Inktober is a global art challenge which takes place every year in the month of October. Hundreds of thousands of artists from around the world create art on a daily basis, often based on the one main set of prompts. The prompt list for October 2026 is this:
You are certainly free to simply make art every day without sharing it, on whatever topic you want, and have fun knowing that many artists around the world are creating daily art, too.
If you’re on social media, though, and want to build your audience, Inktober is a fantastic way to do that. Because, as long as you tag your postings with #inktober or #inktober2026, you’re guaranteed that a large number of artists around the world will see your art. All of these artists tend to post each day and to look around each day to see how everyone else interpreted that same prompt. That can easily turn into many, many new followers for you.
For example, day 3 is “Miniature” as the theme. I created this drawing for the daily theme.
I then posted it on my Instagram account with the hashtags #Inktober #inktober2026 #miniature .#dragon #penandink
https://www.instagram.com/p/DeCwjtmTKfv
People who searched that day for #inktober2026 to see what other artists had created found me. I then gained new followers.
You don’t have to post every day. Some people just post when they happen to hit a word they are inspired by.
You don’t have to use pen and ink as your technique. Some people use colored pencils, some people use watercolors, some people create digital art, and that’s fine.
If you don’t want to post at all, it’s still fun to look at Instagram and other sites each day to see how wildly differently the various artists are in the ways they interpret the prompts. It is a great insight into creativity.
Ask with any questions!