Inktober 2024, Day 25,26,27,28: Scarecrow, Camera, Road, Jumbo

While I love being creative and working on creative things, I am ready to return to the land of the other living. I selfishly dedicated this entire month to Inktober, which meant I could not actively partake in many things or deal with much of anything else. I understand it is a great privilege, and I do not take it for granted.

With that, this probably will be the last time I do the whole thing to the level I do. While I received the prompts at the end of August, I had no time to work on preparations, sketching, or brainstorming ideas for each prompt. No preparations mean that a lot of time in a day goes for those processes before the actual work can happen. Even then, most of the artworks take me many hours to complete. It is not optimal if you have other responsibilities and things going on.

I am glad I had this opportunity, though! I have learned a ton and witnessed some growth happen. Especially now, towards the end. I also trained my patience with some prompts I could not connect with right away. But I will probably save the rest for the final post.

This is a batch of 4! Another batch of 3 to come!

Day 25: Scarecrow

_{Scarecrow - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

Straight forward, this is my scarecrow for the prompt scarecrow of day 25! And oh my! It is my favorite so far, hands down! I could not be happier with it! It was born out of a thought - I do not want to complicate things. You are asking for a scarecrow - here you go! In the spirit of the spooky harvest season!

_{The process flowed effortlessly! I am especially pleased with the placement of the colors and my choices colorwise. It all works together synergistically. And I feel like I succeeded at making it look so much more dimensional! Something I have improved on, for sure, is the use of highlights. It makes all the difference! The shading as well, of course!}

_{I love it!}

Day 26: Camera

_{Camera - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

On day 26, the prompt was - camera. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you want to take a photo of something but wish you had brought a tripod? And then end up sitting the camera on a rock on the beach to take that shot instead?!

_{I am so glad I ordered the transparent set of inks from Liquitex. The Burnt Umber quickly became one of my favorite browns. It was perfect for the beach and the rocks. The whole color combination worked out neatly. The last color I decided on was for the boat. It transformed the entire piece into a true seascape or beachscape. I also once more left the sky part without any color. I like it a lot!}

Day 27: Road

_{Road - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

Road? Really?! Another synonym on the list for trek and drive?! Yeah. How about - road to hell, then? Well, at first, I thought about it as a joke, but then I gave it a second thought. Why not? It goes with the theme of the month. At least, to some extent, it does! Highway to hell! Let's go!

_{I brought the dots back in this one! The whole road to hell got covered in them! They gave the road a strange texture. I love the combination of the pitch black with the fiery colors. They create a great contrast that makes the whole vibe of the hell even more creepy. Yet, the gate at the end sparks curiosity. It almost creates an inviting feeling that pulls you to see what is behind it!}

Day 28: Jumbo

_{Jumbo - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

Last but not least! On day 28, the prompt was - jumbo! I give credit to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary for this one! When I looked up the meaning of jumbo, one of their example sentences was - the winner in the contest for biggest pumpkin was a jumbo that weighed in at over a thousand pounds. And it gave me the idea to draw a giant pumpkin among its much smaller peers. Not to mention that I also hope to grow a giant pumpkin someday! I even tried to sprout the giant pumpkin seeds this year, but unfortunately, nothing happened. Either it was the wrong timing, or the seeds, for some reason, were not viable. I will try again next year! ^^

_{Here is what the process looked like. I began by adding the basic colors and slightly lightening the inks with water in places of highlight. Then, I added the shadows and more highlights with the white Gelly Roll pen. The Burnt Umber once more tied everything together as the environment the pumpkins are in. It is simple, yet so effective how it all came to be!}

_{There they are! The latest four! I have three more prompts to finish, and it is all over!}

I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did! See you soon for the last post of Inktober! Bam!

_{Song of the day: Instrumenti - Visā Visumā Visums Ir Viss}