Reflecting on Inktober 2022

Reflecting on Inktober 2022

Maddie Gray Content Lead at Targa Media

Maddie Gray

Content Lead

Reflecting on Inktober 2022

As often as I’ve had a blank canvas in front of me, I always feel a bit intimidated to make the first marks. Then I remind myself: “It’s the journey, not the destination.” – Jason Steed

Bat

Trip

My goal was to make my team laugh at my art skills and reassure them of their job security. – Taleen Ericksen

Gargoyle

Crabby

I usually only draw people, so Inktober is a good excuse to work on other areas of my art. – Maddie Gray

Bluff

Bouquet

I started Inktober strong, but then I bought a house and hosted a family reunion. But it was fun while it lasted! – Rachel Klein

Match

Bad Dog

Inktober is a great chance to get my creative ink flowing, and I like that the prompts are things I wouldn’t pick, because that stretches me. – Heather Steed

Snack

I loved Inktober as a creative challenge. I’d never used a fountain pen before, and the old world writing instrument added another dimension. Ink stained fingers became the norm for a month. I look forward to next Inktober! – Alison Hayes
Creative Exercise: Album Art

Creative Exercise: Album Art

Rachel

Rachel Klein

Art Director

Creative Exercise: Album Art

To begin this creative exercise, I invited some of our team members to design an album cover for one of their favorite artists. There were no strings attached other than to complete our designs within the week. You’ll see how this exercise ties into the importance of finding fun projects, and making time to practice.

“We can fuel our brains with museums and study,
but if your taste grows faster than your skills,
that might turn you into a critic instead of a creative.”
Products on the shelf

The Importance of Practice

Practice makes perfect. We all keep that adage in mind as we learn a new skill or pursue a new interest, but once we consider ourselves proficient or reach a professional level, we tend to forget the importance of practice. Without practice, not only will we stop growing—our skills can deteriorate. Creativity is part of the brain, and that muscle must be exercised.

Staying Creative

We can fuel our brains with museums and study, but if your taste grows faster than your skills, that might turn you into a critic, rather than a creative. So, to flex our creative muscles outside work’s bounds, we need creative projects that don’t feel like a chore. The trick is to find fun projects! Maybe for you that means a competition, or something charitable in the service of others, or it combines several interests and will never see the light of day or public critique. I have dabbled in each of these project types over the last year, and while all of them challenged me, being free of themes and criteria and other people’s opinions is when I truly rediscovered the joy of making something that is 100% me and mine.

Products on the shelf
Maddie-PlainWhiteTs

No Limits

Creative exercises have none of the limits imposed by commercial design. No specifics and no purpose. Design solves problems and communicates something specific but making album art for my favorite songs does exactly none of those things! It’s just fun and easy and gets me back in touch with the artist that often takes the back seat to my designer brain.

Keeping Momentum

Since our Inktober challenge produced so many fun sketches, I asked the Targa team to join me in a quick album art exercise to keep the creative momentum up. It was super cool to see how each person approached the task. We work so well as a team, almost a hive mind on some projects, unified by some brilliant concept or design element, that seeing my co-workers doing their own thing (while talking good tunes like we do) is insightful and a great reminder of the impressive creatives I am lucky enough to work alongside!

Rachel-MazzyStar

Capturing Inktober

Capturing Inktober

Heather Steed

Graphic Designer

Capturing Inktober