Category Archives: Inktober

Inktober – Half Way.

Drawing, Inktober

Inktober banner of dracula.

Fifteen days and fifteen ink drawings done. I’ve made it half way.

And sticking with the hand made ‘only slightly better than toilet paper’ paper has paid off. It has given me a real appreciation for the fine control that proper artist’s paper and board  give.

Because this hand made paper doesn’t give, it takes. It sucks the brush dry the minute it touches it. And after a while the page is a fragile sodden mess that needs careful drying over a hot lamp.

Nevertheless bashing out the drawings while not worrying  about the end result and enjoying the experience has been the way. Freedom.

There Was a Crooked Man.

“There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house. “

I used this illustration for one of my Scottish words because I discovered the rhyme had a Scottish connection. The Scottish word Sicker. 

Illustration of a crooked man, cat, style, mouse, mile and house.
Crooked #Inktober No. 08.

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Inktober week one.

Drawing, Inktober, ,

#INKTOBER drawings.

Inktober was started in 2009 by Jake Parker as a prompt to improve his inking skills and develop better drawing habits. Practise.

The rules he made are simple. An inked drawing each day, or whatever interval you set throughout October. That’s it. Creating a prompt for mindful repetition so as to get better at something.

This year I decided to have a go. I wanted to escape from my usual digital ways of working and the ever ready wonderful escape of the Command and Z keys. If only that undo was available in real life.

As an extra challenge I used hand made unsized paper with bits of plant in it. In comparison to digital (and even to watercolour board) this is like running over mountains in a rain-storm versus a running machine in a cosy gym – I now know.

Practise.

It’s practise. And in any practise making it difficult can make it more rewarding – if you’re overcoming the difficulties.

One interesting outcome I found is that I get two images. One when the paper is soaking wet (it acts like a sponge – and the washes spread over time – what fun :\’) And another, lighter image, when the paper dries.

Peeling wet paper off the scanner is another story.

I also decided not to be self judgemental. Otherwise the ever judging ‘fear of failure’ would sneakily undermine my resolve and at the end of a month I’d be wondering why I’d done so few.

So if you think some of the drawings are crap. Too bad.

Old man in a super hero costume being overtaken by insects and a girl on a tricycle.
Swift #Inktober No 1.

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