For many people, the fall season has the connotation of sweaters, coziness, PSLs, and enjoying everything that this beautiful change of the weather has to offer.
For artists, however, this means InkTober!
Aw yeah! And while the weather in some places doesn’t exactly scream “Fall is here,” InkTober definitely is here.
Maybe you’ve been awaiting this famous artist challenge ever since the start of September. You’ve purchased a brand-new sketchbook, become super-hyped while browsing for hours through last year’s content, and have sketched out every single drawing you’re going to be doing this month.
Or maybe you’re on the fence about it― you’ve seen so many artists do it and you want to try doing it too, but you just have so many concerns. Can I stick to all 31 days? What if it’s hard? What do I even use?
Wherever you stand― as a newbie who might participate for the first time this year, a college student who maybe just maybe has enough time to do it, a professional artist who’s so ready for this year, etc.― here are the best InkTober supplies as told by the internet:
1. Fine Liners
Sakura Pigma Micron Pens
These are probably the most popular and widely used inking product by designers. Used by literally everyone and their moms, these pens come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and packs. They’re definitely a worthwhile investment and won’t break the bank!
Zebra Comic G Pen Nib
The above drawing was done by meyoco, who frequently uses these nibs for inking her work. They’re great all around dip pen nibs that produce great line variation without being too dramatic and hard to use.
2. White Pens
Uni Posca Paint Marker― White
This is a great, opaque marker that can be seen being used in this northern boy’s beautiful illustrative line work. They come in bold or fine sizes and are a favorite for highlights in ink work.
Uni-Ball UM-153 Signo Broad Gel Pen― White
With a little under a thousand reviews on Amazon, this is definitely the internet’s favorite white pen. It’s smaller than the Posca paint marker and writes smoothly like gel pens do and provides a little more control over the finer details without sacrificing opacity.
3. Pencils
Palomino Blackwing Pencils
When artist J. A. W. Cooper isn’t using colored pencil for her amazing, fluid animal sketches, you can see a Palomino Blackwing pencil in the background. They’re on the pricier side for pencils, but because they’re so smooth and dark, they’ll quickly replace your favorite Ticonderoga as your standard sketching pencil.
Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencils
Artists frannerd and Tori Anne/Juicy Ink both use vermillion colored pencils for their InkTober under sketches. There are 24 colors of these highly erasable colored pencils in total, and a Non-Photo Blue option if you’re planning on scanning your drawings in!
4. Erasers
Pentel Hi-Polymer Block Erasers
These are the cornerstone of cheap, essential erasers. You can find these everywhere― at Walmart, Target, and probably some Walgreens too.
Uni Boxy Eraser
Small, compact, and black to not pick up any graphite stains, these are the most reviewed erasers on JetPens and for good reason. Like the Pentel erasers, they’re soft on paper but tough on pencil, a must-have for any InkTober artist.
5. Brush Pens
Pentel Pocket Brush Pen
The man behind the project himself also has a few essential inking tools, and one of them is this brush pen. Small and compact yet robust and dynamic, these pens are fantastic little inking gadgets that allow for expressive linework and practice with real bristles to make lines.
Your favorite Round paintbrush or Sumi brush and ink
Oh yeah, if you’re already someone who frequently does watercolors, you probably have one of those skinny little paintbrushes in your drawers. Yes, you can definitely use those too! The brush in the picture above is the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Menso Brush with Kolinsky Hair. Popular ink brands include Windsor and Newton and Dr. Ph Martin’s India Inks.
Whether you do InkTober with or without sketching, traditionally or digitally (though this has caused some debate), in color or black and white, the main goal for this month is to improve yourself. Jake Parker originally conceived the idea so he could get better at inking himself, and now it’s become a favorite tradition for artists around the world. Try to push yourself to do all 31 days because after all, it is a challenge!
Good luck!
