Inktober was extremely difficult and equally rewarding. However, much like with inktober drawings, it’s time to move on.

I wasn’t able to finish Inktober last year, and I didn’t do more than sketch for a while afterwords because I was so burnt out. Forming good art habits is one of the bases of Inktober and I don’t want my art progress to stop. So, what’s next?

What I Learned

Inktober is an awesome experience for artists, for the entire month you prioritize your art and make great progress with finishing your pieces. You can’t get stuck on whether or not you did a “good” job, you have another one to do the next day. You develop your skill and understanding with ink as a medium, but you also have to push yourself creatively and physically, which leads to over all improvement.

Last year I learned a lot, I realized my mistakes that lead to my not finishing, but more importantly, I applied the things I learned to this year and was able to finish Inktober as a result.

This year, I was struck by the fact that I made 31 inked pieces in 31 day, when I was struggling to make 1 finished piece a month. I kept getting hung up on not wanting to “ruin” something that took me so long to sketch out. I have made a concerted effort to sketch daily. This has resulted in my sketching ability being more to my liking, but my rendering being less than ideal because I’m not practicing the finishing.

“What if I have to make another sketch because this one didn’t turn out well?”

I have a few answers;

1. I get some more practice with the sketch.
2. I take photos of my sketches so that I can make digital line work If I want to do it again.
3. I can take tracing paper and go over it before I render.
4. I can draw directly onto tracing paper so I can put it on any paper, canvas, or surface I want to.

I need to push myself past my fears, but I need to set goals to do it.

Decisions…

On the one hand I’ve thought of taking on another challenge, to keep up my progress and improve my abilities. However, I don’t want another 30 day challenge. The weekends are not good for me and If I want to take more time on a piece I want the option…

On the other hand I want the freedom from time restraints of any kind. I work on what I want, when I want, type thing. However, I was making slow progress and little to no finished pieces when I did it that way…

This dilemma has been ongoing since I was a child. I’m more productive with a schedule, but I hate feeling constrained. Having an art routine helps, but doesn’t give me the same results.

Is there a way I can combine the two?

Solution

After a fair amount of deliberation I decided that I would make myself an art challenge.

These are the parameters:

• I have to make 7 fully rendered pieces.
• I can use any medium I want.
• I have to finish them within the month.
• I have to post all 7 as proof.
• I will be making a list of 10 prompts a month, I don’t necessarily have to use them, but they are there if I need inspiration.

I say rendered and not finished because if I made a fully rendered study, I’m going to count it. I also want to start doing botanical collections, working on one at a time seems the best course of action.

I will share the prompt list each month and use the hashtag #7inamonthchallenge on social media if you want to see my progress or join me.