Why I won’t be doing Inktober 2020
I hate having to cancel things. Many of you have loved all the little ink drawings that I’ve drawn for Inktober over the past few years. A few days ago, I made an announcement on social media that I would be taking part in the event again this year, but not to timetable.
Unfortunately, I have decided not to take part this year. A last minute decision that I’m not happy with as I feel like I’m letting you all down. I know how much you love seeing my new art. Last night was another semi-sleepless night which led to a lot of thinking. I don’t want to go in to too much detail but I at least owe you an explanation as to why I won’t be doing Inktober 2020.
I feel creatively drained
Not 100% drained, there’s still some in the tank, but I feel that I’m adding extra creative pressure that I don’t need by taking part. There comes a point when the pressure starts to make things less enjoyable. Just looking at the prompt list made me not want to do it. I don’t need to take part in inktober, but I do need to fulfill commissions, and complete other work that I have.
Things have been busy
Despite 2020 being an absolute bleepshow these past few months have been busy. I’ve just finished 2 large orders for Whitby Galleries in quick succession. There’s been last minute commission work. Working on new goodies for my Folksy shop and creating designs for my kawaii alter-ego, GikiGiri. Basically, I’ve got a lot going on. I need to scale back on how much I’m trying to do for a while. I’m only one person.
The creator of Inktober has been naughty
A lot of folks are boycotting inktober after it’s creator started getting too big for his boots and started handing out legal notices like candy. Not going to go in to detail. It all started at the end of last year which you can read a bit about in the article, Is Inktober in Peril? over on DigitalArts. Which brings us to this year and a potential plagiarism case against the inktober creator. His new book looks a lot like someone else’s book.
I don’t agree with what he’s done but, at the same time, it’s still a great creative exercise. So, I guess now is a good time to stop using the official prompt list. There’s plenty of others out there for when I pick this up again.
So, yeah. That’s why I’m not doing inktober this year.
I do have something else planned
I might not be getting the inks out on a daily basis this year but I do have something planned as a replacement. Not 100% sure yet, maybe 4 or 5 pieces of artwork with a spooky Halloween theme. There will be cats, that is a guarantee! I have some black, white, and silver inks just waiting to be used. It’s been ages since I got my dip pen out!
