This is, by far, one of my favorite pieces I made for Inktober 2019. I so rarely make full scenes that describe the atmosphere I'm looking for in this story, but this one turned out really cool. The characters in the foreground are a little weird in terms of proportions, but they aren't the focus so it doesn't bother me too much. I'm also not sure that this is even close to the final form of the fallen castle in the midground, but it's definitely neat. I also love the soft greens in this drawing. Believe it or not, that's all Crayola brand colored pencils. I found that they perform really well if you use them properly.
This was my best-received drawing for Inktober 2019. I guess everyone loves a cocky wizard boy! I had to fight the graininess of the image, which is primarily due to the scanners available at my school. They work reasonably well for black and white ink drawings, but anything with color is a crap shoot. I did use Photoshop to bring the colors up to the level they're at in real life and sharpen the image a little, but other than that it's unedited. I had a lot of fun trying to make an "underlit" effect using markers, which I'd never done before. The shadows are a little funky, and I'm still learning, but I think it's pretty successful. My art instructor at the time told me that a lot of my art reminded her of animated 80's movies, and I was so honored and pleased that she thought so. They're one of my main inspirations.
The graininess strikes back! No amount of re-scanning or editing could fix the weird texture in this picture, but again from an atmospheric standpoint it's so unique in my portfolio that I had to include it. I really like the streaky-mirror effect I created! I made lines using a white gel pen and immediately smeared it before it dried. The position of the figure gives me a sense of her fatigue, and the armor stand in the dark corner and the helmet on the dresser work together to build the story that she's tired of being this evil figure. At least, I hope they do. The helmet is also much less cringey than it is in the concept art! I figured out how to draw it!
This drawing was also different for me. I tried to experiment as much as I could during Inktober 2019 with drawing poses that were new and difficult for me, and I'm glad to report that I was generally successful! This drawing is supposed to be of a character reliving some of her old trauma, and I honestly don't know if that comes across because the story behind it is complicated enough that someone who doesn't know it might be confused. I'd be happy for critique on all of these pieces, but especially this one. Obviously, I want to improve at telling a whole story in a single image.
These were the best of my entries for Inktober 2019! They were also some of the first ones I made, because then my classes picked up and I couldn't put the same level of effort into my other ones due to time constraints. I chose these mostly for the storytelling they accomplish - half of concept art is figuring out how your story elements fit into the visuals of the world. Using Inktober as a platform, I discovered that I enjoy making scenery and buildings more than I thought, and I'm less scared to try my hand at them than I used to be. They're just more time-consuming for me to create than human figures, so I draw them less. But there will be some in other projects listed here!
If you want to check out the rest of my Inktobers, go visit my Instagram @westernrosesartwork!
