A fun and rare art movement, kickstarted by American illustrator Jake Parker, Inktober, became popular for the sole reason that a whole month is dedicated for the artists. Slowly Inktober gained popularity in many countries across the world to become a recognised movement.
The artists, who are willing to be part of Inktober, need to create one sketch out of ink everyday for the 31 days of October and let out their creativity and skill. In the course of 31 days, the artist discovers new styles, presenting one’s imagination and getting better at it.
Elaborating more, Prachi Trivedi from DI Studio begins, “Anyone and everyone, who needs their mind off things for a while and are interested in art, can be part of the challenge. To make the Inktober reach more people, we are inviting more artists from across the city to our studio. We will be providing the needed materials and micro pens which will maximise the quality of work. We want to create a platform for artists to collaborate and bring in new ideas together. Collaboration brings in the best kinds of art and we want to serve as a platform for such artists.” She adds, “One needs the determination to work every day, since that is the challenge. Also, with regular practice and flow, one gets better with art and at the end of the month, the artists are left with a lot of optimism and self-confidence.”
Doodling, maanga art, cartoons, storytelling, comics and many more styles of art are part of the challenge.
Prisilla, one of the artists who was part of Inktober last year, is excited for this edition. “I’m inspired by Jack Parker. I’m going to be doing a story book. The plot is set in the medieval times and it’ll be a fantasy like Game of Thrones. If all goes well, we’d like to publish it too.”
From DI Studios
When asked about the illustration scene in Chennai, Prisilla responds, “The city has a long way to go. We need to be welcoming to arts like graffiti, cartoons and inking. When compared to other developing Indian cities, we need to improve a lot. Since Inktober is gaining a lot of popularity, I hope it changes things.”
Meanwhile, Nandini, an art student shares, “One can run out of creative ideas quickly. Being in an arts college, we are pushed to draw everyday. I am a lazy person and I don’t draw everyday, but Inktober is actually a fun way for me to start drawing everyday and one of the biggest challenges is the massive art block. This month, I hope to get over the block faster. I’m not going to be hard on myself trying to make perfect sketches, but I’ll do one sketch everyday.”
Prachi concludes, “Chennai is recognising doodlers and illustrators these days. We want to make Inktober a part of our city, that it becomes popular for the fest in the international arena soon.”
