drawing skills. It is not too late for students to participate in the challenge either, many join part-way through or only do some prompts. Any amount of the challenge that people complete is still valuable practice and learning.
Art and Design Professor Jonathan Martindale stated: “If you want to get good at something, do it every day, even if it’s just for ten minutes.” He went on to explain, “Inktober lets artists do just that; practice in a safe, judgment free environment to express their own creativity.”
` Students can visit the official website, inktober.com/rules. There, students can find information on how to participate. Here students will find a numbered list of drawing prompts, each one giving creative liberty to draw whatever they would like. Each drawing must be in ink, and drawn on the corresponding day.
Inktober is an excellent way for students to join a community and challenge themselves to improve in their skills. The challenge’s official rules might be designed with artists in mind, but many people have taken Inktober and made it their own. Students can take inspiration from people who use the prompts as a guide for cooking or knitting as well.
If any other students want to participate, they can post their art on social media using the hashtags: #inktober, #inktober2026.
Truett Murphy, Graphic Design Major
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