Where Creativity Takes Wing
Here are the last six drawings I did for InkTober. I’m rather proud of a couple of them, less proud of others, but good or bad, here they all are. One was my monthly contribution to the company newsletter, but it’s done in October so it counts!
We’re in the homestretch for Inktober, Drawloween, or your October art challenge of choice! I’m continuing to try and push myself a bit, playing with different styles and media. It’s fun yet sometimes frustrating. I don’t entirely like all the pieces I did this week but I’m sharing them anyway because that’s the point!
Here we are at the end of InkTober, Week 3. I am still thinking about a webcomic so I have some prep art for that. I’m working out the characters, logo, title, that sort of thing. If I do the comic I’ll be sure and post links here! This week I did a mix of big and small stuff, some fairly easy, other stuff that I tried to make a statement with.
This week I did more with analogue art, that is, actual pens. Nothing fancy, though I pulled out an old calligraphy marker of mine and had some fun with that. I’m eagerly anticipating a new Pentel brush pen, which I found out about when I looked up the actual origin of InkTober. It’s pretty interesting really. Next week if I like the pen I’ll link to it.
I am still not really doing anything particularly serious, though I’m thinking about doing a webcomic about the antics of my insane kittens. I’ve been getting out of the habit of doing art so I’m trying to recapture the fun and playful spirit of it.
Anyway, here goes!
It’s October 2nd. I should have started yesterday. However, I’ll make up the time! October is my very favorite month and a truly beautiful time in Arizona. So here we go, welcome to Inktober!
Feel free to join in – if you have a blog and are participating, comment away so that future readers can see your work too! I will accept either analog or digital ink. Maybe if we can get some participation, I can do a little art show at the beginning of the month!
Here is day 1:
Here is day 2:
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Here’s a compilation of all my Inktober entries! In no particular order.
Happy Inktober Day number 26! I missed yesterday so today’s a tip, too.
If you are drawing anything with hard edges, your work will look so much better if you use sharp, clean lines and good perspective. So, how can an enterprising artist keep their fluid, natural lines and combine them with correct mechanical structures without the whole thing looking stiff?
I find that what works best is to rough out my drawing in pencil, so that things still look natural, and then use a clear plastic ruler to redraw anything that needs to be exact. Simple!
That way the woman at the table can still have her beautiful, flowing hair and her frilly dress, but the stripes on her tablecloth will be even and the legs straight. Or the wild horses can still look dynamic and three dimensional, while the old fence posts they are standing near still stand straight and tall with good parallel lines. Think of how the impact might be different if those posts were drawn with wavering unrealistic lines. A great opportunity for contrast would be completely lost.
Paying some attention to how things are really shaped, even in your sketches, will give your work a more grounded, realistic look and bring a hint of professionalism. To me, nothing is sadder than seeing an artist draw a really beautiful figure, animal, or natural landscape – then completely ignore the structure of the piece, so the setting looks skewed and lopsided because none of lines are straight, even when they are supposed to be. It’s a fast way to ruin an otherwise beautiful work.
Best of all, this problem is not only easy to fix, but helps train your eye to be a better artist!
Mindflight 
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