Jake Parker is an illustrator based in Utah. For 15 years he’s worked on animated films including Rio and Ice Age, as well as working for major companies such as Google, Warner Brothers and Marvel. Aside from his pretty impressive CV he’s also the founder of INKtober, which he created as a challenge to improve his own inking skills.
With last year being so hectic running a brand spankin’ new store, taking part in INKtober never even crossed my mind. This year I decided to make the most of the opportunity and challenge myself to draw one doodle a day.
I used Copic multiliners all through uni for my sketches as well as for my own artwork, and since opening the shop I’ve been using the Zebra brush pen too (it’s the bomb!) I’ve never really used indian ink, so for INKtober I decided to use our Dr PH Martin's Bombay Ink as my medium. I’ve always been quite tight when it comes to my art and was constantly being told to ‘loosen up’ and ‘don’t make it so neat’ throughout school and university. It’s hard to get out of that comfort zone as I've somehow been conditioned to associate loose work with being untidy and messy! But as INKtober is all about developing I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.
Now that my 31 days of painting is over, I’ve managed to use 1-and-a-bit bottles of Indian ink and have filled 1.5 sketchbooks. It’s great to look back at them all and see what you can achieve in a month if you put your mind to it. It’s so easy to get into the mindset that when you have a full time job you no longer have time to paint or draw, however if it is something you want to take up again or get into you just have to set aside time to do it, just like anything else.
Absolutely anyone can take part in INKtober, there are just 4 simple rules to follow:
1. Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil outline underneath if you need to)
2. Post it on Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or Pinterest.
3. Use the hashtag #inktober.
4. Repeat daily, weekly, or whatever you like, just so long as you do it!
We’d like to help INKtober become as popular as Movember, so from next year we’ll be giving you all plenty of warning to get your materials gathered up in time to join the fun! x