Rediscovering My Love for Drawing and AI Through Inktober

As a child, I was always drawn to pencil sketches, but I often struggled to bring the ideas in my mind to life. I’d try to capture an image from scratch, but my attempts fell flat. Eventually, I discovered that I was much more adept at interpreting reference photos, translating them onto paper with more confidence and precision. Yet, despite this breakthrough, I eventually set my pencils down in high school, never to pick them back up ag until this Inktober, a worldwide drawing challenge that takes place every October, where participants try to create an ink drawing each day. For me, Inktober was more than just a month of daily sketches, it was a powerful journey that reignited my passion for drawing.

This year, I found unexpected inspiration in the work of Inktober artist Jack Etheridge. His Inktober sketches introduced me to the technique of cross-hatching, something I had never explored before. Intrigued, I decided to give it a try, and it instantly clicked. The method felt both challenging and rewarding, pushing me to experiment and grow as an artist. Completing my first drawing in years—a camera sketch—was not only thrilling but also surprising. It turned out better than anything I had drawn in the past, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of pride. So much so, in fact, that I couldn’t stop at just one. I dove into a second drawing that same day, fueled by the excitement of rediscovering this passion. As a perfectionist, I can’t help but spend hours on each sketch, and I’ve learned that I can’t leave a drawing unfinished for fear of losing the momentum. It’s a time-consuming process, but the satisfaction of completing each piece is worth the effort. It also felt incredibly therapeutic to have a creative outlet to focus on as part of my day.

One of the challenges I faced during Inktober, however, was finding reference photos in the cross-hatching style I wanted to emulate. I tend to rely heavily on reference images, especially when tackling a new technique. But I quickly found a solution: AI. I turned to Adobe Firefly, where I could generate reference images drawn in the exact style I was aiming for. It was a game-changer, allowing me to create work that felt consistent with my vision. In fact, the solution worked so well that a coworker—also a photographer—noticed the camera I sketched didn’t quite match real-life accuracy and asked if my reference had been AI-generated. We couldn’t help but laugh—proof that AI isn’t perfect!

In the end, Inktober was more than just an artistic challenge; it was a rediscovery of a passion I thought I had lost. The experience has inspired me to keep drawing, and I’m excited to see where this renewed creativity will take me. Inktober may have been just the beginning, but it’s a start I’m eager to continue.

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