I've been doing Inktober digitally for three years running. Here's an honest breakdown of the experience.

Year one: I tried to match the traditional aesthetic. Black and white, visible linework, ink-like quality. The results looked like I was trying to simulate a medium I'd already moved away from. Mid-month I gave up on authenticity and just drew.

Year two: I embraced the digital tools fully. Used Procreate's built-in sketching brushes, no linework constraints, didn't try to make it look traditional. Finished all 31 days for the first time. The pieces were more honest to how I actually work.

Year three: I used it as a limited palette study. Each piece had exactly five colors plus black. This was the most creatively satisfying approach by far. The constraint forced decisions I wouldn't have made otherwise and the series has the most visual coherence of anything I've made.

My advice: use Inktober as an experiment, not a performance. The point is the practice, not the medium fidelity.