An inky month ahead

It’s that time of year again… Inktober is almost here! It comes with a sense of excitement/anticipation as its an opportunity to dedicate time to being creative every day during October and there’s also a sense of trepidation too - will I actually be able to complete the challenge?!

Inktober is a list of word prompts that people are invited to make a drawing for every day in October using ink or any medium you choose. The most important thing is that it’s supposed to be enjoyable and you don’t have to be an ‘artist’ or ‘creative’ to take part.

My own creative work has definitely taken a back seat this year so I’m going to use it as an opportunity to unwind and let go of the day through drawing. When I last completed the Inktober challenge in 2021 I did all of the drawings digitally on my iPad. This was great as I had my creative toolkit with me wherever I went. However this year I’m going to wind things back to basics with traditional art and drawing tools including:

• HB pencil to draw roughs

• Winsor & Newton Black Indian Ink

• Dip pen with a nib

• Some brushes and watercolour

• A touch of coloured pencil if needed

I might share more about process and specific brands etc I use in another post. But for now, I’d better start getting organised! I hope my daily illustrations make you smile, even briefly, and create a lighthearted buffer in your social media feed too. Here are the official Inktober 2023 prompts that I’ll be following below. Maybe you could have a go at them too!

Ahoy There!

At last I have some exciting news to share, and boy has this one been a long time coming! I’m pleased to finally announce that I have a new children’s picture book coming out! ‘Ship Ahoy! Box Boy’ will be released by Windy Hollow Books at all good bookstores and online in September.

Writing a follow up to ‘The Box Boy’ was so much harder than I thought it would have been, and I’ve lost track of the many attempts that I’ve had trying to get it just right over the years. It seemed that as soon as I’d make some progress with the story I’d hit another roadblock where it just wasn’t flowing how I wanted it to, and in many cases I was just too busy with work/life getting in the way.

I thought that during the pandemic lockdowns I’d be able to make some progress with it, but no… Remote Learning/Teaching commitments took over!

However, I was determined to never give up and I really threw myself into finishing this new book over the summer break during late December 2021 through to February at the beginning of the year. I’ll be writing some follow up posts about the creative process with this book, but for the moment I just can’t wait to finally see it in print!

Linocut to Logo

Well, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted here, but you know, life just gets in the way sometimes… Or for like… Years! Anyway, I have much to talk about, I just need to find the time.

It goes without saying that 2020 has been an incredibly difficult one, from devastating bushfires to coronavirus and remote learning/teaching in my day job. 2020 has taken its toll on everyone.

In stark contrast to the sweltering heatwave and endless smoke-haze days at the beginning of the year, the past weekend was a cold, typically rainy, mid-June winters day. I decided cosy up and use a small sketch in my notebook to create a linocut print, and finally a finished logo.

This was really my first endeavour into filming my process. Editing over 30 minutes of footage into a little over 2 minutes was trickier than I’d anticipated. I got it all together though over the weekend and was able to share this with my VCE Visual Communication Design students today as they commence Unit 4 VCD. This short video led into the class for the day, and hopefully it inspired them.

Click play below and feel free to like and subscribe.

An inch a day

If you’re following me on my social accounts (instagram, facebook or twitter) you will have seen my tiny 1 x 1 inch drawings each day this month during September. This was a challenge from The House of Illustration for creatives or anyone willing to have a go and take part.

The challenge was inspired by John Vernon Lord who, in 2016, did a drawing for every single day of the year. Each one was just one-inch squared and made with pen and ink on paper. 

"Every day of 2016 I would do a drawing of something that occurred to me on the spur of the moment. The exercise was done for the fun of drawing - the liberation of drawing 'for the sake of it' is always something of a relief compared to the exacting challenge of illustrating professionally." - John Vernon Lord

So far I’ve found this to be a great daily exercise and I’m considering what to do with them all when I’m done at the end of the month, which isn’t far away. Possibly a numbered, limited edition run of prints… Stay tuned for more info soon! If you’d like to find out more, feel free to subscribe below.

Also, a few people have asked how they’re made and if they’re actually only 1 inch big… Yep, they sure are. They’re tiny! I’ve been placing a pencil in the photo of each illustration I’ve shared as a reference for their small scale.

In terms of making them, I’ve mostly been using superfine dip pen nibs, black Indian ink, watercolour and a hint of coloured pencil to make them pop. I’ll gather some specifics on the products I mostly use for illustration and will share them in a future blog post.

First Day of Winter

Ages ago I pondered whether or not I should get an iPad Pro. I mainly wanted one for its compatibility with the Apple pencil and the Procreate app. As an analogue guy at heart, I decided against it. Although just recently I succumbed to temptation and splashed out and bought one. In terms of how busy I've been recently, and the fact that I've rarely been in a space to spread out, work and leave my gear lying around, it has been the perfect take-anywhere creative studio. I'll admit that using real art mediums still feels more romantic, and there's a rewarding tactile quality you get from scratching around on a bit of paper with a pencil that you can't replicate with a plastic stylus on a bit of glass. 

I decided on the 12" model and it gives enough space to work without feeling restricted. Working with the Procreate app feels a lot like working in Photoshop and more natural than working with other drawing tablet devices. 

I've been working on a number of pieces, and to celebrate the first day of Winter yesterday, I spend around 45 minutes drawing this piece below last night in front of the fireplace. So find a blanket, rug up, hit play and enjoy this little time-lapse!