This month was the first time I had heard about “Inktober” an event that runs for all of October and was apparently started by a Jake Parker to help develop good drawing habits and then just sort of went viral from there. Back when I was much younger (17 years ago at least) I used to do quite a bit of drawing, but since then I’ve fallen out of the habit and it’s something I’ve always regretted. You can see some of my older stuff on an inactive DeviantART account I have.
Even though I haven’t done any drawing for many years I decided why not take part, especially after I saw friends showing off their awesome pieces. There is a drawing prompt for the month but you don’t have to use it. I’ve been following it because it makes things easier for me, especially after being so rusty. I just ordered myself a set of micron pens which should get here on Tuesday, and I’m excited to try them out because my current pen is.. well, it’s drying out and just not good.
Speaking of not good – I know my stuff isn’t good. It’s pretty horrible, actually. That’s not me being harsh on myself, that’s 17 years of not using my skills. My hope is that after Inktober is done I’ll continue drawing, and then over the next year I’ll be able to see some improvement. I love drawing (well, I love many artistic endevours, but drawing in specific) and I want to be able to get better at it. It’s one of those skills you have to practice every day though and lets face it 17 years is a long time.
The point of this post is to say it doesn’t matter how good you are or how long it has been. If you enjoy doing something or have regrets about not doing something – change it. Within reason and logic of course, but don’t let time passing be one of the things that holds you back.