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 :)