Inktober 2014 Retrospective
This year I was able to participate in Inktober, a month long event where artists try to ink one piece per day. Some do elaborate ink illustrations, others like me just manage to shoehorn an inked doodle at the end of a long day spent doing other things. Although I do comics on a regular basis, Inktober was a welcome opportunity to practice rendering in the two colors I find most difficult- black and white.
Many comic artists and commercial illustrators participate in Inktober, utilizing the hashtag (#inktober) on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram to share their progress. This was a great opportunity to not only gain exposure for your own work, but to see what others are doing. Since Inktober was a community based activity, there was a strong degree of social accountability, which made completing each day's inked piece rewarding.
While I could not ink a piece every single day, I daresay there are at least 31 total inked pieces. Some days I inked multiples, especially at AWA and GMX, when sales were slow. Most of these were inked in my sketchbook with a fude pen, Pentel Pocketbrush, and Signo white gel pen. For the purposes of this post, I've dropped the non photo blue lead in PhotoShop. I have not included the two Inktober pieces I inked with a traditional brush. One was unsatisfactory, the other I plan on watercoloring and sharing later.
As the month progresses, you'll notice that most of my pieces were of Kara from my comic. Part of is that for the time being, I suppose she's my muse, the easy source of inspiration. Another part is that I'm trying to prepare for Volume 2 in advance, and I'd like to give myself lots of material to choose from.
Modern Interpretations of Sailor Scouts
This was inspired by a technique utilized by some 70's shoujo artists, and still seems some use today amongst seinen artists rendering large crowds.
And that's that for this year's Inktober. I'll probably finish inking some of the sketches I prepared throughout the month, and then resume my usual sketchbook practices.
Many comic artists and commercial illustrators participate in Inktober, utilizing the hashtag (#inktober) on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram to share their progress. This was a great opportunity to not only gain exposure for your own work, but to see what others are doing. Since Inktober was a community based activity, there was a strong degree of social accountability, which made completing each day's inked piece rewarding.
While I could not ink a piece every single day, I daresay there are at least 31 total inked pieces. Some days I inked multiples, especially at AWA and GMX, when sales were slow. Most of these were inked in my sketchbook with a fude pen, Pentel Pocketbrush, and Signo white gel pen. For the purposes of this post, I've dropped the non photo blue lead in PhotoShop. I have not included the two Inktober pieces I inked with a traditional brush. One was unsatisfactory, the other I plan on watercoloring and sharing later.
As the month progresses, you'll notice that most of my pieces were of Kara from my comic. Part of is that for the time being, I suppose she's my muse, the easy source of inspiration. Another part is that I'm trying to prepare for Volume 2 in advance, and I'd like to give myself lots of material to choose from.
Before and At Anime Weekend Atlanta
Modern Interpretations of Sailor Scouts
Ami
Chibi-Usa
Makoto
Minako
Rei
Usagi
After AWA
At GMX (Tee shirt designs)
After GMX
And that's that for this year's Inktober. I'll probably finish inking some of the sketches I prepared throughout the month, and then resume my usual sketchbook practices.
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