TSTC Digital Media Design students go back to basics in challenge

(WACO, Texas) – Texas State Technical College Digital Media Design students are going back to the basics.
Throughout October, several students and instructors are participating in the Inktober challenge. The annual event focuses on improving a designer’s skill and developing a positive drawing habit, according to the challenge’s website, inktober.com.
Each day of the month, students and instructors pick up a pen and draw a design using a word from the official prompt list as inspiration. The finished product is posted on the internet with the hashtag #inktober for other participants and enthusiasts to view.
“I did not know about this event until our instructors told us about it,” said Rachel Clark, of Waco. “Personally, I like to draw, and this allowed me to have more practice drawing. I am having a lot of fun with it.”
Instructor Jerry Vavra, who is also participating in the monthlong challenge, said this will help students remember the basics.
“We have all become adapted to computer programs,” he said. “This will get all of us back to putting pen on paper and making designs.”
TSTC instructors plan to continue participating in the Inktober challenge each year with hopes of seeing it grow.
“Some students may not draw a picture each day, but what we have seen so far is amazing,” Vavra said.
The feedback from students has also been supportive.
“We are getting ideas from different people,” Vavra said. “One person can take one word and interpret it one way, while someone else does it differently.”
One way Vavra showed the difference was with the word “deck.” One person drew a magician with a deck of cards, while someone else drew the deck of a boat.
“There can be so many different interpretations of the prompt word,” he said.
Clark said that is what makes the challenge fun.
“I like seeing what some of the students are drawing because it could lead to my own ideas,” she said.
Clark also finds that drawing with pen and paper does something else for her.
“Drawing relaxes me. It is something I have always liked doing,” she said. “Sitting down when I can to do a drawing for the challenge is rewarding.”
Since the beginning of the month, Vavra has seen much thought put into the prompt words.
“For the prompt word ‘vessel,’ one person drew a heart, and another person drew a boat,” he said. “They are both right.”
The best feature of the challenge is that there is no winner or loser. Vavra said it is a fun way for students and instructors to connect through a single word.
“We are having fun seeing what people come up with in a way to come together as artists,” he said.
For more information about TSTC, visit tstc.edu.