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Brad
2022-10-01, 19:15
Hmm… I'm surprised I've never posted about this before. For a couple years, I've participated in Inktober. Inktober is like NaNoWriMo but you draw random pictures instead of writing a book. It's really it's just a way to challenge yourself to draw something every day for a month. There's a published prompt for each day, and then, well, you try to draw something in ink that fits the prompt.

The official rules say:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).
2) Post it*
3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2022
4) Repeat

Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. What ever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.

That's it! Now go make something beautiful.

*Post it on any social media account you want or just post it on your refrigerator. The point is to share your art with someone. :)


Official prompt lists are here (https://inktober.com/rules), but this is the type of activity that has inspired alternative prompts among specific niche communities too.

Drawing is one of the "simple" skills that I've wished for decades that I could do better, but I rarely put in the time to actually practice. At a previous job, I had a wall-mounted whiteboard near my desk, and I would try to write or draw something random on it almost every day. That was seven years ago, though, and my doodling opportunities ran dry everywhere since. So, now I push myself to stick with each Inktober so that I have a time-constrained extrinsic motivator.

Anyone else want to join in and draw stuff for the next 30 days? :D

Here's my drawing for 2022 Day 1's prompt: gargoyle.

https://i.imgur.com/YKtF3x2.png

I take a really long time for most of my drawing — often like a solid hour — to think about and pencil and ink and erase. Then I scan and spend even more time digitally coloring and shading in Photoshop. Despite all the time and post-processing, I'm still my own worst critic, and I can't help but cringe and agonize over my obvious mistakes and awkward proportions. I love it and I hate it. :| But hopefully I see some kind of improvement at the end of each month.

Here are a few of my favorites from previous years. Yes, I frequently look up reference images, but I try never to copy exactly what I see. Sailor "Majora" Moon and the Halloweeny "leekspin" girl here are by far my worst cases of direct plagiarism. :p

https://i.imgur.com/LY8rfB8.png https://i.imgur.com/S5YgMfg.png https://i.imgur.com/ErOqOff.png https://i.imgur.com/maEVInl.png https://i.imgur.com/d9aT60C.png https://i.imgur.com/sjOFZbm.png https://i.imgur.com/T7ZNgOV.gif

drewprops
2022-10-02, 16:08
These are great! I scribbled a quick one last night. Not sure if I'll have time to do the entire month


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Brad
2022-10-02, 22:22
Any scribble is a good scribble! For the sake of Inktober, I hereby declare this thread a judgement-free zone for our art. :lol:

Inktober 2022 Day 2: scurry.

When I think "scurry", I think of little furry friends scurrying across the floor.

https://i.imgur.com/GdSB14J.png

drewprops
2022-10-03, 18:12
I am so impressed with your drawings! I have not been drawing for so long that I need a month of doodling to get back in shape. And I'm *really* interested in getting an iPad Pro with Procreate.


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Brad
2022-10-03, 21:29
Thank you!

I'm doing all my cleanup and coloring in Photoshop with plain old mouse and keyboard. I have a small Wacom tablet (Intuos, the kind without a screen) that I probably should be using, but I never feel like I have the same precision and responsiveness using that as I do when I use my mouse. :\ Maybe I should force myself to use it for the rest of the month to get in some practice there too.

And now for my Inktober 2022 Day 3: Bat.

Or my best approximation of an anatomically correct Batman (1989) logo. :D

https://i.imgur.com/Myi2iOl.png

https://i.imgur.com/NG50ijZ.gif

Brad
2022-10-03, 21:57
And, FWIW, I just do my drawings on plain old printer paper. I haven't used my home inkjet printer in literally years — I don't even know if it still works! — but I do still have a couple reams of its paper sitting on a shelf collecting dust. Might as well put a few pages to good use.

https://i.imgur.com/NllJPaP.jpg

Once I'm sure my ink is dry, I just slap it into my USB document scanner (sitting unceremoniously on the floor next to my desk) and go to town in Photoshop.

drewprops
2022-10-04, 00:26
Found paper is my favorite kind of paper. I have tons of saved scribbles drawn on envelopes and church bulletins and meeting minutes.

My doodles are posted on my Insta @drewprops

Need to get my IMGUR working again for here.

I think I'm beginning to find my groove again with BAT.

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Brad
2022-10-04, 21:25
Day 3: Scallop.

Not super happy with my doodle today, but I gotta commit to the bit. I'm all out of creative juices tonight; so, I just drew a literal scallop shell.

https://i.imgur.com/ABrkDkm.jpg

One of my problems with drawing freehand is that I can't hold my hand steady to save my life, and virtually any attempt at drawing lines goes all crooked and wobbly like this. :\ This whole shell drawing is barely three inches across, and I can't keep it straight for a fraction of even that. So, I try to hide it (not very well) by slathering on some colors afterwards.

Brad
2022-10-04, 21:26
My doodles are posted on my Insta @drewprops
https://www.instagram.com/drewprops/ to save anyone a search.

I really like what I'm seeing! :)

Brad
2022-10-05, 20:48
Day 5: Flame.

Slightly off-model Beavis says the current situation is acceptable.

https://i.imgur.com/1RHGrDk.png

drewprops
2022-10-05, 23:50
Lol!!!

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turtle
2022-10-06, 09:18
I love it!

Brad
2022-10-06, 21:21
Day 6: Bouquet.

Let's say I was inspired by the release of the Mario movie trailer. ;)

https://i.imgur.com/900J78f.png

Before cleanup, coloring, and shading:

https://i.imgur.com/aB21V4M.jpg

Brad
2022-10-07, 20:00
Day 7: Trip.

It's supposed to be Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker, who I seem to remember spent about 50% of his screen time with this squinty scrunched-forehead confused/thinking look on his face. :p I didn't quite get his features right, but it's close enough for Inktober.

https://i.imgur.com/kVbdKFs.png

Brad
2022-10-08, 18:40
Day 8: Match.

https://i.imgur.com/DCFA62R.jpg

Brad
2022-10-09, 15:11
Day 9: Nest.

Back in 2016, a pair of house finches nested in a small fern we had hanging on our front porch. A couple months later, I discovered five baby birds chirping their little heads off, and they looked like this (https://youtu.be/LFlgtyRZZKQ) with their shut eyes and spiky pin feathers.

https://i.imgur.com/SOWHrPU.png

709
2022-10-10, 12:39
Day 7: Trip.:lol: This is hilarious. :D

drewprops
2022-10-10, 17:49
:lol: This is hilarious. :D

And it needed NO explanation whatsoever for ME!
:lol:


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Brad
2022-10-10, 18:40
:lol: This is hilarious. :D

And it needed NO explanation whatsoever for ME!
:lol:


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:lol: Thanks!

I got a similar response from another old colleague who immediately recognized my "Trip" without the explainer too, much to my surprise!

Brad
2022-10-10, 21:37
Dat 10: Crabby.

https://i.imgur.com/eM0701I.png

drewprops
2022-10-10, 23:58
01 Gargoyle
https://i.imgur.com/Sk1gzvb.jpeg

02 Scurry
https://i.imgur.com/JLH6vmq.jpeg

03 Bat
https://i.imgur.com/WHaDfAc.jpeg

04 Scallop
https://i.imgur.com/WZaspbG.jpeg

05 Flame
https://i.imgur.com/BmCxC5X.jpeg

06 Bouquet
https://i.imgur.com/VfuYkF7.jpeg

07 Trip
https://i.imgur.com/ll30BNw.jpeg

08 Match
https://i.imgur.com/GZkYDDK.jpeg


09 Nest
https://i.imgur.com/PS4wiaE.jpeg


10 Crabby
https://i.imgur.com/OqPH67g.jpeg



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drewprops
2022-10-11, 00:26
I know that I messed one up but it'll have to wait...


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709
2022-10-11, 14:10
These are great Drew! Love the sneaky flytrap in the bouquet. :D

drewprops
2022-10-11, 14:54
Thank you. It has been a good exercise to move a pen again. So out of practice. Like everyone else, I wish that I could stop working and just make things - or at least have more time to draw again so that I could recuperate from the atrophy. It's fun seeing all the creativity out there, and daunting to see all the talent O.o


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drewprops
2022-10-11, 21:50
I really didn't like today's prompt and almost quit the game over it.

#eagle
https://i.imgur.com/toOHnrz.jpg


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drewprops
2022-10-16, 22:30
I am running late on these.
This is for FORGET - I posted 2 different versions.

https://i.imgur.com/UA6nyTm.jpeg
.
https://i.imgur.com/kTkMMIB.jpeg


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drewprops
2022-10-16, 22:31
Still running late.
This is my entry for the prompt "Empty".

https://i.imgur.com/9kI2VVv.jpeg


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drewprops
2022-10-16, 22:34
Armadillos are weird.

https://i.imgur.com/2fqDD5U.jpeg


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drewprops
2022-10-16, 22:35
Fowl!

https://i.imgur.com/xZ4ID2c.jpeg

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drewprops
2022-10-16, 23:42
For what it's worth, I think this contest has helped convince me to get an iPad Pro. I hope I win.
:lol:


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drewprops
2022-10-22, 05:57
I fell off the wagon this week, due to several things happening in the real world. Also: I ran out of paper :lol:

No telling if I'll find time to catch up, and what happened to you Brad? You are the wind beneath my pen :(

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turtle
2022-10-22, 13:33
https://www.pngfind.com/pngs/m/238-2381943_you-have-died-of-dysentery-oregon-trail-game.png

Brad
2022-10-30, 20:16
I dissed Terry. I died. :p

I got caught up in a metric shit ton of work a couple weeks ago and wound up pulling some late hours several days in a row to finish it all, and I was completely drained of any creative juices by the time I was free again in the evenings. The last few days have been back to normal, but I totally fell off the wagon, and the oxen ran away before I could dust myself off.

I enjoyed the first week's run, though. Maybe again next year!

Also, I love your drawings, Drew. Thank you for posting them as you kept going! :)