Inktober 2021: Second Half

I didn’t end up doing as many prompts as I would have liked to. As time went on, I had ideas that I wasn’t quite able to figure out in my head yet. For example Day 21: OMEN. I sketched out the general image in pencil, but couldn’t quite figure out how to make it work. I didn’t have the image in my head at all; just the idea (more on that later). I set it aside. It was a piece i was going to draw, but it had to wait until I was ready to ink it in or I’m just wasting paper. There were several prompts I still want to do. Someday when I’m ready, the images will pop into my head.

What did I learn? Each inktober, I learn something new. This year it was landscape drawing, perspective, light and shadow. Do I feel confident in those abilities? Not quite yet, but if I keep going, I will.

Day 17: VAMPIRE

Bunnicula. Who read “Howliday Inn” as a kid? My fifth grade teacher read it to us. It featured a dog and cat viewing the new pet rabbit with suspicion that it was a vampire. Hilarity ensues. Turns out the rabbit *was* a vampire. It’s “victims” were vegetables that it sucked the colour out of leaving just a white desiccated carrot or cabbage behind. At least that’s how I remember it. What I do remember for sure is that soon after we acquired a class pet: a rabbit that looks very similar to the one I drew here. She had free run of the classroom, and of course we all agreed that her name just had to be Bunnicula.

6 x 6 black ink on italian hot press paper

Day 25: DARK SEA

Did you notice yet that there seem to be a few cats in peril this year? You know what’s really hard to draw? Water. Getting it to look right both close up and from a distance is challenging to say the least. I think I succeeded here, but could use more practice. I asked for advice on this one and was told “you’re on your own.” I guess water is hard for even the most seasoned of artists.

6 x 6 black and red ink on italian hot press paper

Day 20: FANG

6 x 6 black and red ink on italian hot press paper

This was supposed to be Day 21: OMEN. Kitsune No Yomeiri or Fox Wedding. I’m still working on this one. I underestimated how long this one would take. Here’s what it looks like today. I think I finally started on this one on the 29th? I knew I would come back to it. The tiny foxes running with their torches, the floating lanterns, the dark silhouette of the Japanese black pine tree, the stippled sky, the individual blades of grass. This one’s going to take a bit. The foxes are running along a trail. I haven’t made my mind up what that trail is going to look like yet. This is quite ambitious even for me. There’s foreground, background, middle ground. There has to be a balance of starless and moonless dark night sky that has to balance with the tree. The hardest part for me is to know when to stop. When the piece is done. I may fail on this piece, but I’m determined. I will finish it, and if it fails, I will re-draw it.

For the curious, here is the list. I print it out every year. Minou does her best to destroy it. The paper serves as something to lay on, something to bite. It seems fitting. I feel the same metaphorically. There is plenty to lay on and plenty to bite. There were several prompts I have ideas for, but just didn’t get to. Maybe I will draw them eventually, maybe I won’t. If an idea dances in my head, and I am lucky enough to get a clear vision of it, it has to come out. I will draw it. Maybe it will be a finished piece, maybe I will draw it in my calendar (I still do that, though not on every page). Quality over quantity, right?