2015 Inktober

Now this is going to be quite an image heavy post so beyond this intro I’ll try and keep the text to the minimum. For those who don’t know I will explain that Inktober is a challenge that happens every October to create one ink drawing for every day of the month. Now I hadn’t tried this challenge before and wasn’t certain exactly what type of images I should be creating so I just rolled with it and made them out of every type of ink in my possession!

I think I have these in order of creation so here we go...

Rover - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

Bug - 5 x 7"

I kept up fairly well with the challenge, missing a day or two and then caught up by making a few speedy extras on other days. I will say it was difficult! 

Tero and Toco, dressed for Halloween - 5 x 7"

Not all of my illustrations went to plan and trying to figure out a new thing to ink every day was harder than I anticipated. Oh and then there was the small issue of having massive hard drive failure half way through the month – eeek! >.<

The Fallen - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

Thankfully I didn’t lose any work but it did slow my progress when it came to showing my efforts online.

I Hate Mondays - 5 x 7"

Oh we all know this feeling...

Pinnacle Point - 5 x 7"

Delicious - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

October tends to be a busy month for me because I love Halloween and my husband and I like to put on fancy dress and go to the local park to watch fireworks and hand out free glow sticks to the kids. It’s always fun with a big bonfire, hot dogs, hot chocolate and of course meeting the locals.

Acid Gaze - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

Autumn Magic - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

Not only that but my husband and I got married on October 27^th so we have our wedding anniversary to celebrate only a few days before Halloween ^_^ (and yes we had a Halloween themed reception!!)

Spirit Cat Hat - 7 x 5"

Yes I really own not one but two of these cat hats ^_^

After Dark - 5 x 4"

I ended up with thirty-four small illustrations by the end of the month so I was very pleased I decided to give this challenge a go. ^_^

Thought Cup - 5 x 4"

More people connected with this image than I thought - go figure.

My approach for most, although not all, of these began by staining various sized pieces of Bristol vellum card with ink backgrounds. This was a good starting point to get my imagination going since I do suffer from ‘blank paper syndrome.’ By simply throwing down some colours I found it easier to image shapes, scenes, creatures, characters and of course since it was October plenty of Halloween themed ideas!

Don't Buy Local Lamplight - 5 x 4"

Ok this was inspired by a band I was listening to named Idlewild. They have a song which repeats the lyrics 'don't buy local lamplight.'  The song is on their 100 Broken Windows album and is named, 'I Don't Have the Map,' which I guess is quiet fitting to how lost I felt in this art mission! Just in case you want to check it out. My drawing has little to do with the song other than it involves a lamp lol.

Death on Stilts - 7 x 5"

This one was inspired by a local group of juggling/stage performers named Kinshira. We went to watch their show and I was very moved. One awesome character was indeed death, literally on stilts!
I wasn't so happy with the way this turned out as a piece of art but hey-ho, moving on..

Dandelion - 5 x 4"

Inspired by the big beautiful dandelions that grow around our house - they are the size of tennis balls!

Black Widow - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

Yeah we have these too ¬.¬

Orca - 4 x 5 "

Because I watched the film Black Fish, twice, cried insanely both times!!

Rain - 5 x 4"

Comfy ^_^

Panda Gets It Wrong - 5 x 4"

Based on an online conversation about bra burning - I was very wrong about the facts, oops.

Gravestones - ACEO - 3.5 x 2.5"

Spectre - 5 x 4"

I'm guessing we watched a horror film that night...

The Forest - 4 x 5"

Experimental line work

The Bonfire - 5 x 4"

Love bonfires!! ^_^

Coffee - ACEO - 2.5 x 3.5"

This is close to my heart ... and sanity.

Murmuration - 5 x 4"

I didn't know a flock of birds moving this way was called a murmuration, now I do :)

The Divide - 5 x 4"

The Writing Desk - 4 x 5"

Of course this one has a special place in my heart! Made using only Parker writing ink too.

Tornado City - 4 x 5"

Little Dark One - 5 x 4"

Given you both the line work and then the messy inking I did afterwards. Keir is one of my original characters, the youngest and possibly strangest so I couldn't resist adding him to Inktober. The piece is called 'Little Dark One,' because that is what the name Keir is said to mean, very fitting!

The Atlas Moth - 4 x 5"

Wanted to let loose with splatters :)

Campfire Tales - ACEO - 3.5 x 2.5"

Another original character but mostly wanted to make something creepy.

To the Flame - 5 x 4"

I lost count by the end of the month so ended up with two extras. This is the first and I quite like it.

Stone Sitter - 7 x 5"

This was my second extra and I'm not fond of it. Some nice qualities in there but would need some work I think. Never-mind, I survived the whole month and some - hooray!!

Would I take this challenge again? Yes, I think I would despite the fact that October is a busy month I was pleased with several of the illustrations I created and it really helped pull me out of my sluggish comfort zone and get creative! Anyone can take part since it is a self-set challenge so I also enjoyed seeing what others made during the month. Why don’t you give it a go? You might be pleasantly surprised at what you end up creating! :)