Inktober

Last week or so, the admin of this site texted me about how he was going to participate in Inktober, and that Vader would be doing it as well. Not knowing what Inktober was, I looked it up.

Turns out it is a challenge put forth by an artist, to drive himself to drawing one picture a day, every day, during the month of October, with the only stipulation being that they would be ink drawings (going over pencil images qualifies). There is no competition, just a self-motivation and a chance to improve yourself. There's a whole hashtag thing, and posting them online, blah blah blah.

The official website can be found by following this link. Likewise, they can also be found on Facebook... click here. Then there's twitter and so on and so forth.

Me, I figure I'll just post the pictures here. Would do it on Facebook... might post there as well, share stuff with the extended and distant friends/family... but I'll definitely be posting here; maintains a better record. So okay then, official rules (careful, there are four of them).

1. Make a drawing in ink (pencil drawing gone over with ink is acceptable)
2. Post it online
3. Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2017
4. Repeat every day of October

Since this is meant to better your abilities, I thought I could just get away with doing what I normally do, but where's the fun or challenge in that? So I turned to the National Day Calendar with the intentions of drawing "the day". You know, either draw something involving what that day is about, or incorporating it into the drawing. But then I saw the "Official 2017 Inktober Prompt List", and with as generic or general as the list is, there's a lot of room for different views and interpretations.




For me, when it comes to drawing, I like using felt pens, Sharpie markers, or the Papermate Liquid Expresso (but these do tend to smear though). However, I'm going to try something new: the Pentel Color Brush Sepia Pen. Just want to see if these are a good fit for me or not. For paper, I generally always used what was on hand, from copier paper to notebook to those artist sketchbooks. This time, I am going to try a higher quality, a 25% cotton paper, 24lb, wove finish. As these are used for certificates, I'm hoping that they won't have a bleed through or that the paper warps where a lot of ink is applied. Should that fail, I have access to 28lb paper.

By all means, should any other member of this forum wish to participate, feel free to share your in this thread!

Day One: Swift

Three hours of sleep, not straight, further fueled by large amounts of Monster, created this.



#Inktober #Inktober2017

Day Two: Divided

I was planning on doing something political/religious in nature. Had this entire elaborate picture all figured out... a winged hermaphrodite with one confederate wing and one American flag. There were other aspects here and there, but you get the idea.

But then I started to second guess myself. And then I ran out of time. Okay, maybe not, but there's things I wanted to do when I got home today, so seeing as how I was at work, I quickly found myself pressed for time.

I did this rather quickly. Nothing special, no thought involved, no originality. But it meets the requirements, right? I did think a little bit: the line from the laser across the board is a cut mark.



#Inktober #Inktober2017

Day Three: Poison

No Alice Cooper here, nor an 80's hair band. I was originally going to draw a television with a remote pointed at it, but after penciling the lines, I noticed it looked too much like the picture I did yesterday (as far as layout goes). Then I decided to do a church, but thought that that might be a tad overdone.

I then went on a different abstract kind of route... not abstract abstract, no cubism or twisted parallels or anything of that nature... just something that makes one wonder what the hell this is supposed to mean. I know what it means, but that doesn't mean you can't think of something different.

Day 4: Underwater



Went with my original idea today: a woman having been tied down, sinking, as part of the witch trials. Left my comfort zone and used a brush pen for the first time; might be kind of hard to see in the image below, but in the original physical copy, there is some blending or shading. Just need to practice more. Also, it's harder to see the details in the image than the physical copy; for instance, there's a cross necklace floating by her hair.

#Inktober #Inktober2017

Day 5: Long

I had some ideas as to what I wanted to do, ranging from the simple (a single line weaving back and forth across the entire sheet of paper) to the obvious (long hair, long shadows, Slenderman). As the morning wore on, I thought about some word play... a policeman as an example (long arm of the law). I also toyed with sketching up an elderly hermit, a real Rip Van Wrinkle type. You know, for longevity, long life. But it was at that moment when I mentally saw what I did and decided to go with the wordplay aspect. Lucky for me that this was a quick and simple task, as work was busier than normal.

So, for the 'long' project, I present this.



Mmm-mmm, nothing beats a nice cup of Jeva Tea, am I right?

Inktober 2018

While Inktober 2017 was fun, it was the first time we all participated in such an event; this thread didn't quite get the attention, but we did share our creations via text. I'm hoping that for this upcoming year things will be a little different... but who can really say. Anyway, 2017 was quite the learning experience, and it is my intention that I for one take those lessons and carry them through.

The prompt list is out right now. Kind of. Vader was kind enough to send me a screenshot of the list, but the email it was from asks that the list not be posted until September 1st. I will keep those wishes and not post them here until Saturday, but that doesn't mean I can't get started on other things, right?

Da Rulz
1. Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want)
2. Post it online
3. Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2018
4. Repeat

Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. What ever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you're consistent the better.

Now last year, I thought we were only allowed to draw that prompt for that day; we could play catch up, but couldn't draw ahead. But, in looking at Vader's screenshot, the email reads

Quote :

Are you doing Inktober this year? If so, you can get a little head start on it if you want. We give you permission

That leads me to believe that we don't necessarily have to begin drawing October 1st... which is a good thing. Last year my pictures were rushed and limited in scope because I was drawing them at work. I know I can do better, and this year I plan on just that. I've got to get my creative juices flowing again.

2018 Prompt List



#inktober #inktober2018

#inktober
#inktober2018

Day 1: Poisonous

Posting two pictures here; the original inked and the one with color added via Paint. Not exactly what I wanted, and even though the minor imperfections here and there I can deal with, the one that really nerves me is the dislocated shoulder that I didn't notice until after the inking was complete. Grr. To give it a more "poisonous" feel, I may have to change the reds to shades of sickly green/brown. Something for the future.

#inktober
#inktober2018

Day 2: Tranquil

Quote :

tran·quil  ˈtraNGkwəl/Submit  adjective  free from disturbance; calm.  "her tranquil gaze"
synonyms: peaceful, calm, calming, still, serene, placid, restful, quiet, relaxing, undisturbed, limpid, pacific

What's more restful and quiet than a mausoleum? Original was drawn on a standard sheet of copier paper, with the finished shrunken by a bit. I had to stop drawing because the ink started to smear, but I am liking how the image looks shrunken down; may have to do that some more with future drawings.

For reference, I am using Prismacolor Premier Assorted Markers from Walmart. They are a four pack of black markers / pens: brush tip, calligraphy, size 05 and size 005.

#inktober
#inktober2018

Day 3: Roasted

Same as yesterday; drew the original on standard copier paper then shrunk it down (colors were added before shrinkage). I am wondering if maybe my use of Windows Paint is 'cheating' or not, or perhaps even the shrinking. We're supposed to only use ink, which I'm doing for the final drawing, so it's not as if I'm changing that (I still have the physical originals, uncolored). Same with the shrinking. In my opinion, I like how it looks shrunk, seems more clean. Original remains the same size. And it isn't as if I'm hiding things, trying to see the colored mini as the original... or else why would I post both? *shrugs* I don't know. Maybe I feel guilty because I'm going against the standard?

Ehh. At least I'm trying something new, so there's that.

Anyway, Roasted. Went with a great winged beastie blasting forth a fire ball.