It’s a Wrap

I’ve taken all 33 of my Inktober drawings and put them together in a little video. Yes, I have 33 drawings because on two different days I made two different drawings. Rather than choose one over the other, I’ve just included both for those days. The images appear in chronological order, and I hope you enjoy this short little presentation.

 

Now that it’s over and my video is a wrap as they say in the film-making industry, I can take a last look back at Inktober and what it meant to me. It was a positive experience, although there were a few frustrations along the way.

I’m most pleased, I think, by the fact that I accomplished the goals I set for myself, including a few new goals that arose over the course of the event. The initial goals were:

• To create an ink drawing each day
• To work on improving specific techniques

I wanted to work on shading. I wanted to become better at placing objects in front of other objects. I wanted to work on creating complete landscape scenes rather than just isolated objects on a white page. I feel that I improved in each of these areas.

As the month progressed, I also wanted:

• To do at least one drawing with the ink stippling technique
• To use a dip pen for at least one drawing
• To include at least one man-made object in a drawing

I did all of the above, and even drew a living, breathing animal! Maybe it’s impolite, but I have to pat myself on the back just a little for that squirrel I drew.

So, a few final thoughts.

What did I like about Inktober? 

I liked having a specific theme. It gave me a genuine sense of accomplishment to finish the month with a somewhat cohesive collection of drawings.

I liked that I made all of my drawings on the same size sheet — which was 1/2 sheet of a standard 9 x 12 drawing pad. It was a good size for me. Not so large as to be intimidating, but not so small that it was difficult to add details to my drawings. And, again, it made for a cohesive collection. In addition to my video presentation, I now have a little book of Inktober drawings. I’ll cherish it.

I liked the progress I made, of course. I especially liked that I was able to surprise myself with many of my drawings. I learned that I can do a lot more with pen and ink than I realized. I learned, too, that if I push myself and try new things, sometimes I really will surprise myself.

What didn’t I like about Inktober?

Although I liked having a specific theme, it became problematic after a while. Sometimes I felt that I was just repeating the same thing over and over. I drew berries. I drew branches. I drew more berries and more branches. I looked for variations on the theme but sometimes it was difficult to find something new or different from what I’d already drawn.

At first, I didn’t like what I saw as an inconsistency in my drawings. The style and approach of each is different. After a few days, though, I realized that this is how it needs to be for me. I’m not experienced enough yet to have a real pen-and–ink style. For me it was beneficial to try a variety of things, so this actually turned into an advantage by the time the month was over.

What will I do differently next year?

Inktober 2020 is far away, so I certainly don’t need to commit myself to any specific ideas right now. I probably won’t do a lot of things differently. I’ll choose a new theme, of course, and hopefully it will be a little broader and open to more possibilities. I’ve already toyed with the idea of using more colored inks next year, and maybe I’ll give those dip pens another try. Or…maybe not!

My favorites this year?

I like looking at the complete collection of Inktober drawings and recalling the thoughts and feelings I had each day. It’s hard to choose favorites, but I think these are the five drawings I like best, each for different reasons.

Eucalyptus

Japanese Red Maple

Avocado

Sugar Pine

Redwood

 

Thanks again to everyone who followed my Inktober drawings and offered their encouragement.