Reflecting on Inktober 2016

Recently I posted mostly drawings I did for Inktober 2016. In this post, I am reflecting on how I did during the month of October.

Late September, I began with the thought of just trying out something new. I wanted to know for sure that I could consistently produce finished drawings with quality I would be happy with. The situation became a bit complicated because I made a hasty decision to leave a job at the end of September. I would find myself constantly struggle to strike a balance between job hunting and drawing.

Still, I did commit to develop myself as an independent artist. This gave me a drive that was surprisingly strong; I was surprised to find myself drawing even though I was also looking for a job. This gave me interesting experience I would not get into otherwise. For example, I penciled the background trees for "Noisy" while sitting on a public park, waiting for a job interview, and finished inking it at the Business Canteen (The Terrace) at National University of Singapore.

I also decided that I would focus on creating a world for children of around primary school age. On that age, I was reading comics like Smurfs, Johan and Pirlouit, and Steven Sterk. Even though I don't remember much of the stories, the adventures and fantastical worlds formed an impression on me. I would like to draw stories like that--evergreen stories that generation after generation of children will enjoy.

So I made Maggie and Faito to be around three head tall. They started quarreling like children. And they now walked a more idyllic world (tough arguably I broke this rule in "Sad"). I do not know where this will lead me to, but it will be interesting to explore.

At the end of my Inktober 2016 run, I learned that I could produce more than I usually did. However, this meant I took time from other things in my life. I learned that this is what other people meant when they mentioned "sacrifice".

Related to this, I found involving my wife in my routine helped smoothing things a lot. Before this month, we allowed each other to drive weekend activities as weekend was unfolding. At times this caused unhappiness because one of us could not do what we wanted.
Now that I am committed to finish a drawing, I usually tell her in advance that I need some time to draw on the weekend. This would trigger a discussion for tighter weekend planning. This process actually made us feel closer to each other.

Looking forward, my plan is to draw in themed series. For example, I will group the Inktober drawings as "Maggie and Faito Series" with their adventure as the theme. I am currently drawing a "Film Portrait" series, starting with "Dr Strange".

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Inktober 2016 - 06 - Lost

"Wha-"
Maggie and Faito were lost in a scary forest.

I drew this near Halloween day, so I thought of combining "lost" and scary. This was a relatively fast drawing. I took the composition from a board design I drew back in 2013. I liked the board because it had shadows on the character's face, something I have not tried yet.

I experimented with copic markers for gray shades. I also simplified highlights on Maggie's hair. I am quite happy with the result.

Do you agree? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below :)

Inktober 2016 - 05 - Hidden

"It should be around here."
"Yes, but where?"
Maggie and Faito walked round and round looking for the hidden magic chest.

To give the impression that Maggie and Faito were on an adventure, I drew an uncommon setting and make it dominate the image; while our heroes were intentionally small. In this respect, perhaps this image is successful.

I find the background take too much time, though. I effectively needed three sittings to pencil and ink it. I should develop a more time-effective method.

What do you think? Let me know in the comment below :)

Inktober 2016 - 05 - Sad

Maggie saw a wounded cat in an alley. She tried to comfort it, but it was protective of its kitten. Maggie realized sadly that there was nothing she could do.

With this drawing I got into the problem of the fauna of Maggie's world. If there were a merboar (a fantastical animal), why were there cats (a real animal)? I drew cats because I needed a vulnerable, lovable, yet fierce animal.

Something about the composition is not right. I think there are too much black on the right, making it feel heavier than the left side.

Tell me what you think :)

Dr Strange Portrait

My wife and I watched Dr Strange and we liked it! It was a fun film with a few personal moments made lighter with Marvel trademark humor. The magical premise would not have attracted us if not for Benedict Cumberbatch.

With this image I wanted to practice fast coloring. So I revisited color pencils, a medium I am familiar with. I started with the face skin, unconsciously treating color pencils as transparent medium, allowing the paper to show up. Then I got to darker parts (such as the hair and the robe) and made the mistake of treating color pencils as opaque medium. The dark areas look noticeably different (and worse, in my opinion). I am going to explore handling dark areas next time.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Inktober 2016 - 04 - Hungry

"That sure looks delish..."
"C'mon, Maggie. We'll catch fish on our own! And they will be much nicer!"

Going on adventures sometimes meant being hungry.

I wanted to include a simple background. Not as complicated as the background for "Noisy", but more substantial than the one for "Collect". I thought I was partly successful even thought I went overboard with the rocks and coconut trees.

Also, I remembered that Maggie's hair was black. From this point onward, I would ink her hair black.

I was listening to US Senate Hearing on National Security Space Launch Programs (to listen to Elon Musk's testimony) while inking this.

Let me know what you think.

Inktober 2016 - 03 - Collect

It was very early in the morning, the sun has not risen yet. Maggie and Faito delivered their catch, a merboar, and collected payment. It was not an easy catch, so they were very pleased.

I wanted contrast but was too afraid to block blacks, so I settled for lines.
The chef/butcher is supposed to be sweaty from preparing food, hence the funny-looking "highlight" on his neck.
I gave Maggie a front piece over her dress because I thought it looked plain.

Let me know what you think :)

Edit on 26 November 2016
I replaced the image above with a scanned one. Previously I posted a lower quality image I captured using my camera phone.

Inktober 2016 - 02 - Noisy

"This way!"
"No, THIS way!"
Maggie and Faito are a team, but sometimes they argue and they are loud. Noisy.

I shifted direction: now I am drawing my characters, Maggie and Faito, using the official 2016 prompt list. This way, I will exercise creativity while exploring possible stories. Maggie is a fire mage, so I gave her a pouch to keep things needed for spells. Faito is a fighter, so he got a sword, shoulder pads, and gloves.

I contrasted their different ideas on the background and foreground (perhaps too obviously). Maggie chose friendlier green forest, while Faito wanted to fight more powerful monsters in the rocky mountainous area.
I wanted to make the imaginary animals on the foreground to cover their ears, only to realize that their arms were too short to reach their actual ears (see the furball on the lower right).

Let me know what you think.

Edit on 25 November 2016
I replaced the image with a scanned one. Previously, I posted a lower quality image I took using my camera phone.

Inktober 2016 - 01 - The Flash

This year I am attempting to participate in Inktober. My original plan was to practice inking (elaborate) portraits. To my surprise, Jake Parker (the guy who started Inktober) posted an official prompt list; so I decided to change my plan: simplify my drawing to fit one-day time limit and use the official prompt list. I figure this will allow me to practice creativity.

The first word prompt is fast, so I drew The Flash running. With the popularity of the TV show, I knew there would be a lot of other Flash drawings, so I tried to up mine a notch by adding a foe.

Let me know what you think about this drawing in the comments below :)

Captain America + Rockman

 

This drawing is a happy accident. As I stepped out of the bathroom at home, I saw a piece of ginger my wife hung on the kitchen window grille. The silhouette looked just like Rockman (the bulky lower legs) holding Captain America's shield (oval for one arm). I did not take a photo though, so I sadly cannot prove this.

Here are some process photos.

I really enjoyed drawing this one. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Girl with a Gun

I wanted to capture dynamic feel of "jumping out of the window while shooting back."

I reused a character design I created a few years ago for a storyboard class. (I am hoping to post that sequence soon.) I borrowed heavily from Linda Hamilton's portrayal of Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 (see another one).

My lines are no longer as simple as the previous two drawings. I struggled with both hands, as you can see in the photo of an earlier sketch below. I could not figure out where they should be.

I experimented with adding blocking of blacks (in reality a very dark grey). I restricted myself to one value for simplicity. On hindsight, perhaps I should have used another, lighter grey.

And Quickly After That...

Bonus post!

After finishing the first drawing, I saw a picture of a cap design on Pinterest. It inspired me to draw a sporty, agile character.

An aspect I was interested to capture was the heavy-shoulder feel of the jacket. I started with the hoody, but somehow did not follow through, making the jacket looks like a thin sweater.

First Post

I have always liked drawing and painting characters. I kind of neglected it after I started working as visual effects (VFX) artist in 2010. Recently I felt the need to revisit drawing characters. Blogging drawings felt like a natural fit, so here I am. Let us see where this will lead to.

Onward with the ink work.

I drew this on a Friday evening after a company outing to Pulau Ubin. We were cycling there (complete with tough, rocky uphill sections), so people dressed somewhat differently from they usually do on work days. This drawing was inspired by a colleague.

I strove to keep the lines simple and to the minimum. I wanted to draw a small-built character that gives the aura of "I can go crazy fast if you just give me a bicycle."