Inktober 2015 Archives

Spooky Cartoony Fun: My Inktober Vampire

Cartoony Vampire Ink Drawing by Ralph Contreras

Inktober Fang-tastic: My Cartoony Vampire Drawing

In 2015, I participated in Inktober and decided to draw a cartoony vampire for one of the prompts. I wanted to challenge myself to draw in a style that I don’t usually use, which is inspired by anime and manga with big eyes.

To create the ink illustration, I used a combination of Pentel Brush, Micron pens, and Sharpie pen. I tried to give the vampire some movement by drawing his flowing cape. To make him stand out, I added a black background. One of the rules of Inktober is to draw only with ink and no pencil sketching. I enjoyed the process of creating something spontaneously.

Overall, it was a fun time drawing this spooky cartoony vampire for Inktober. It allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone and experiment with new techniques.

Fury on Paper: Mad Max Drawing in Micron Pens

Sharp Lines and Cross-Hatching: Inking of Mad Max for Inktober

In October 2015, I participated in Inktober and did an ink drawing inspired by the Mad Max: Fury Road movie. The drawing is of Max wearing a metal muzzle when he was strapped to the front of the villain Nux’s roadster. I used Micron pens and a Sharpie pen for the ink illustration.

For this drawing, I experimented with a lot of cross-hatching, more than I usually do. I wanted to try a new approach to inking and challenge myself to use only ink pens without a pencil sketch underneath. While the result is a little wonky and stiff, I’m really happy with how it turned out.

What new techniques have you experimented with, and what were the results? Share your experiences in the comments below!

Exploring the Dark Side: Inktober Quick Sketch of Rae Sloane

Rae Sloane Ink Drawing by Ralph Contreras

From Page to Pen: Bringing Rae Sloane to Life for Inktober

For this Inktober illustration from October 2015, I did a quick sketch of Rae Sloane from Star Wars using a pen brush. At the time, I had been reading Star Wars: Aftermath where she was an admiral. Little did I know that she would become a big deal in the First Order too.

Normally, I would have penciled the drawing before inking, but for Inktober, I decided to follow the original rules by Jake Parker and go straight to inking. The result was a little stiff, but I’m still happy with it.

To give the drawing more depth, I added a black background around her head and shoulders. Overall, I enjoyed creating this ink drawing and exploring the character of Rae Sloane.

Inktober 2015 Day Three

BB8-Star-Wars-Force-Awakens — BB-8 drawing by Ralph Contreras

Inktober Day Three

A quick BB-8 from the new Star Wars The Force Awakens film. This was done with a pen brush. I think this little droid is going to totally steal the show.

Inktober 2015 Day Two

Automata-Film-Robot — Robot ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Inktober Day Two

Recently watched Automata‬ on Netflix. Here’s one of the robots. Had fun adding so many crosshatching.

Inktober 2015 Day One

The-Martian-Film — Martain ink drawing by Ralph Contreras

Inktober Day One

This ink sketch is inspired by the new film The Martian. Going to see it tonight! Inktober 2015

Inktober 2015 is Here!

It’s October again, and that means to a lot of artists around the world it’s Inktober!

Wait what’s Inktober you might ask? It’s an annual drawing challenge set forth by artist Jake Parker. The challenge is to do one ink drawing a day for the entire month of October.

Parker created InkTober in 2009. He has invited everyone to join him in the monthly exercise. But like any challenge, there are a few rules.

Rule One: Make a drawing in ink
Rule Two: Post it on your blog or your Social Media
Rule Three: Hashtag it with #inktober
Rule Four: Repeat

Here is a photo of my tools for 2015. A cool Moleskine sketchpad, Pentel Color Brush, Micron pens, and a sharpie pen. Last year I started the challenge, but only got as far as 3 drawings. This year I plan on finishing all 31 days. I’ll be posting my inks here and on my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. It’s going to be a fun month!

For more info about Jake Parker and Inktober check out his website here: http://mrjakeparker.com