I assure you, I’m not dead.

Inktober ends and I fall off the face of the earth, right? Well… Sort of.

Original Character; watercolor on mixed media paper

Have a watercolor. This is another OC from that project I’ve been introducing. I’m really super pleased with how it turned out. I’ll eventually add more stuff to it, because it’s actually out of my sketchbook and there’s more character development stuff that I need to add, but right now, it’s just simple and fun and before last quarter I would have stopped where I am and used a clean page for the other stuff. But I’m trying to get better about using the *whole* page in my sketchbooks.

Detail wise, I really like the eye and the feathers. How those feathers turned out so perfect, I will never know and I will probably never be able to replicate. At least not so effortlessly.

I’ve been playing with watercolors more lately, and I have a few that need to be scanned and shared, so keep an eye out!

Oh, and btw, the watercolors? Cheap pan-set from Artist’s Loft for $5. I love them. Yes, they’re chalky, but that’s fine for what I want them to do.

Inktober Mad Rush!

So it’s a mad scramble to get all of my month’s ink work up before the end of Inktober! I hadn’t had time to get them scanned and posted before now. We’ll start with the oldest first.

Original Character. Sakura Micron pen and black Prismacolor marker over watercolor wash.

Remember the fairly lousy pinup attempt on the watercolor wash? Same character, done on a different part of the wash. The pose is taken from one in Lee Garbett’s “Draw Comic Book Action.” There’s a few things I’d fix; I haven’t perfected hands holding guns yet, let alone guns. But I like it. She looks like an 80’s anime character, which I didn’t intend on, but it’s good.

Inktober. Sakura Micron Pen, based on A.A. Milne’s “Us Two.”

Sakura Micron again. It’s rough, but that’s what I wanted. I too often try to do fully rendered work and it just takes me forever or I lose interest. I wanted this to be quick and dirty. It’s inspired by A.A. Milne’s “Us Two.” Particularly the version read by Helena Bonham Carter and Tom Hiddleston.

Original. Sakura Micron, dip pen with black acrylic ink and cheap watercolors.

Remember this guy from the beginning of the month? I got his tattoo added on and got the background done. The progress isn’t officially part of my Inktober offerings, because the new stuff was done in watercolor (cheap ones, btw. I use a set that cost $5), but I did go over it in places with a dip pen and acrylic ink.

Which leads us to:

Dragon, done with a dip pen and acrylic ink.

The pencil work was done a week or so ago, right around the time I did the Christoper Robin and Winne the Pooh piece. I inked it tonight, in between trick-or-treaters. He kinda looks like Hakuryuu from “Saiyuki,” but that’s okay. A different pose would show some anatomical differences (mine has front legs) but I think Hakuryuu is adorable, so there.

The important part is that this is my second *real* attempt at using a dip pen. I’m using a cheap one with the acrylic ink it came with, because I want a feel for it before I invest in India ink and better nibs. I don’t know that I love it for my hatching because I’m so detailed and heavy with it, but I do love the outlining it does. Haven’t tried it with a brush yet. And the first attempt? You’ll have to wait to see that. I’m using it for a class project, but let’s say it did what I wanted it to.

Inktober 11 and 12

I’m starting to feel like I’m slacking on this thing. Still, yesterday and today’s inks are here.

OC in Sakura Micron Pen

OC from that project I keep teasing y’all with. She’s actually an old character that I never did much with, and she somehow fits right in. I hope.

OC in Sakura Micron pen over a watercolor wash

More of the same OC. Was supposed to be sort of a pin-uppy style, but it didn’t end up that way. Not really. The anatomy is a bit jacked: I think her head’s too big and I know her arms/hands are bad. Plus I made her thigh a bit too muscular. Ah, well. This is what a sketchbook is for, right? Practice? Only took me 20+ years to learn that.

Inktober 9

I’ve missed a couple of days, but I’m still doing better than expected. Here’s yesterday’s ink: a crow with sage leaves and flowers.

crow with sage flowers/leaves

Crows represent wisdom in a lot of cultures, not just death. In fact, it’s more of a spiritual type of wisdom because of their association with death. They’re intelligent and are often guides between this world and the next. They’re also creators as often as they are tricksters.

I’ve always liked crows and ravens because of their intelligence, but now on this little project of mine, I’m really trying to do some more research on their symbolism, especially among Native American cultures. Three of my characters in this little project you’ve been seeing WIP have bird. . . symbols? Guides? I’m not sure what to call them yet, but I associate certain birds with them. And since I love drawing flowers, I also try to apply their traditional meanings. So sage is for wisdom, which I think actually works out well in this case. A lot of the story takes place in a futuristic American West and I associate sage with the southwest (even though sage and sagebrush are not the same thing).With any luck, next up you’ll see an owl (death) and an eagle (strength).

Intober 4, 5 and 6

The weekend’s InKtober offerings. As usual, Sakura Micron pen.

Beads and an arrowhead pendant.

Close-up of the below OC’s necklace. The lighting is messed up on the beads. It’s been awhile since I’ve done true spheres in pen.

OC character

Another OC from the in progress project. I’m trying to get better at staying consistent, especially with various angles.

Just a doodle; words from a poem: “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens.

This actually has to do with the same OC. I was having some artist’s block in Friday, so I started hunting down some short poems and “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” came up. It worked for me. I’d like to do a more detailed version eventually.

Inktober Challenge

So here it is, folks, the official first art post. One of my classmates mentioned that it was Inktober, something I’d never heard of! It’s one ink-drawn picture a day all of October and how could I not love that? I do a lot of pen and ink work, and this is just what I need to get started posting regularly. I can’t promise every day, but I will draw something everyday and eventually have 31 pictures posted.

I started this one last night and finished it today, so it counts. Eventually it’ll be colored in marker or watercolor, with a watercolored boar’s head in the background.

OC, done in Sakura Micron pen.

This is one of my OCs for a project I’m working on. You’ll probably see a lot of that project as it progresses. Consider it a sneak peak. ^_~