inktober, Trick Or Reaters, Halloween Activities for kids, and Illustration Friday

Happy October! Happy Inktober! I've been making lots of art for inktober again this year. My theme for the month (so far) has been ghosts. (Note: I post my inks every day on social media if you want to see them in between blog posts. The current art is pinned at the top of my twitter feed after I post each day.)

Here are my inktober ghosts so far:
Day One: A full page ink with my character Ghost Kitty surrounded by regular ghosts. Ghost Kitty is the main character in a short (not so) scary ghost story that I wrote and illustrated for Trick Or Reaters this year. It's called Glide and EEK! Click here to read it. 

FYI: I also designed a flyer for people to had out to trick-or-treaters so kids (and their parents) know they can go to Trick Or Reaters to read scary stories (at all levels of scary). Would you like a flier to hand out to trick-or-treaters? Click here download my flyer (shown below).

Days Two - Seven: Ghosts with patterns and/or a connection to nature.

Day Eight: Here's one of the ghosts from my short (not so) scary ghost story, Glide and EEK!

Day Nine: Cheep! Moo! Chirp! Boo!

Day Ten: Ghost Kitty says, "EEK!" This is another image from my short (not so) scary ghost story, Glide and EEK!

Day Eleven: Leaf maze! This is from my Halloween Activities for kids page. There are six activities, including Dot to Dot, matching ghosts, pumpkin decorating, finishing a drawing, finding a pumpkin and ghost in the pumpkin patch, and the leaf maze (featuring Ghost Kitty looking for her pumpkin). Click here if you're looking for Halloween Activities to do with kids (or for yourself, just for fun).

Day Twelve: "Hello Again!" says G.H. Ost. (Couldn't resist.)

Day Thirteen: Ghost + Penguins (part one). This is also for the Illustration Friday prompt for this week, which is ice. The penguins are on an iceberg ... oh no, here comes a ghost!

Day Fourteen: Ghost + Penguins (part two). This is actually tomorrow's inking, but since I'm going to be inking something for a different project tomorrow, I did it today and am posting early. (The penguins are still on the Illustration Friday iceberg ... and now the ghost is too.)

Am considering continuing the Ghost + Penguins story. Not sure yet, but there might be more to this story. But there will be no more to this blog post! This is the end! It's too long already!

*waves goodbye* Happy October! Happy Inktober! Happy (almost) Halloween!

a ghostly week for inktober and ink for illustration friday

The first week of inktober, a month long challenge to draw with ink every day, ended yesterday. My first week was all about the ghosts! I even managed to ink a ghost for the Illustration Friday prompt this week (ink).

This ghost knows the best way to get through a rainy and windy day is to stay inside and read a book (it's my favorite ghost from this week):

This ghost wants to get in on the inktober fun for Illustration Friday by inking the wall (the ink on the floor was an accident):

The rest of the week featured a ghost in a balloon, ghosts having a party, a family of ghosts, another rainy day ghost, and a construction ghost:

 

 

 

 

For the second week of inktober, I'm taking on a different subject - witch kitties (kitties who belong to witches, not kitties who are witches). Here's a sneak peek at the first image:

Happy October / inktober!

ghosts and gifts for inktober, tbt, and if

Today is the first day of October, and the start of inktober, a month long challenge to draw with ink every day. It's also Thursday, which is the perfect time to post old images for tbt (Throwback Thursday), one of which is my pick for the Illustration Friday prompt this week (prize).

Let's start with a puppy prize from 2008 for tbt and IF (always good to start with a puppy):

There are a lot of people who would love a puppy as a prize! A puppy is an upgrade from the usual goldfish prize they give out at carnivals. Before you accept your puppy prize, just make sure nobody in your family is allergic to furry pets. If they are, please accept this goldfish (also from 2008, with an added fish):

Since today is the first day of October, it's time to change my avatar again (I usually change it every month). My avatar is a crop of another tbt image (from 2009):

And here's the full image it came from:

Last, but not least, since today is the start of inktober and the first day of the Halloween season, I drew this picture of a ghost with a tool belt (with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen):

I wanted to see what it would look like with color, so I added some digital color in a limited palette:

And just for fun, I did a full color version too:

Happy October everyone!

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.   

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.