Avatar for Leon Mika
Leon Mika
Software engineer in Melbourne, Australia.
Inktober 2026 Wrapped

Inktober 2026 Wrapped

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Long Form Posts

Might be a little bit late and a little bit incomplete, but Inktober 2026 is a wrap. Throughout the month of October (and one day in November), I posted a total 28 drawings. Here they all are:

A hand-drawn sketch of an Apple computer with an apple displayed on the screen and a keyboard below it, labeled PAL 1 APPLE.A rough sketch of broken pillars or relics on a flat surface is drawn in blue ink on dotted notebook paper with the title DAY 2: RELIC written above.A hand-drawn sketch labeled DAY 3: MINIATURE shows a small square inside a larger square being pointed at by a pen tip.A simple blue ink drawing of a cactus with two arms and small spikes on a dotted notebook page labeled DAY 4: CACTUS is shown.A simple blue ink drawing of an ogre holding a club is sketched on a dotted notebook page labeled Day 6: Ogre.A simple line drawing depicts a person being playfully smacked on the face with their hands raised.Two stick figures are running away from a UFO that is projecting a message saying WE BRING PEACE PLEASE DON'T RUN with the title DAY 7: PANIC written above.A simple drawing of a piece of cheese with wavy lines around it and the handwritten text DAY 8: STINKY above.A simple blue pen drawing combines a ram's head on a wooden ram, labeled Day 9: Ram on dotted notebook paper.A hand-drawn sketch shows a wardrobe with one door open and a sign on the other door that reads, FREE WARDROBE? NO, I CAN'T EXPLAIN THE SNOW.A hand-drawn sketch shows a helicopter performing a rescue operation lifting two people from a boat in the water.A hand-drawn sketch shows a trash can with crumpled paper balls inside and some paper balls scattered around it, with the text PAY 12: TOSS written above.A stick figure is precariously balancing on a stack of chairs while reaching for a hanging light bulb, labeled Day 13: Plumsy.A lady wearing a hat and necklace holds a drink in one hand while standing next to a tall, glowing lamp.A drawing features a party popper exploding confetti and streamers surrounded by three balloons, labeled Day 15: Hooray.A hand-drawn sketch depicts a Rube Goldberg-style contraption involving gears, a spring, a motor or pump connected to a power source, and a scissor lift mechanism labeled TION.A simple blue pen sketch depicts a flightless bird standing on the ground with grass around its legs, labeled as Day 18: Flightless.A stick figure person looks confused at a parking sign displaying different parking rules and times for various days, while a car is parked nearby.A person is reclining in a lounge chair while reading a book.A hand-drawn sketch of a beacon floating in water with light rays emitting from its top is shown.A simple pen drawing depicts a man wearing a hat, tie, and suit, holding a cane in one hand.Three hand-drawn illustrations show the progression of a muffin baking from an empty liner to a fully baked muffin, with steam rising from it.A hand-drawn sketch shows a tall glass with ice cubes and a visible crack running from the bottom to the middle, labeled DAY 25: FRACTURE.A simple sketch of a zipper pulling apart with three small pieces flying away is drawn on a dotted notebook page labeled DAY 26: ZIP.A handwritten notebook page shows a dialogue between two stick figures discussing the concept of waiting 27 days in a month, questioning its practicality compared to months with 30 or 31 days.A hand-drawn sketch of a trophy labeled No. 28 with handles on both sides and a plaque on the base is shown on a dotted notebook page.A simple blue pen sketch of an elephant's head with prominent tusks is drawn on dotted notebook paper labeled Day 29: Tusk.A drawing depicts a crane lifting a heavy weight labeled 10,000 pcs, with the caption Day 31: Flex written above it.

I made two abstentions — mainly because I didn’t have great idea for the prompt — and skipped one day because I ran out of sheets in my notebook. Yes, as you can probably guess, I was using a pocket sized notebook for these drawings. The one I got from being an Incomperable member to be precise. Filled the entire book:

This was my first Inktober and I’m really glad I did it. It was fun trying something new. I don’t consider myself a drawer, and while I wouldn’t say this turned me into one, I feel like I did better than what I was expecting. Also came up with a few techniques:

  • “Seeing” the scene first in your mind is important. Not sure why I found this to be such a revelation but it’s true: success in drawing comes from knowing what you want the finished work to be before you put pen to paper. I think that it is indeed pen on paper helps a lot here: you have one chance, and no rubber is going to help you.
  • Stock photos helped a lot for subjects that I felt I had no chance in hell recreating from scratch. If I needed to draw something “real”, I would do an image search for the thing and use that to get a sense of proportions.
  • Speaking of proportions, it’s important to get this as right as it will make or break the drawing. What I found helps is putting little pen marks where the major landmarks should be: tip of a nose, soles of a foot, top of a head, etc. Then it was just a matter of “connecting the dots.”
  • Don’t try to draw freehand objects that need to be defined. I was unhappy with how the screw-rack turned out in Day 17, mainly because I thought that horizontal squiggles would be enough, and it clearly wasn’t.
  • I need to get better at controlling the pen. My penmanship has atrophied and it comes across in the lines I drew. Maybe a bigger page would help here.

So, would I do it again? Absolutely. In fact, there looks like there’s a 52 week challenge that lasts an entire year. Something for next year perhaps. 🤔