So I've completed the first half of Inktober, and wow I have learnt a lot already!
Doing this challenge has been great because it has not only forced me to create "finished" artworks every day, but it's also given me a great excuse to just dive head-first into practicing traditional art!
I uploaded these artworks on time on my social media channels, so if you want to keep up to date on them then please follow me there!
I've copied the descriptions I gave on social media for each artwork here, because there were some important thoughts and feelings that I talked about on some of them that I felt were important to share.
Day 1: Swift.
A quick warm up using my grey Pentel brush pen. I feel like I chose the wrong paper though... these are the things that I need to learn!!! The things a digital artist doesn't ever need to know!
Inktober Day 2: Divided.
Just being rough and getting a feel for my pens.
Inktober Day 3: Poison.
Featuring gold ink highlights!
Whilst looking through other artists' amazing Inktober work, I think it's important for us all to remember that Inktober is about trying new things and expanding your skill set.
It doesn't matter how many months or years more of practise other artists' have had before starting this challenge, because you're not comparing your art to theirs.
Your aim should be to compare your art at the end of the challenge, compared to these first initial days!
Inktober Day 4: Underwater.
I thought I'd give watercolours a go for this one. I'm still very much a newbie at watercolours, but I'm excited to practise more.
Paying homage to my neopets days on this one. I used to draw hippocampuses all the time when I was younger, it's given me a soft spot for them!
Inktober Day 5: Long.
I just used this one as an exercise of line weight, nothing fancy. It's not a bad idea to have some different or experimental pieces.
Inktober Day 6: Sword.
Went with a more creative approach for this one... I feel like it doesn't look very creative, though... Oh well, I enjoyed the process.
Inktober Day 7: Shy.
Just trying some more brush strokes with brush pens with this one.
Inktober Day 8: Crooked.
Decided to dust off my old copics for this one!
I actually did this drawing 2 days prior to posting, but I wasn't in any haste to upload it because it's pretty meh... It got me thinking about how most of my Inktober pieces are rough, and that's fine because they are mostly experimental ones, but I find I'm also getting disheartened from my feed looking average.
But then I think... they look rough because they ARE... because I have very little experience with inks and traditional art - AND I'm not used to completing so many works in so little time.
This is probably reflective of what I spoke about in my latest YouTube video about overestimating my artistic abilities.
I'm in two minds about posting only what I deem worthy of sharing, and sharing everything because it's an honest interpretation of where I'm at right now!
I think the latter is the way to go at the moment. Honesty is refreshing, and the skills will come in time - and once they do, I'll be able to look back and clearly see how I've improved!
Inktober Day 9: Screech.
I went straight in with my pen with this one, and just let my hand make the lines and shapes as I drew them.
As much as I complain about my Inktober pieces being pretty shit, it's still nice to be drawing different things, just for the sake of drawing. It's a lot of work, but I'm thankful for having something that's forcing me to draw daily.
Inktober Day 10: Gigantic.
Felt like doing something cute after yesterday's meanie dragon. I woke up feeling so motivated and positive today!
I woke up being able to reflect on what I said in my last two Inktober posts with a different perspective.
I previously said that I felt like my sub-par Inktober pieces were making my feed look average.
But today I look upon them with a sense of achievement. Achievement for drawing and posting regularly, when in the not-so-distant past I was seriously struggling to draw just one picture to post!
I've noticed that I'm a lot more carefree when I start a drawing now, compared to before. There's less worry about whether the drawing will work or not - because I know I'm not going to give up if it DOESN'T work.
Inktober Day 11: Run.
Veeeery simple one today. I didn't want to spend too long on this one, because I'm wanting to catch up on my days a bit.
I wanted an excuse to try outlining in ink with a brush, so this was a good practise piece for that
I definitely enjoy painting lines with a brush because of the ability to make lines thinner or thicker just by adjusting the pressure of your hand. It takes a lot of practise to get your hands to create smooth lines, though, so this is just the start of a very long period of trying, failing, and sucking at it before I can be sort of good at it!
Inktober Day 11: Shattered.
I had heaps of fun with this one!!! I didn't decide how it was going to look in the beginning, I just knew what the pose was going to be (following a reference), and then the shattered back and hair I just made up on the go! This was definitely a therapeutic drawing :)
Inktober Day 13: Teeming.
The first thing that came to my head for this topic was "hair teeming with lice", but I certainly didn't want to try to draw that! So I made it nicer by changing it to butterflies instead. She seems pretty happy about it (I know she wouldn't be if it was lice!).
Inktober Day 14: Fierce.
I also title this one: Using Copics On The Wrong Paper! Oh well, you live and you learn!
Day 14 and 15 Inktobers were just quick doodles, as I wanted to catch up. Day 16 should be more interesting I hope.
Inktober Day 15: Mysterious.
This was another quick one I did just to catch up on a day. Again used the wrong paper for markers! But oh well, it's nothing special, so it doesn't matter. Onto the next day!
Inktober Day 16: Fat.
Today's inktober features my VERY fluffy (and yes a bit fat) dog Leia! I'm sure Leia would like to convince you that her bulk is ALL fur, but her appetite desides otherwise ;)
I also decided to use the correct type of bleedproof paper to use my copic markers on this time.
Unfortunately her eyes didn't look right, so I kept adding to them in the hopes of making them look better, but I think I just made it worse. It's hard when 80% of her is black, and you're trying to show her character, without adding too much information!
And there we have it! All of the 16 artworks for the first half of Inktober :)
I'm actually really surprised that I've lasted it this long, AND also completing all the artworks pretty much on time! (with a couple days leeway).
Stay tuned for the remaining 15 artworks at the end of the month!