Inktober!

After years of watching this October trend grow, 2019 felt like the right time to give it a go! I decided to stick with the ‘official’ prompt list which forced me to venture into new, therefore challenging, areas of subject matter. As a digital artist, especially 3D, it is easy to spend less and less time using traditional media. Up until I discovered computer graphics software when I was @ 20, however, I drew all the time. I then went to art college (Art Center) to study Illustration which resulted in two intense full-time years of ‘foundation’ studies (anatomy, perspective, etc). But… I then quickly discovered 3D. And in the 20+ years since, the amount of time I’ve spent drawing is embarrassingly little. A handful of hours/year if that… because ZBrush. Maya. Etc. So… Inktober was a scary idea. Do I even really remember how to draw anything other than a skull? (I drew a lot of those in High School). The first few I was only half committed and spent little time… But… I had fun. I started to look forward to it. A week in and I was blocking out all of my evenings (most), to sit and do Inktober ‘properly’. Meaning take some time to think about the word… do some little thumbnails.. then pick one and blow it up. After a month, I very much felt like I had finished a journey and accomplished something with profound personal meaning. And that my love of drawing was rekindled. I’m rusty… and it is easy to think how much easier it would be to do this or that in 3D…. but 3D isn’t real. Pen on paper you can put on your wall and say, definitively, that you made it. And there is something satisfying about that which I’ve missed. Hopefully this renewed ambition stays with me. But work and 3D always beckon… Anyhow, here’s a quick video I made of the drawings… All 4x6” with pen and marker. Hopefully I’ll go bigger next year!

Decided to give Inktober a try for the first time... as I hadn't drawn for way too long. It was tough, specifically once I realized that this wasn't going to be a 20 minute/day exercise as I did with the first few. I began taking the time to think about the word prompt, do thumbnails, then pencil, ink and marker. Had varying amounts of time per day... some I surprised myself with and like a lot... some I really don't. But in the end - with 31 drawings in 31 days and probably @ 100 hours of work, I can say that my fear of drawing in ink is diminished. Bummed that the last one is meh... but Halloween prep beckoned... Hats off to the many others who inspired me with their awesome work this month. I didn't want to post as I went as that would add to the stress, but it is nice to do it now and check something off the ol' bucket list. Music is Mogwai. :)