Inktober 2017

I participated in Inktober this past October. Inktober is a monthly challenge where you create and share an illustration made with ink every day throughout the month of October. I shifted my creative focus to drawing in September, so I thought it would be a great way to grow.

There's a prompt list for each day in Inktober, but I decided to not follow it and instead do my own thing. It would be fun to try the themes next year.

Here are all of my illustrations from the month with commentary, as well as my reflections on the experience.

[caption id="attachment_1553"] A character and creature from a comic I was working on called "Modus Operandi." Looking back almost two months later, I don't like the character and creature design that much. It was a fun experiement though.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1554"] Train. Illustration from reference: http://bit.ly/2hRO9DB[/caption][caption id="attachment_1555"] 2001: A Space Odyssey Poster. I used a technical pen for this, and I quite like how it turned out. One of my favorite films.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1556"] Lunar Space Colony. An illustration based on the short story I wrote earlier this year. I'm working on adapting it to a comic.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1557"] Demon Dogs. They’re friendlier than they look, I promise. I used my brush pen on that day, which was a fun way to change it up.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1558"] Crystal is Life. A scene from Lavender, a world and series of stories I've been thinking about for years now.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1559"] Stardew Valley Farm. I drew this on the day I started playing Stardew Valley. I fell off of the game pretty quick, as I found myself bored with it.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1560"] Landscape. This was one of the first landscapes I ever even tried to draw. It's sloppy and difficult to read.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1561"] Rose. This was my first time trying inkwash. It's a lot of fun to use, and I'm happy with how this piece turned out.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1562"] Psychic. I'm not sure who this character is or what world they live in, but you don't want to mess with them.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1563"] Alm and Celica from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. I was playing the game at the time. I tried to make some fan art with original poses, but it didn't turn out so great.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1564"] Fixing the Generator. Thinking about what maintenance on the Lunar Space Colony would look like. I used a pen brush for this piece, which accounts for the varying line thickness.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1565"] Spelunky Spelunker. The desire to play Spelunky swept over me on this day.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1566"] Phone RPG Mock-Up. I was thinking a lot about what I turn-based RPG would look like on a mobile device. This would be a fun project to make, but it is on the backburner for now while I focus on comics.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1567"] Ys Tower. Something is very appealing to me about a tower that reaches up into the sky.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1568"] Monsters. Doodles of various monsters that inhabit the world of Lavender. Very Dragon Quest inspired.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1569"] Sword Fight. Two characters from the Lavender world.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1570"] Lavender Poster. I wanted to try my hand at composing a poster for Lavender, and this is what I came up with. I drew it really tiny, which was a mistake.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1571"] Adventurer. The main character of Lavender.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1572"] Cooper from Twin Peaks. I used my ballpoint pen on this day to try something different. I think the scribble effect is pretty neat. I'd like to explore it some more.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1573"] Velagunder from Ys Origin. I drew this on the day I beat that boss. It was a cool fight. I'm not sure I love how this turned out, but it was a good learning experience.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1574"] Arale from Dr. Slump. My friend and neighbor Zach and I both enjoy Dr. Slump, so I thought it would be fun to draw something from the series. I was tired on this day, so I just tried to replicate Toriyama's style and image as best as possible.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1575"] Super Mario Odyssey. I drew this while waiting for Super Mario Odyssey to get released. I used my technical lead pencils to fill in the color.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1576"] I was exploring the idea making of character platformer like Mario, but the main character would be a cat named Waffles.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1577"] Dog Ears. I remember wanting to draw human characters with animal ears, so that's what I did.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1578"] A friendly traveler from the Lavender world.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1579"] Monster. I really like the way this turned out. The line work adds to the eeriness.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1580"] Headphone. I must have been looking at my headphones and thinking they would be fun to draw.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1581"] Vampire Hunter D. I loved reading the novels in middle school. The anime feature is pretty darn good too.[/caption][caption id="attachment_1582"] Ooroborus[/caption][caption id="attachment_1583"] Halloween self-portrait of me as a vampire. I'm not particularly into Halloween, but I thought this was a fun way to end the month.[/caption]

Reflections

I truly enjoyed Inktober. I felt nervous throughout the month that my art was not good enough since I just started, but I'm continually trying to be more patient with myself. I'm quite happy with how a few of the pieces came out, and it has been a blast to look back over the challenge.

I followed along with some artist friends and made some new ones, which kept me inspired and sticking to it each day. The community aspect of Inktober is really special. Compared to NaNoWriMo, where sharing what I wrote each day wouldn't be very interesting, I loved following along with other artists participating in Inktober. It felt like a much more communal experience than NaNoWriMo.

In the month since Inktober, my personal life has been quite busy, but I've still kept up with my daily drawing. I decided to take a break from regularly posting art to social media, but I'll return once I'm feeling ready. Drawing even for just 10 minutes each day brings me an immense sense of satisfaction. I've also been planning out and working on a narrative comic project, that I hope to be ready to share more info about soon.

I'm looking forward to Inktober next year, and if you're interested in drawing, I can't recommend it enough.