In 2009, artist Jake Parker took the month of October to challenge himself with the task of creating a series of inked drawings and sketches. In his own words  “Creativity comes out of two things: constraints and accountability. The constraint was using [the] brush pen and the accountability was something I lacked. I wasn’t accountable to anyone because it was just a side project.” He later called his October experience Inktober and has spread it through social media.

Nine years later, Inktober has captivated artists around the world. The task is simple: follow the daily prompts on the Inktober website and make inked art. According to Junior O.C.S.A Visual Artist Samantha Almonte, “The point of Inktober is that what you put on paper stays there.” No erasing, no new pages.

In the past, participants were rewarded with the knowledge that they completed the month-long effort. Recently, a select few are granted prizes for the quality and quantity of their artwork created.

The rules of Inktober are simple: Make an ink drawing, post it and hashtag it with #inktober, then repeat.