Welcome to The Friday Five, a weekly digest of 5 things that caught my attention in the past week. Welcome to Issue No. 7!
01 Industry Boos
Inktober Turns 15
Imagine an oddly specific Venn diagram with Drawing Challenges in one circle, and Month-based Portmanteaus in the other. Where these intersect, we get a phenomenon called Inktober. For some mysterious reason, the month most famous for its ghoulish, diabetes-inducing “holiday” has also become the month du choix for artists looking for a little extra motivation to draw more.
The whole thing ostensibly started in 2009, when illustrator Jake Parker first obtained a brush pen. “I decided I needed a framework within which I’d be motivated to practice using the pen daily until I got the hang of it”, Parker recounts on his website. “I knew that if I didn’t give myself a 30 day challenge to draw with this tool, I’d revert to using the tools I was more comfortable with”. As October was coming up, the name that sparked a worldwide movement came to him pretty naturally, he said.
It was only in researching for this article that I learned of the controversy surrounding Inktober back in 2019, when Parker officially copyrighted the moniker. In a formal statement, Parker said it was to prevent “bad actors” from hijacking the brand, and that people were still free to participate in the challenge. But for many, it was too much. “This event split the art community in half. Either artists saw Parker as holding Inktober hostage or protecting his intellectual property.”, another publication reported at the time.
For me, this makes the aforementioned Venn diagram thing make a lot more sense. Since then, many variants of the October-based drawing challenge have emerged, including Peachtober, Catober, and (my personal fave) Drawlloween.
Controversy aside, I think we can all agree that mass drawing challenges are fun and good. Happy 15th, #Inktober.
On a Horn-Tootin’ Note: Looking for extra motivation in your October drawing challenge goals? Try my class, Drawing is Important: Develop a Daily Sketchbook Habit in 30 Days on Skillshare.
02 Worth a Follow
James Coffman
One way to describe how James Coffman’s (@jamescoffmandesign) art makes me feel is “visual ASMR”. There’s something deeply satisfying about his blend of fuzzy rendering and geometric shapes. It’s hard to explain, but have a look and let me know if you feel it too.
03 Something I Learned
Earn Money Selling Your Sketches
After a recent bad financial decision, I brainstormed some ways to recoup my losses. Top of mind, of course, was selling my art as prints or some other physical object. The problem for me, however, is that selling my art as prints and merch has never been that profitable.
In chatting with Brandon Campbell (featured in last week’s F5) about how he makes most of his income selling original art and prints, I learned one handy trick: as part of his daily drawing practice, he uses paper that is good-enough quality in case someone wants to buy it. While he’s out there drawing every day anyway, why not make the possibility of selling some of those drawings more likely?
While I don’t have 100K followers, I do get asked from time to time if I sell originals or prints, and maybe now I don’t have to say no.
04 Unsolicited Advice
It’s not the tool, it’s how you use it.
Have you ever told yourself that only once you get X, you’ll be able to do Y? I’ve said this in different ways to myself over the years, whether it’s not having the right camera, or the right computer, or the right digital brush. While having the right tool for the job can have a huge impact on your craft and productivity, there’s a lot to be said for how you use what you have on hand.
One of my friends, a Photographer, once told me, “the best camera is the one you have.” As long as you have a camera, you’ll be able to capture the moment. On the other hand, if you’re too picky about your gear, you might never even take a shot.
More recently, I led my Drawing Buddies through a retro-inspired illustration in Procreate, using only 3 brushes, all of which come included in Procreate. The one extra secret ingredient is technique — knowing how the brushes work and how you want them to work in the art — which is not something you can buy.
The Takeaway: Ultimately, a tool only gives you parts to work with. No tool will give you better judgment or skill in using them. Those things are only learned through study and practice.
05 Caught My Eye
What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection
Last week, I wrote about the 100 Rejections Challenge put on by InkyGoodness. While I shared the story with good intentions, I admit that it may have come across as overly critical. Thankfully, two readers, who happened to be InkyGoodness members, gave me more insight about the origins and purpose of the challenge in the comments. It turns out it’s inspired by a TEDx Talk called What I Learned from 100 Days of Rejection by Jia Jiang. It’s definitely worth watching!
What did you think of this week’s Friday Five? Please let me know in a comment!
Tom Froese is an award-winning illustrator, a Top Teacher on Skillshare, and host of the Thoughts on Illustration podcast.
Inktober is 15 already? Jesus.