I just completed 31 days of Jake Parker’s Inktober Challenge by drawing 30+ different internet-famous dogs. Mostly Boston Terriers and Frenchies.
What is Inktober?
In short, the rules are as follows:
- Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).
- Post it (Instagram, Twitter, other social media)
- Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2018
- Repeat
I completed the challenge in 2017 by drawing more animals on bikes and was eager to do it again in 2018.
My Theme
Well, up until September 30, I wasn’t sure if I was going to follow the Inktober prompts that Jake provides or if I was going to stick with a theme of my own deciding. Later that night I was perusing famous internet dogs on Instagram and really enjoying the drawings I was doing of dogs using the iPad. So, internet dogs was going to be my theme.
Materials
- 40# Hammermill paper
- Pentel Brush Pen
- Niji waterbrushes with diluted black and sepia inks
- Black bottled Ink
- Sepia bottled Ink
What did I learn?
Drawing dogs in a style that is realistic or even a little cartoony can be a challenge. Capturing the essence or characteristic look of a dog can be just as subtle as trying to render the portrait of a person. The major difference here is that I wasn’t trying to appease any particular person other than myself which made this very fun and relaxing. I really enjoyed putting all the work on my wall as it progressed and having this final collage. It may have only been a single drawing a day, but having it on the wall really put it into perspective that daily drawings can really add up to a full body of work.
Reception
I made sure to mention which dog I had drawn by tagging the post with the owner’s instagram or twitter handle. Several of the owner’s even requested to purchase or asked me to draw their dogs. I didn’t plan on selling these portraits, so I let them pay what they wanted then I shipped their purchases after Inktober finished.
This lead me to add Custom Pet Portraits as an option in my online shop at Flying Snail Creations and on Etsy. So, contact me if you want a custom pet portrait drawn in ink.
Update 20181124: Due to this project being posted on Instagram, I was commissioned to draw the many faces of a frenchie named Beth.
Wrap Up
I loved doing another Inktober challenge, the pressure, the feedback, and the confidence build-up. This was well worth the dedication to producing something every single day and sharing it with the world without worry of financial gain nor loss. Definitely doing this again next year!
Go to my portfolio page to see all my Dogs of Inktober 2018.
Cheers!