Artists of Legend, Get Ready for Linktober with These Tips!

Everyone has different markers to denote the arrival of autumn. For some, the beginning of fall is heralded by crunchy leaves, that first sip of warm apple cider, and hoarding pumpkins. For Zelda artists, autumn means Linktober. The glorious, daily, month-long drawing challenge that gifts the community with more art than your inventory can handle.

Linktober is not an easy challenge either. With four calendars of daily drawing prompts to pick from, artists are left with a lot of decisions. Should they only work off one calendar? Should they mix prompts, or make separate pieces for each calendar prompt? Is working ahead of schedule cheating?

Take a deep breath and relax. If you’re an artist looking to join the fun this year, this list of tips and tricks will help you reach your Linktober goals and propel your art to new heights!

Gather Your Materials

If you’re planning on joining in the fun, now’s the time to gather your supplies! Check that your drawing programs are up-to-date, and that your supply of pens is well-stocked. Better to place an order now, then to be waiting later in the month for a critical component in your art kit. Don’t know what you need? Linktober has a great list of supplies and recommended art books.

Or, use Linktober as an opportunity to bust out all of those supplies you’ve purchased, but never used! I certainly don’t have a large, ignored stack staring me down right now. Nope. You can’t prove it.

Take Care of Your Body

No, I’m serious here. As a career artist, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve overly strained my hands and wrists. Or how many colleagues I’ve seen go to the doctor with serious drawing injuries. I’ve even had a friend who had to quit drawing all together due to repetitive use injuries. You might not think that drawing is an intensive activity like playing sports, but it absolutely is.

To prevent injury and future chiropractor bills, remember the following:

• Stretch and warm up your hands and writs before every drawing session. Look for videos on stretches for artists if you’ve never done so before.
• Watch your posture. When you get into the zone, posture is the first thing to go. But being hunched and in weird positions puts undue stress on your hands and wrists.
• Take frequent breaks. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to get up and move around if you’re planning a long drawing session.
• Stay hydrated! A hydrated artist is a happy artist, after all.
• As a bonus tip, remember to keep your drinks far away from paint water. You don’t want an unfortunate mouthful of technicolor regret.

Work at the Pace (and in the Style) that is Most Comfortable for You

There is no wrong way to tackle Linktober, and only you know your schedule. The reason why Linktober releases their calendars well in advance of October, is so artists can begin working on pieces early if they so wish. If you have the time to draw five in a day, that’s great! If you don’t finish all of the prompts until mid-November, that’s great too! Mix and match calendars to your heart’s content, or stick to one series of prompts. Having fun is the most important aspect.

Don’t stress and remember that a successful Linktober looks very different to different artists. There’s no pressure to turn in a deeply detailed illustration every day. If all you have the time for daily is a pen drawing on the back of a napkin, keep up the great work!

Don’t Beat Yourself Up for Missing a Day or More

We’ve all been there. You start the month with gusto. You’ve hit your daily goal for a solid three to seven days, and then it happens. Life. Tests, work, the day-to-day struggle of figuring out what’s for dinner. You end up missing a day, or more. The guilt of not posting starts gnawing at you, because now you have to catch up and draw more in a day than you have time for. And, really, it’s the guilt of not posting on time that’s keeping you from creating more.

Relax. Don’t feel bad about missing a few days. Or a week. Or however much you have to miss. Because, as stated before, there’s no wrong way to complete Linktober. Daily drawings and posts are the goal, sure. But if life necessitates that you can only post once a week, that’s more than ok too.

Get Involved With the Community

Community interaction is a cornerstone of what makes Linktober phenomenal. You can interact and get to know your fellow Linktober artists in whichever way is most comfortable for you! Follow Linktober on social media platforms or join their community Discord. Scroll through the hashtag and interact directly with other artists. You can even interact with our Linktober posts here at Zelda Dungeon!

Interacting with the community enriches your experience. At the very least, you’ll find a bunch of great new artists to follow. But more than likely, you’ll forge some new friendships!

Check Your Hashtags Before Posting

Speaking of hashtags, double-check your spelling before posting! There’s nothing worse than feeling like no one is seeing your work—only to find out later it’s because you’ve been misspelling the hashtags all month. Using #linktober makes it easy for the Linktober team to find and share your fantastic work. Adding #artistsoflegend allows us here at Zelda Dungeon to do the same.

Remember, that’s #linktober and #artistsoflegend !

Your Art is Enough

Please, read that again. As artists, we are our own harshest critics, and Linktober will show us pieces of art daily that we may feel is far beyond our capabilities. Feeling bad about your art is, to a point, healthy. It shows you have the drive and ambition to grow. It proves that you’re capable of seeing where you want to improve.

But when that critical voice in your head turns mean, it’s time to take a step back. Maybe don’t scroll through Instagram for a little bit, or indulge in another hobby that doesn’t involve drawing. If you’re the type who feels better taking action, keep a running list of areas where you’d like to improve your work. Then, research how to do so.

If you’re finding it hard to say something nice about your work, just know that I’m proud of you. Taking on a drawing challenge is hard, and showing your work to the world is scary. I’m so proud of you for doing it, and adding your spark to our wonderful community!

Your art is enough and is more than deserving of being shown to the world. Be proud of what you’ve created.

Will you be taking part in the Linktober challenge this year? If so, please leave us a link in the comments to your favored posting platform so we can follow your journey! Not joining in as an artist this year? That’s great too! Leave an encouraging word to the artists, or let us know which prompt you’re most excited to see.