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Friday, October 31, 2014

ghosts, cats, chickens and bats!

This is officially the last #inktober blog, because tomorrow is November. (And today is Halloween - Happy Halloween!) I had fun inking it up this month. Here are the last three drawings. I think this first one of the witch cat is my favorite for the whole month. I might even have to scan it! (As opposed to the inktober cell phone pictures that I used all month.)


If this cat looks familiar, it could be because she was on my illustration postcard earlier this year. I actually did the first sketches of her almost exactly year ago! Here's a crop of the image so you can see her riding the dog:


The next ink image begs the question: Are chickens afraid of ghosts? (Yes.) Or maybe it's the answer to the age old question: Why did the chicken cross the road? (She was running from the ghost.) Or it could be another question that I haven't thought of yet ... the question is probably: When are you going to scan this picture so it doesn't have weird shadows? However, the weird shadows do add a certain charm and scary atmosphere to the picture (IMO). Maybe I should keep them.


And finally, as long as I was on a ghost kick and listening to music, I drew this musical ghost who is auditioning for a show on Ghost TV called, Ghost Idol. I know, it's a very original name. Ghosts are like that, always borrowing ideas from the living and barely changing them! I imagine this ghost is about to get cut from the show, because those notes don't seem to make a song. Then again, ghost music is probably way different from living music. Maybe the ghost is a smooth singer and will actually win the contest! Go ghost go! Incidentally, "smooth," is the prompt for Illustration Friday this week. Can't think of any better way to show smooth + Halloween than a smooth singing ghost.


It was a good drawing exercise, to participate in #inktober this month, and fun too! If I hadn't been traveling so much, I probably would have broken out the pen and ink, and the scanner. Maybe next month! Then again, next month will probably bring a burst of non-ink creativity. Will just have to wait and see what happens (and have art supplies at the ready).

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.   

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

puppets, pumpkins, boo, and bats

This week I drew five images over seven days for #inktober and Illustration Friday. This first image is my Frankenstein cow making a Halloween appearance with a pumpkin, ghost, and owl. Still trying to find the right look for him. This look is close to the original sketches I did a long time ago:


I actually did this pumpkin for the first image this week, but it's second on the list (Frankenstein cow wanted to go first). You can't see it from this small picture, but there are images of ghosts, bats, witches, and cats inside the pumpkin stem and the pumpkin face.


The prompt for Illustration Friday this week is puppet. I couldn't resist drawing a trick-or-treating dog being given candy treats by a chicken (all orchestrated by the puppet master girl, of course).


I wanted to do a word image, and this is what happened. No idea why there are spiders with the ghosts, but it was fun to do and I like how it turned out.


I unearthed an old pencil sketch with bats this week, and decided it looked like a face, so I inked it and added a moon in the middle for the nose. This was a small part of a larger sketch. The rest of it is pretty bad, but I like the bat face and wanted to save that part. 


This is the last week of #inktober! Only one more post (Friday) with Halloweenie ink drawings. Not sure yet what November will bring. Stay tuned!


Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.   

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

jellyfish, ghosts, mummies and more!

This week I decided to add some color for #inktober (and for Illustration Friday too). There are only five images this week (the first image has three stages for three days).

The first image is: Jellies and Ghosts! I saw a picture of a jellyfish that reminded me of the shape of a ghost, so I couldn't resist making this image of the jellies and their ghostly friends (and a rare jelly-ghost too).


Here are the three stages for Jellies and Ghosts (I like them all, but I think the second stage is my favorite):


After that, I went back to more familiar territory. (COWS!) This particular cow is not a-moo-sed by the human's choice of Halloween costumes. Not a-MOO-sed, get it? Gotta love moo humor! (Or at least I do.) This is also my image for the Illustration Friday prompt, "Trouble," because I have a feeling that the moment right after this one is when the little kid gets into big trouble for the mummy costume (and runs to her mummy)!


 I was trying to think about what to do next when I remembered a batwing pumpkin I got about a month ago. I'd never heard of a batwing pumpkin before, though I think I've seen one. Here is the batwing pumpkin counting down to Halloween.


And here is my bat vs. a batwing pumpkin drawing:


Since I was on a pumpkin kick and I had been reading one of my favorite picture books, the next drawing is an homage to ORANGE PEAR APPLE BEAR by Emily Gravett. I call it Orange (pumpkin), Pear (shaped cat), Apple, (ghost) Bear:


The final image of the week is a cat-bat chasing a ghostly mouse, but I'm keeping that one to myself because it didn't turn out at all (some art is like that).

There might be more multi-day drawings next week, and maybe even color too! Stay tuned ...

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.  

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

cows and ghosts and elephants, oh my!

I planned a whole different set of art this week for #inktober ... but the art had other ideas. I showed my dad the art.
Dad: "Wow! These are really great!"
Me: "I think what you meant to say, was weird."
Dad: "No, I really think they're great. Maybe a little weird, but I like them!"
So, here are the seven #inktober pictures I did this week, including on for Illustration Friday. They're a little weird, but I like them. I hope you do too!

October 8: No idea what happened. This picture WAS supposed to have a cow and elephant, but no clue where the flowers came from, or why they happened. Then I added a ghost in the middle, just because.


October 9: This drawing set the tone and subject matter for all the rest of the art this week (and is also a nod to Tim Conway on The Carol Burnett Show).


October 10: I had the idea that the ghost could transform into things and the cow and elephant would wear Halloween costumes, and they'd all say or give a clue to what they're supposed to be.


 October 11: Clearly there are no costumes in this picture. I blame the spider.


October 12: This is where things start to go off the rails. I blame the elephant (and Illustration Friday - the theme this week is octopus). Originally the cow was an owl and said, "Who!" but the owl costume looked awful, so I made her wear an eye, in a nod to the book I have coming out in December (EWE AND AYE).


October 13: Now the elephant is just being silly.


October 14: And finally, the ghost and cow are once again dressed up for Halloween, but the elephant is not. (He's too distracted by the pumpkin pie, which he will probably share. Probably.)


So that was my crazy #inktober week! What are your characters (that you're writing or drawing) doing this week? Did you know they were going to do those things? Or was it a total surprise like my ghost, cow, and elephant?

I wonder what surprises the drawings for next week will bring? I guess I'll find out ... stay tuned!

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.  

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

pups in usual and unusual Halloween costumes

More #inktober art! I've been having fun with putting puppies in Halloween costumes (some more unusual than others). On Sunday, the Pointer decided he wanted to point at things on Halloween. The cat provided a counter point.


On Monday, three puppies were dressed up like bugs, and the pumpkin was carved to look like a pup!


I couldn't resist adding some color to this one! Probably won't do that again this month, or at least not much - it's inktober, not watercolor-tober ... maybe next month.


Though I do like the way the color turned out, especially considering I was using a travel watercolor set and the not so great brush that came with it.

Last but not least for this series. On Tuesday, it was a battle between the Pie Rat and the Pirate! (I think maybe someone misunderstood what the costume theme was.)


Next time you might see a new animal or two. I'm thinking of inking some new characters wearing Halloween costumes!

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.  

Monday, October 6, 2014

puppies, bats, pumpkins and cats, with a witch and mouse under a full moon too!

Two new drawings  (for #inktober and Illustration Friday)! The drawing from Friday, October 3rd features flapping bats. Poor puppy! He doesn't know the bats don't want to scare him; they just want to play.


The next drawing, from Saturday, October 4th, features a puppy in a pumpkin patch. There's lots to look at: a full moon (with a cat and a witch), bats, boats with dogs, and a mouse eating pumpkin pie!


Here's a detail of the two dogs in a boat:


The dog in the back looks like he's wearing a hat (he's not - just a slip of the pen). The puppy in front looks like a rabbit, according to my dad (she's not a rabbit - just a dog with long ears). Pretty good for inking a tiny boat (about 1" square) full of dogs at 2am! Next time I should use a magnifying glass. First I need to get a magnifying glass. ;)

My two latest drawings + weekly theme for IF (silence) inspired the lines below ... either that, or I've been thinking about horror films way too much (but it is October, so that's understandable, right?):
There's silence in the dead of night, when creatures creep and crawl, and flap and fly.
Then again, maybe I'm finally going to write a Halloween themed picture book! *crosses fingers*

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.  

Thursday, October 2, 2014

wishing for Halloween and pumpkin pie

Lots of wishes in this picture: the puppy is wishing that the pumpkin would magically turn into a pie, the ghost is wishing it was Halloween already, the cat is wishing the ghost wasn't real, and the bird is wishing that the cat, dog and ghost would go away already! The pumpkin isn't wishing for anything, because it's a pumpkin. (For #inktober and Illustration Friday).


I decided to participate in #inktober this year! Are you participating in #inktober?

Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.  

one dog, four ducks, and a pumpkin

Old English Sheep Dog wishes he were friends with the ducks (for #inktober and Illustration Friday).


Want to see my other inktober images? Click here to check them out.