Admin Post: Community Check-In for September

[goss]

Tomorrow will be the last day of the month, and we'd love to have you check in and chat with us. How have things been with you?

Did you get a chance to take part in any fandom activities in September, or have you been working on any personal art projects? Are you currently trying to meet a deadline? Feel free to share upcoming challenges that have got you excited, any frustrations you've been experiencing, possible goals for the next month, and so on.

Also, are you considering taking part in the Inktober challenge? If so, will this be your first time? If you've tried it before, what has your experience been like?

Comments

Who's thinking about trying Inktober?

[goss]

This will be my first time taking part in Inktober. What about you guys?

I'm really excited, but at the same time, I'm also wondering whether I'll be able to manage drawing anything decent with ink, since I feel like free-form pen scribbles aren't as forgiving as the pencil work I'm accustomed to.

Also, I think it would be AMAZING if I could do one drawing a day, even if it's just for the first week, but I barely summoned enough energy to make *this* post, after a hard day at work. So I can't imagine how I'm going to motivate myself to put pen to paper and create art next week. I guess that's why they call it a "challenge", right? :b

Re: Who's thinking about trying Inktober?

[mekare]

It's my first time trying it too.

free-form pen scribbles aren't as forgiving as the pencil work I'm accustomed to

That's why I <ahref="https://mekare.dreamwidth.org/tag/medium:+ink">seldom do ink though I own all the materials... It's great for when you know exactly what you want to do (and have a detailed pencil drawing first) not so much for spontaneous or free drawing (at least when you're using nibs - brush pens and ballpoint pens are easier to handle I think).

I guess that's why they call it a "challenge", right? :b

Definitely!

[dhampyresa]

I've never done Inktober before and I kind of want to, but I don't have any inking materials.

[goss]

I guess a regular ballpoint pen or even a Sharpie marker would work. I'm planning to use those, in addition to trying out some ink with a paintbrush if I get access to an ink pot.

[mific]

Yes, ballpoint pens are totally allowed, and markers. I'll be using a Sharpie myself. :)

[dhampyresa]

I bought a twin tip marker for it. I'm excited to do some proper(?) marker work.

[goss]

Yay, shiny new art supplies! \o/

[darthneko]

Second time doing inktober - I got about 10 days in one time before giving up due to RL stuff. I'm really going to try to stick it out this time. The trick, for me, is not to focus on making it finished or even really good - just some kind of drawing.

I'm going to be starting with restricting myself to the black ink fine line and calligraphy pens in Autodesk Sketchbook on my ipad (no eraser, no white, black ink full saturation only, two layers - sketch and ink - max). I'd like to do some actual inking, but currently I have no desk space at home, and no art supplies - I just moved and everything is in unmarked boxes. =P

I've mostly been writing fanfic all this month, and have to get one more fic finished this weekend before the 2nd for an exchange. Then it's off to the races with inktober! I'm going to be using the official prompt list and one of the character design lists, I think.

[goss]

I'm going to be starting with restricting myself to the black ink fine line and calligraphy pens in Autodesk Sketchbook on my ipad (no eraser, no white, black ink full saturation only, two layers - sketch and ink - max)

Very cool that you set yourself certain perimeters by which to draw. I was wondering what methods a digital artist would use to distinguish this challenge from their normal practice, so thanks for sharing that little tidbit. :)

The trick, for me, is not to focus on making it finished or even really good - just some kind of drawing.

You are definitely right! I will truly have to take this one to heart, if I am to stick it through for this challenge. My inner perfectionist will be screaming, but it's the only way I'll end up producing anything at all. :b

[mific]

I still seem to doing lots of art for exchanges and challenges. Am finishing some complementary art for the due South/c6d Big Bang which I'll link to next month. And I did three pinch hits for Remix Revival, all in small fandoms.
Dating Demons (the ice cream parlour remix) - (Lucifer) Lucifer/Amenadiel, Chloe/Mazikeen, G, SFW
Pulse (the dark wings remix) - (Black Swan) Nina/Lily, M, NSFW
Underworld (the Etruscan pottery remix) - (Etruscan mythology) OFC/OFC, G, SFW

Also, I got some trad art supplies this month, so have been fooling around with those. More practice needed! Which I'll get in Inktober, hopefully. I have an idea and a theme for a series of drawings across the month. No idea if I can keep it up though - we'll see, I guess!

[syntheid]

Oh I really like that Etruscan pottery remix, the stylization is really neat.

[goss]

I have an idea and a theme for a series of drawings across the month.

Ooooh, exciting! I really like this idea! Good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing the series unfold. :)

[mekare]

Oh your art looks great and I agree with syntheid that pottery remix is gorgeous! Good luck with your themed art pieces ( I am curious to find out what your theme is).

[syntheid]

This is also my first time trying Inktober, I was just. Very uninterested in trying to use ink previously. But lately I've been trying to do more ballpoint pen anyway, because my goal this year was to try to finish this sketchbook (not going so well, I'm only 1/4 of the way through ahah), which is spiral-bound, so pencil keeps smearing everywhere. Seemed like a good time to try ink.

My plan is mostly to do ballpoint pen quick sketches (or possibly brush pen if I'm feeling up to it, but still quick stuff) of either figures/animals/skeletons/environments, and then on the weekends at least do one more finished ink wash monochrome with gold accents (I got a gold uniball gel pen for that). I made a list of uncommon myths, monsters, and creepy animals so hopefully if I'm feeling uninspired it'll be easy to pick one, but I'm not really doing a prompt-a-day sort of challenge since those don't work that great for me.

Kind of focusing on trying to 'darken' my art style (aka get more a more creepy and ethereal aesthetic), really push my values into blacks because I always end up with washed-out shadows because I'm too timid, and also get a bit better at creature design, though, so yeah. I kind of expect to not really finish, because RL will probably force me to stop at some point, but going to try anyway heh.

[goss]

but going to try anyway heh.

That's the spirit! *high-fives* Same here too. *g* Both work and home life is scheduled to be super hectic in the 2nd and 3rd week of the month, but I'm ready to give it my best shot.

I made a list of uncommon myths, monsters, and creepy animals so hopefully if I'm feeling uninspired it'll be easy to pick one

Hey, that's a great idea! Especially since I know that there'll are certain days to come when I'm going to experience high levels of anxiety or be extremely drained, and I just want to turn my brain off - not usually the most conducive when it comes to producing art (for me, anyway).

I think I'll make an "Inktober Inspiration" folder consisting of:
(1) Interesting reference pics (especially with particular poses or lighting effects I want to try capturing)
(2) A list of ideas that interest me (like mash-ups, pairings, characters, creatures, etc.)
(3) A list of really easy drawing/warm-up exercises that the average child can accomplish in about 15 minutes (for my most taxing days, when I want to just get something out on paper, but lack the energy to brain.)

Thanks for the idea. :)

[mekare]

ink wash monochrome with gold accents

Sounds great! I actually have gold ink at home but found it responds less to the pens than black ink due to its thickness. So the pencil idea is neat.

Good luck with your plan!

[minoanmiss]

This is a good time/place for my tale of woe! My printer lost its
connection and my computer died! So until I can get my tech issues
resolved I won't be here much. I hope to at least be able to reply to the
wonderful posts here, but I'm currently borrowing computer time so we
shall see. Unfortunately I won't be able to submit art until I have
everything set up again, but maybe I'll just do Inktober and submit ALL
THE ART AT ONCE. :D

[goss]

Awwww, my condolences about your computer/printer. At least, as you say, you can work on the challenge over the month, and post in bulk, whenever you get your tech back up. Good luck! :)

[mekare]

Aw no! Hope you get your tech sorted. :-/

Just do the challenge anyway and yes, post at once :-)

[lynndyre]

I've done inktober once before, though I never posted most of it. Some days I was really pleased with, other days... well, I drew something! I want to get better at shadows and shading, and backgrounds/environments.

[goss]

Cool that you managed to draw something every day for the challenge!

I think that's the biggest hurdle for most people, including myself. I'm going to at least try one drawing a day for the first week, and see how it goes from there.

[mekare]

For me it's the first time and I'm going in without a lot of expectations... I'm certainly not tryingto do something every day my first time, but kudos that you managed that!