Progress continues...

I'm still working on my Inktober project in January... I know, it's lame.

#Inktober2019 collision - D&D meets Ink

This is an inktober2019 collision. I've been working on a map of a Roman themed city called Nace for a D&D campaign. The characters found a villa, but I really didn't have any idea of what it looked like. 

I tried a couple of sketches and mostly liked the results. I don't know why my scanner is clipping the edge. If I get time, I will update these scans.

#Inktober2019 Update - Tiny maps

I'm still working on Inktober projects. I have started doing tiny maps. Sometimes, when you are working on a large product, taking a break and doing something against the grain is helpful or at least destressing.

This is a motte and bailey castle layout, as yet uninked.

It's a copy of one of my dad's castles, a type of shell keep. While it won't end up in one of my D&D campaigns, the finished item could be good for yours. I'll scan it when I'm done.

Enjoy. 

Update:

#Inktober2019, Artwork for Timeout.

Inktober is on. I have been binge watching TV while working on my main project for the month. I can't say I am getting a lot done, but I am learning.

My main project is a copy of New Mutant's #50, in stippling. One of the issues with this design is, I need a background which I pictured in black. In stippling. 8.5x11 mostly back composition in stippling.

Mmm. What did I do?

Anyway, my binge watching has been BSG. Being a space show, everything in the background is grey or black. I gave myself a timeout project which includes an all black background. I used BG 5 and 9 plus 120 black for these ships. I am not good with tones and color, so again, I am learning.

It's super rough, you don't even need to enlarge the image. Smaller is better.

#Inktober Update - Day 4

I didn't do an update yesterday, but I have continued to work on my project. Magik's hands and arms are causing me some trepidation, so I been forcing myself to work on them. I've also been working on the hair. For the horns and right hand, I think I need a glare or shadow effect. Not sure how that will work.

After the arms are complete, I will be working on the sword. I wasn't sure how this would go, so I did a quick straight to ink practice run. Not perfect, but a good practice run. 

#Inktober2019 - First Rule. DHYB - Updated

I'm watching people upload their videos for Inktober. I don't have the equipment but still want in on the game. I made a 20 second video demonstrating my personal technique.

The first rule is, Don't Hold Your Breath. I also tend to draw standing up and really don't care which way the image is orientated. Turn and turn.



Thank you Nathan for the camera work.

Edit - I think I'll combine all of my updates into one post to save time and energy. I really want to work on the sword, but the ring around Magik's legs is more important. However, there is one problematical part - the hands. I am not great a drawing hands and if I botch it, I'm starting over.

It seems ok. I find hands and feet to be the hardest part and in this image, that are is swinging across her front. A mistake here is unfixable. I  think I handled it well.

Before I start with the teleportation ring, let me give some background as to how I did this. I took a pyrex bowl lid and held it over the drawing and traced the outline. This gives the disc a 3 dimensional shape. Sort of cheating, but an interesting cheat.

Since the lid had depth and a rim, I could see the drawing distort through those edges. I actually wanted to do something different with the disc. The first thing that came to mind was water, but then I had a different idea.

What I want to do is combine some of the aspects of water, like refraction. But I also wanted to have a distortion of the disc to perhaps eat up some of the background. I thought that the light lines of an accresion disc would do nicely. I already have the refraction lines drawn, those are the horizontal marks in the disc. This would be her legs shifted left and right in alternating bands.

Next will come the halo. The image below is of a black hole's disc, and you can see the back edge extend "upwards". It's not actually "upwards" of anything. As the light passes around the edge of the black hole, the shortest path kisses the edge of that sphere, revealing more of the disc than could otherwise be seen. I didn't draw it like this, but I am hoping to copy some of the effect to lighten the background.

#Inktober2019 update - Layout complete

I'm not sure what's going in the background, but I have the foreground complete. I think I will have a shadowy face of Sym worked into the background someplace, bit I am not sure. I like the idea of teleport disc I found and copied from Deviant Art, however, I saw this a few years ago and for the life of me can't find him now that I want to credit the original. The center image with the armor is like the DA artist, but not exact.

I'll be back when my Google Fu kicks in and I get a name.

Edit - Of course after a while of searching giving up, I find the artist on the very first try. His name is olivernome. I really like his work.

#Inktober2019 Day One

I'm warming up today. Just a simple geometric pattern in ink. I won't finish it, it's not the sort of thing to finish. It is just play while my brain and hand warms up. Sometimes work is just play with a purpose. I kind of like the design.

Anyway, this is my first Inktober. I wish I could do a drawing everyday, but I won't. I want to do one or more projects to completion this month. I want to go back to the way I used to draw.

I picked my first subject, Magik from the New Mutants. I particularly love/hate the version of her on the cover of the 50th issue. The style is very nineties, jagged, slashy, primal. It seems to fit with the character. In this particular issue, is not sexed up, but actually reverted to a younger child. There is a sense of disquiet as she battles her way through her demons. I like the fact that they are "her demons".

Anyway, I want to do a copy of this cover but in my own style. It won't be anything like the drawings I have done recently. It will be part experiment and part return to where I started. I'll
be posting updates throughout the month as it proceeds.

If I get to another work, I post that here, too.

Here is to beginnings.