My first “Inktober”

During the month of October, I completed 31 drawings in 31 days as part of the Inktober challenge — Here’s what I learned…

One of my favorite comic book illustrators is Cameron Stewart. Mr. Stewart is often asked about the tools that he uses to create his art.

“What type of brushes do you use?” they ask.

“Please tell us about your tablet" they implore.

Mr. Stewart had been questioned about tools so frequently that he created an Instagram story detailing his personal preferences. On the last slide, Mr. Stewart shares an important piece of advice for artists:

“Tools don’t make the art good.

Practice does.”

Founded by Jake Parker in 2009, the Inktober challenge offers participants a structure to practice drawing and develop positive habits by completing 31 drawings in 31 days.

Why did I participate?

I ❤ to make stuff! In college, I studied illustration and earned an Associates Degree from the Delaware College of Art and Design. Although I now have a career in Digital Marketing (which I enjoy), I’m still passionate about drawing and practice is the best way to keep my existing skills sharp. Ideally, the practice will also help me improve.

In recent years, I have watched others participate in Inktober with feelings of admiration and envy.

MY THEME

Inktober has an official set of rules and prompts that I didn’t follow. These rules have value and the prompts add another layer to the challenge. But, I had a specific theme in mind that I wanted to adhere to. As a white male, there have always been an abundance of white male characters in comic books for me to read about and “identify” with. Diverse representation in literature is important, so I wanted to draw 31 black comic book super heroes.

MY PROCESS

In most of my published work, I use Adobe Illustrator to produce clean vector artwork. For Inktober, I used Adobe Photoshop to produce my daily drawing and my results were much looser.

My approach was pretty standard…

1. Sketch
2. Tight linework
3. Color

Animated GIF showing the progression of the drawing.

Challenges & lessons learned

FINDING THE TIME

It was difficult to find time to complete a daily drawing because, like many people, I am working full-time and I have a family (including a toddler). It helps that my wife is supportive! It may sound cliché, but you have to force yourself to make time. I watched less TV (put on a podcast or some music instead) and was productive after my son went to sleep.

ACCEPTING “SUB-PAR” RESULTS

Creating a daily drawing can produce results that feel rushed or “incomplete”. Frankly, sharing the work publicly can feel a little embarrassing.

The goal can’t be to produce your best, cleanest work. Instead, take pride in your dedication, improved efficiency, and any skill progression that you observe.

NO REFERENCE

This is a problem I created for myself. Because of the quick turnaround, I was drawing without pose reference. Of course, I did some costume reference/research for each character.

DEVELOPING A NEW STYLE

With enough practice, illustrators will reach a point where they can create accurate, clear renderings. Besides proficiency in the craft of drawing, the attributes that separate an ordinary illustrator from an extraordinary illustrator are a unique style and “voice”.

Comic book illustrator Ryan Ottley recently shared some of his student work. Although Mr. Ottley is already displaying amazing ability as a student, he hasn’t yet developed the unique, instantly-recognizable style that has elevated him to the highest tier of artists in the comic book industry.

I’m proud of my ability to mimic a variety of drawing styles, but I wanted to develop an animation-inspired style that conveys movement and avoids strict adherence to accurate anatomy/proportions.

During my first pass at John Stewart (left) I fell into “old habits”. My second attempt (right) better exemplifies the style that I was trying to achieve.

In my first Inktober drawing, I was intentionally depicting “Steel” (see below) with an enormous upper body and short legs. But, this can look like a mistake to a viewer if I haven’t pushed things far enough. By the time I completed my final drawing, it should be abundantly clear that the incorrect proportions used to depict “War Machine” are a stylistic decision and not a mistake.

My first drawing and my final drawing during Inktober 2020.

Conclusion

I’m glad I finally participated in the Inktober Challenge and I hope to do so again in 2021. There were days when drawing was a lot of fun — Other days it was exhausting and difficult to find motivation. I feel proud that I finished 31 drawings by the end of October and I think that I’m improving little-by-little. More practice is always necessary and Inktober has helped me develop better and more consistent habits.

Check out all 31 of my Inktober drawings on my Instagram account.

👏 I applaud you for reading this far! If you enjoyed this story you can read more or visit my website.