31 Days, 31 Painting: Inktober in Ink & Coffee

I have never finished Inktober.

I would usually just hit day 10, or I think the most I got was 15? Either way, I've never been able to get all the way through the 31 days, it's the 'shiny object syndrome that gets be every time. This year is different, I have a plan and a goal.

This year I'm finishing it. All 31. I'm saying it here, in public, so I can't quietly let it slide.

What Inktober is

If you haven't run into it: Inktober is a month-long drawing challenge that happens every October. Illustrator Jake Parker started it in 2009 as a way to get better at inking and build a daily drawing habit, and it has since turned into something artists all over the world do together. The rules are short. Make a drawing in ink, post it, do it again tomorrow. There's an official list with one prompt for each day, and everyone interprets it their own way.

This is the 18th year of the challenge. It's the first year I intend to see the end of it. Yes, day two is "Relic." I didn't plan that, but I'll take it as a sign.

How I'm doing it

Ink and coffee. Every piece is painted with ink and brewed coffee. Ink for the line, coffee for the 'color'. It's the medium most of my originals already live in, and it felt wrong not to include coffee in some capacity.

Every piece is an ACEO. That's Art Cards, Editions and Originals: 2.5 × 3.5 inches, the size of a trading card. Small enough to finish in a sitting (this helps keep it simple for me), which is exactly why I think I'll make it to day 31 this time.

Every piece is a one-of-one. No prints. No editions. No second run later. Each card exists once, and whoever ends up with it has the only one.

One a day on Instagram. Each day's card goes up on @realmsandrelics as it's finished. If you want to watch the set come together (or keep me honest), that's the place.

The whole collection lands November 1. All 31 originals go up in the shop at once, sold individually. Nothing is for sale before then, so nobody gets a head start.

Follow along

New card every day through October 31 on Instagram. Then on November 1, all 31 go live in the shop. One of each. When a card is gone, it's gone.

If one catches your eye during the month, remember the day number. That's how you'll find it.

Devin