Inktober 2020 Sketchbook Tour

| Allison

Hello, dears!

It’s time for another Inktober flip-through! If you’re not familiar with Inktober, the original idea is an art challenge where you make an ink drawing every day for the whole month, using prompts from an official list. See my last Inktober post here.

And that’s what I did! Today I’ll be showing you my 31 ink drawings/paintings in my toned paper sketchbook. I experimented with different styles and techniques and made some art I’m proud of and some I could have done better on… 😛

Ready to see it? Let’s go!

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Like last year, I made a cover page that included a frame of the prompt list to refer back to. I like how the ink splashes turned out. 🙂

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Day 1: The only day I used Crayola markers. 😛 I then realized I had liquid ink for painting and proceeded to use it in most of the following pages – including the next one.

Day 2: Some wispy clouds and a cozy cabin under the stars. Also you can see the ink from the next page bled through a bit… that happened a lot when I used undiluted ink. Sadly it kind of messed up some pages…

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Day 3: I think this is one of my favorites! I’m really not great at drawing hands but, using a reference, these came out alright. And I like the bulkiness and weight I managed to convey in the package and sweater.

Day 4: This one is kind of random, but the prompt reminded me of listening to the radio while gathering eggs at the poultry houses on our previous farm. Also included are a mouse, which there were many of, and candy we could pick from a big, dusty bowl. 🙂

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Day 5: A good excuse to practice drawing water drops. I looked off of one of my own photos for this – I think one from this post. I like how it turned out!

Day 6: AHH SO CUTE. Another one of my favorites. I drew the largest rodent, a capybara. HELP.

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Day 7: When I think of “fancy,” I often picture a fancy dress. So that’s what I drew.

Day 8: Heh, the poor pup’s face is rather lopsided (it kind of looked that way in the reference photo too XD), but he doesn’t seem to mind. 😛

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Day 17: Another painting from one of my photos, this time from this post. I kind of like the loose painting style here and kind of wish I gave it more definition.

Day 18: Phones can be a trap, as you’ve probably experienced. I put some distracting notifications on the phone and unhinged the back so it looks like you’ll fall through at a touch. My, quite a dramatic explanation, but… you get the point. XD I was reminding myself not to fall into the trap of distraction and social media escape so often.

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Day 9: Another dramatic explanation. Sometimes I wish I could throw away my emotions for a little while and just look at the situation reasonably, you know? So heh, the hand is holding a heart. O.o

Day 10: I was going for hope as the fruit of the Spirit, and the Spirit is portrayed in the Bible as a dove, like at Jesus’ baptism. But when I finished I realized that the dove is usually a symbol of peace, not hope. Oops. Oh well, I do like the technique I used of “painting” with a white gel pen and adding a dark background of ink to set it off!

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Day 11: Unfortunately, that black ink I used on the dove page bled through on this one. -_- Disgusting. Heh, I didn’t actually realize I could use it as part of the prompt till now… I didn’t really know what to draw amidst the ink bleed, so I just did a little expression study which turned out kinda fun.

Day 12: I really liked this one before I messed it up with more ink bleed. 😦 Oh well, it’s still nice. I decided to make a slippery tree frog trying not to slide down a… I dunno, reed or something.

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Day 13: This stark, simple style worked pretty well here. I like the crisp contrast of the dunes.

Day 14: Ooh, this is one of my favorite concepts. This knight is using his armor and sword to protect a rose (also a symbol of love, so you could take the story further here…) instead of using it to destroy. To add to the fairy-tale-like concept, I made the sword and rose glow with a white gel pen.

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Day 15: This one I did far too quickly because I was trying to catch up on three days at once. Don’t do that if you want a nice outcome. XD Ah well, it served its purpose.

Day 16: I looove the contrast here, and I’m proud of myself for taking the time to make nice, neat stars with a white gel pen. Heh.

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Day 19: “Dizzy” was on the prompt list last year too… Click here to see what I drew for it last time. This time I made dizzy spiral eyes. 😛

Day 20: I had fun layering tones in this one, from light to dark with my black ink. Nothing too fancy, but it’s a cute little illustration.

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Day 21: A cute field mouse in a messy nest, which I drew to cover up ink bleed again. *shakes head* The mouse looks so happy and content, doesn’t it?

Day 22: I think this one turned out pretty cute. 😀 I liked the idea of  pulling the chef’s hat down over his eyes to add the contrast of professional appearance to his little-kid-innocence.

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Day 23: Another quick one that didn’t turn out as realistic or 3D as I hoped. Oh well.

Day 24: This made me think of those Pinterest pictures where there’s a world underneath the grass or wishing well or whatever. So I drew a hole leading into an underground cave. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that whole unexplored caves could be right underneath our feet! Does this person know what they’re digging toward, or are they in for a shock?

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Day 25: Cute little bear friends that look like they’re floating because I unwisely outlined them completely in white gel pen. :[] It’s cuter in real life when you can see their faces a bit better.

Day 26: An unoriginal but fun concept of the “real” person hiding behind a mask of “I’m great, thanks!” I partly just wanted to draw a portrait. 😉

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Day 27: Another interesting concept, at least. Sometimes when I play piano, it feels like the notes are bursting into a swirl of beauty and emotion and wildflowers. 😀 I attempted to twirl two “ribbons” of music and then as the notes get further away, slowly turn them into a shower of flowers. I could do this concept more justice if I had more time and colors. And better hand drawing skills.

Day 28: Okay, this might be my favorite from the challenge! It’s not a creative concept as I just carefully copied a reference photo, but it was a great study in shadow and texture and tones. I think it turned out pretty realistic! I liked it enough that I added some red marker, just as a cherry on top. 😉 😛

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Day 29: My internet didn’t work that day but I could still get messages, so I asked my friend to send me a picture of ballet slippers for reference. XD At first I was annoyed at how scribbly and messy I made it look, but now I rather like the effect. Also I discovered ballet slippers are EXTREMELY difficult for me to draw. I spent so long getting the shapes and curves right for the shoes and feet, goodness.

Day 30: Running out of ideas, I kind of reused my “storm” idea with another reference. *shrugs*

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Day 31: Eh, one of my least favorites since I didn’t put much effort into it. But it works. And the spiderweb crossing over onto the next page provided a way to finish this section of my sketchbook. 🙂

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And that’s it for this year’s tour! Although I liked a lot of last year’s Inktober sketches better than this year’s, I did enjoy painting with ink this time and making more realistic pieces + interesting art concepts. Before you go, I’d love to hear…

Did you participate in Inktober this year? (Link the post if you made one!) Which of my drawings was your favorite?

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

67 thoughts on “Inktober 2020 Sketchbook Tour”

  10. This is actually the first time I’ve ever heard of Inktober, so thanks for letting me know about it! October is a really busy month for me, so I wouldn’t have been able to participate anyway. 😞 But I did enjoy see all of your lovely Inktober drawings! 😄

    I really liked your drawings from days 12,14, 26, and 29. The cover page was lovely, too! (I love how the ink splotches look.) And the capybara is just. too. cute. My favorite drawing is probably the one with the knight, but all of you pieces were very enjoyable! Thanks for sharing your creativity!

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    1. Ooh really? Well yay, glad I could let you know! Yeah, I know, I often have to catch up a few days later… I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much, and thanks for telling me your favorites. ❤

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  12. WOW THOSE WERE AMAZING, ALLISON. My favorites were… where do I even begin?? But I’ll just mention that I love capybaras and I recognized it immediately; it was adorable. I also loved the “float”, the first two pictures, and the underground cave. Such a cool idea. 🙂

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    1. Aghh that means so much – thank you, my friend! I’m really happy you liked them. 🙂
      Your bear Inktober drawings were so cute! Goodness, that would have taken so much creativity and thought to theme them around bears – I had a hard enough time as it was. :’D I think my favorites of yours are “rip,” “sleep,” and “float.” Thanks for sharing your post! ❤

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  16. I love these! The black ink on the tan paper has such a lovely aesthetic, and the pictures are so fun and intriguing! I really like the frog and the chef sketches, but I also really like the title sketch of “Inktober.” Thanks for sharing all your work!

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  22. Wow Allison! I look forward to seeing this every year! 🙂 You are so talented. God really has given you a wonderful gift. 🙂 My two top favorites were day 4 and day 22. 🙂 Keep up the great work. I really think you should do more black and white drawings and post about it. HUGS my friend!

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    1. Aww, that makes me so happy! Thank you so much for your super sweet and encouraging words, my friend. ❤ I SHOULD do more black and white drawings! They're a lot of fun. Thank you again, dear!

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  23. I love your drawings. I can draw but really haven’t developed this talent. Spend a lot of time writing. This is encouraging. I recently bought a sketch pad with the intent of doing a show and tell to lift the spirits of my Facebook crowd. I plan to draw images from the lyrics of a song and then sing the song as I show the corresponding pictures.

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      1. HI Allison, just browsing through your fabulous art work. I have a proposal to make. I am developing some innovative ways to market my book. I thought about an animated trailer that would depict 3 or 4 scenes from my book. Music will start and end the trailer. As the pictures appear, a narrator will read the synopsis. I’m contacting artists to see who would like to do a sample scene for me to consider them for the whole project. Let me know if you’re interested. I plan to send this trailer as an email attachment to introduce myself. Hopefully, my target bookstores, etc. will want to carry my book, “On the Wings of Freedom.” Amazon. If you’re interested, contact me by email. Thanks. cmalanna@gmail.com

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        1. Hi, Malanna! Ooh, that sounds super neat! Unfortunately I don’t have any experience in animation, so I’m not sure I’d be the best choice for making your trailer. But I’m so honored that you asked me. ❤ Hope you can find the perfect artist!

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          1. Hi Allison, You wouldn’t have to animate your drawings, I have a videographer who can do that. I am sending out a proposal to artists who are interested in this project. If you’re interested I can send it to you. There is a list of 5 scenes. An artist would draw a picture to show one emotion and then another to show that emotion has shifted or changed. If you’d like to give it a try, reply by email. I can send you a short bio. I wrote a book, “On the Wings of Freedom,” through Amazon. Look me up. Thanks for your interest. Be safe, be well, and be happy. – Malanna cmalanna@gmail.com

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  25. Wow, these are INCREDIBLE!!! You blow me away every time with your beautiful art!!! ❤ ❤ ❤ My favorite was the knight, it was just so intricate and beautiful 😀 Though I loved them allllllllll 😀

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  26. Sorry I’m so behind on reading your posts! :/ But AHHH I love all of these! The armor one is still my favorite, but I love the float and pointe shoes too!!!!! ❤
    I thought briefly about doing Inktober sometime, but Idk if I could commit to drawing something every day. XD Also I'm usually so busy prepping for Nanowrimo instead, so idk if I could do them back to back, but one day I might try! 🙂

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    1. Oh no worries It’s not required reading, hehe (though I do love your comments 😉 ).

      AHH THANK YOUUU! Yeah, it does take a lot of commitment, but it helps to tell yourself it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done. But yeah, if you’re already prepping that does seem like a lot… but hey, it never hurts to try! I’m so happy you liked the post. 🙂

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