Every year I find it fun to participate in the Inktober challenge, where for the whole month of October artists post ink drawings onto their Instagram feeds. There is a list of prompts to follow each day, but of course none of this is obligatory—it is a fun thing, no prizes to be had. (See My Inktober 2019 here.)
I never follow the prompts, unless some inspire me along the way, and usually I do not manage to post every day. This year, though, I challenged myself—I would post a series of drawings, one every single day.
I chose to draw on A5-size paper, so I bought a pile of handmade cotton sheets, quite thick, ivory-colored and with deckled edges. I drew in ink and added gold, silver or copper leaf.
The drawings were for sale, and the first person to comment got the day’s drawing. Most sold, and the rest will do very well for Christmas presents!
Most importantly, I really enjoyed the challenge, and am proud of myself for managing to get to the end, despite work and travel that happened this month.
Also, practice makes perfect, and my control of the medium employed and my hand-and-eye coordination in drawing improved by the day.
As you can see, most drawings are of animals or birds—but I did have some trees, a thistle, a pineapple and a Haloween pumpkin!
If you want to see the lot, my Instagram handle is @athensletters
These are beautiful. I’ve not tried ink drawing, although I’ve tried most other media.
You can see some of my art on this week’s blog post if you’re interested.
http://aspholessaria.wordpress.com
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Thank you! You should try—can be messy though. The gold leaf gets everywhere, too!
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I think I’ll start without the gold leaf, though. Get the drawing with pen right first!
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Loved your art, too. I followed your blog, i hadn’t realised you were a writer. Are you self published? Perhaps you could give me some tips…
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I originally self published my first books, but then sent a book to a publisher who decided he wanted to take on my self published books as well, so they are now published by a small independent publisher.
Advantages are that they do the formatting and some marketing. Not all publishers do marketing, though. They also sort out audio versions, finding narrators,etc, and translations into other languages. My recipe book is available in Portuguese, and the first book of my Wolves of Vimar fantasy series is available in French and Spanish.
Disadvantages are mainly the lower royalties, but I decided that I would put up with that for the other advantages.
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It’s always a delight to see your detailed drawings, Marina. And the addition of the metallic leaf really set these off. Well done!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks, Pete. You’re always so encouraging, i appreciate it. X
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Oh! So beautiful!!
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Thank you!
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Gorgeous! Come with me to Antikythera next spring and draw the hawks, buzzards and owls there, you see them so close by….
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what a beautiful collection: such talent and persistence with the idea!
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Thank you!
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These are all fab – my favourites are the dog and the hare.
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Thanks!🍀
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Love the pictures ML x
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Thanks, Jack🌷
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They’re all so good, but my favorite is the hawk with its tail splayed out. Gorgeous work, Marina!
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The gold and silver really showcases your work. Inktober is such fun and a sneaky tutor.
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Beautiful renderings of wildlife.
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