Another year, another Inktober! If you're not familiar you can read all about Inktober over at the creator Jake Parker's site. This isn't the first time I've attempted Inktober, but it is currently the longest I've survived. I always felt like I wasn't doing important work when I tried, but felt that with my art output being very minimal these days I needed to set a schedule and commit. I really wanted to follow a theme, but didn't have a chance to decide on one, and wanted to try and push myself by experimenting, which might not have fit a theme that well. I'm happy that I've stuck with it this past week, even if the results in my eyes have been mixed.

I thought I'd collect all the Inktober posts I've done so far into one place. I've been posting them individually over at my tumblr, on twitter, Facebook and instagram (if any of those are what you're in to), but figured it would be great to collect them here week to week and reflect on what worked, what didn't etc.

What I've Learned So Far

• I have a hard time committing to a particular inking style and/or tool. Be it ligne claire with pens, brush, markers/washes. I like them all for different reasons, and while I think a change in style can be just another tool in the toolbox, I find it can sometimes be divisive for people trying to follow along with your work. They may like one style, but not the other.
• Right along with the first point, I have a hard time sticking to a particular style in the drawings themselves. I dance between somewhat realistic to more cartoony and whimsical. Again, this is fine, but I do personally feel like the realistic style is my weaker style, and those pieces tend to never turn out how I want them.
• References are your friend! For the longest time I thought that as an artist I had to be able to render everything I'd ever draw from memory. While I'm sure it's possible for some artists to do so, for me if I want to draw a bike, I need to look at some pictures of bikes to get it right. Sounds simple, but I keep needing to remind myself.
• I like markers & washes, but struggle to scan them in properly in order to add some colour. I know it's possible, but I'd have to spend some more time with it to be able to get it right.
• I am not yet competent enough with a brush to be able to do what I want. I have much more success with pens than I currently do with brushes/brush pens. I may be the only one who notices this.

I'm hoping to learn a lot more in the coming weeks. At any rate, here are the Inktober pieces from Week 1.

Labels: ink, Inktober