Tag: inktober

Inktober 2020 days 16-20

Day 16: “Rocket”

Black and grey pointy shuttle soaring diagonally in the black sky

A Russian 70s poster-inspired piece showing a soaring space rocket.

Done with a grey ink brush pen from Kuretake and black ink Pentel Brushpen.

Day 17: “Storm”

Black and grey ink drawing of a ship in a storm near rocks

I hesitated between drawing a tornado, lightning, a man running from a giant rushing wave, but I really wanted to draw a sailing ship rocked by waves.

I used again a light grey ink brush pen from Kuretake and black ink Pentel Brushpen.

Day 18: “Trap”

Black ink drawing of a masked cowboy in large brim hat aiming a rifle.

I knew I would not draw a mouse trap, nor a hunter trap. I had in mind a scene from a western movie showing a canyon and men posted behind boulders as others were approaching, but it was going to be too detailed and probably ugly, and it would have resulted in spending too much time for too little satisfaction.

I opted for a cowboy in ambush, wearing a face mask, aiming his rifle and hiding behind rocks.

I used a black 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent. There’s still enough ink in it, it turns out.

Day 19: “Dizzy”

Black and grey ink drawing of a trumpet play seen from behind.

My favourite ❤️ so far!

This prompt was reused from last year’s Inktober. I had enjoyed drawing a man progressing on wooden boards along a vertical cliff while holding a metallic chain railing and looking down.

This time I’m drawing the trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie.

I chose a very dark photo so I could leave only a few blank spots on the paper for the highlights and plaster the rest with my black ink Pentel Brushpen, which ran out of ink right near the end!

(Watch the 24-second time-lapse)

Day 20: “Coral”

Black and grey ink drawing of a clown fish and coral

The prompt that has inspired me the least so far. Unsurprisingly, my drawing didn’t turn out to be very interesting, nor was it very interesting to execute.

A clown fish, coral, and shades of grey.

I used the Kuretake grey ink brush pen and a black India ink brush marker from Higgins that arrived in the October Sketchbox.

Inktober 2020 days 11-15

Day 11: “Disgusting”

Black ink drawing of the face of a man whose eyes are covered, wearing a helmet from the top of which are short tentacles

Third abstract prompt. I resented it a little bit: the entire year has been disgusting –Give us a break!

I chose to reproduce part of a Moebius character and arrange a bit the tentacles.

Done with a black 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 12: “Slippery”

Black ink drawing of a series of penguins gliding on their bellies

I wanted to avoid drawing the common “slippery when wet” sign that is found in public restrooms, or the banana peels, but really liked how some of the artists I follow have executed their version of the prompt.

I went for penguins sliding. I love penguins, they’re super cute.

Done with my black 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 13: “Dune”

Black ink drawing of a man wearing a pointy helmet, seen from behind next to his leather case, standing in front of a levitating crystal within which is an odd smiling creature with the lower body of a worm. The scene is at the foot of a large dune.

I loved doing this one!

Major Fatal, an iconic Moebius’ characters (albeit a chunky version that I didn’t intend, but without sketching first, such things happen), standing in the desert in front of a tall levitating crystal, observing a wormlike figure within. I drew a dune in the background. I noticed afterwards that I got the shadows exactly wrong.

Done with my black 0.05mm Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 14: “Armor”

Very detailed black ink drawing of a Japanese warrior in armor carrying a sword and wearing a war helmet and metallic face mask.

I loved loved loved doing this one!

I initially wanted to draw an armadillo but went for my other favourite theme instead, and drew a samurai in armor.

I used the black 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent (it’s nearly dead now). I spent 45 minutes between the contours, refining them and adding layers of black.

Day 15: “Outpost”

Black ink drawing of the great wall of China slithering in the distance, with three outposts.

I wasn’t very much inspired by the prompt until I remembered from my visit to the Great Wall of China in 2016 that it features outposts at almost every section!

I tried a minimal approach, leaving out the surrounding mountains, much of the vegetation and even the structural details, and like how it came out.

Done with my black 0.05 mm Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Inktober 2020 days 6-10

Day 6: “Rodent”

Black ink drawing of a saddled squirrel at the edge of rocks, mounted by a tiny character wearing a helmet.

No mice or rats, and not even gerbils could rival with the itch to interpret a Moebius piece! And since the prompt that day was not giant lizard, I drew a giant squirrel mounted by a desert traveler, using a 0.05 mm black Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 7: “Fancy”

Black ink drawing of Audrey Hepburn wearing a flowery white dress and black high-heel shoes

Ah, the first prompt that was abstract. I don’t mind them too much but they are a bit of a challenge, giving me a “deer in headlights” feeling. So I looked in my library of saved images and searched something striking my fancy, ha ha. Audrey Hepburn in a fancy dress! I noticed that I drew her head too wide, or her body too small, but couldn’t correct it. Oh well. I used a 0.05 mm black Graphik line maker from Derwent and a black Brushpen by Pentel.

Day 8: “Teeth”

Black ink drawing of a screaming gorilla

I initially wanted to draw a laughing horse. Or the smiling shark of “Finding Nemo”. I settled for a roaring gorilla that I did in a few minutes, because I could block only little time, and used once again a 0.05 mm black Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 9: “Throw”

Black ink drawing of two judokas, one in black and the other in white. The one in white is throwing the other one to the ground.

I found a beautiful reference photo of judokas and quickly drew it, straight with ink like the others in the series, and botched the left arm of the judoka being thrown, as a result! I used again a 0.05 mm black Graphik line maker from Derwent, and filled the large black areas with the black Pentel Brushpen.

Day 10: “Hope”

Black ink drawing of a dandelion shedding its seeds in the wind, which turn into birds the farther they get from the flower.

Second abstract prompt! But this time there were several themes I considered: a message in a floating bottle, a plant growing out of dry caked desert soil, people of different races holding hands (although I had no idea how I was going to draw this). Finally I chose to draw dandelion seeds flying away as birds. It was more meaningful to me than the other themes, because a friend of mine once told me this was the tattoo her sister had gotten around the time her eldest daughter left home. Children are our hope.

Inktober 2020 days 1-5

It’s the fifth year in a row I’m doing Inktober. Rules are simple: A different prompt every day. Use ink. Enjoy. Learn new techniques, or not.

Some choose to not use any prompt. I prefer to, because I would not know what to draw most days. Some create their own prompts, or follow different thematic prompts. I prefer to stick to those proposed by Inktober creator Jake Parker because I find it easier.

I was ambivalent at first and nearly did not participate this year, but the day before, Virginie G. nudged me and another artist she follows, and I sensed she needed not to be alone doing it. I was in.

It’s the second year I’ve been using some of the supplies from my monthly Sketchbox subscription, except the Pentel Brushpen, which I have had for decades. Without further ado, here are the first five:

Day 1: “Fish”

Cartoon drawing of a little blond girl dressed in pink standing on a fish and surrounded by lost of other fish looking at her.

Studio Ghibli inspired piece. Done using a sepia ink drawing pen from Kuretake Zig, and Uni Emott pens in pink-red and yellow.

Day 2: “Wisp”

Black and grey ink drawing of the Disney movie character Hades smiling and burning.

A Disney character: Hades. I used a grey ink cartoonist brush pen from Kuretake Zig, and my beloved black ink Brushpen by Pentel.

Day 3: “Bulky”

Black and sepia ink drawing of an elephant sitting on a boulder

Awkward big baby elephant sitting on a rock. I used a fine brush dipped in walnut ink, and a Pentel black ink Brushpen.

Day 4: “Radio”

Black ink drawing of a vintage radio

The prompt didn’t inspire my very much. I looked for radio images in DuckDuckGo and copied the first vintage radio I found, using a 0.05 mm black ink Graphik line maker from Derwent.

Day 5: “Blade”

Black ink drawing of two skates shaving ice

My first thought of course was to draw a samurai. I love samurais! I’ve drawn dozens of them but never drew ice skates before. Using negative space for the cloud of ice was a challenge and it would have been much better in graphite, pencil or charcoal. But it’s neither graphitober, penciltober nor charcoaltober. It’s Inktober, so I used a 0.05 mm black ink Graphik line maker from Derwent, and a Pentel Brushpen to fill the larger black areas.