Inktober 2024, Day 29, 30, 31: Navigator, Violin, Landmark

Better late than never! A couple of things came up that caused some delays. A storm and a power outage are among those. Regardless. No pressure, right?! I am showing up with 31 out of 31 anyway!

What a crazy month and a day! I did not hold back. I pumped myself full of coffee, armed myself with as much patience and focus as possible to muster, and set out on this challenging, artistic journey called Inktober!

I am so happy I chose to do it despite the difficulties. I was rusty, doubted myself, and questioned my abilities here and there. I felt the pressure of time constraints. I scraped some ideas and pivoted to different ones. I struggled to come up with what to draw for each prompt. I also felt discouraged at one point, and there were tears involved.

But at the same time, I learned a few things. I found stuff I wish to improve in going forward. I hope to revisit the fundamentals of drawing for one and be more methodical about it. I used more highlights in my works and thought more about where the light is and how to shape things to make them look more dimensional. The success rate with these varied, but even so, I consider it a win. Consistency has always been an issue for me. Inktober shows that if I wish, I can be consistent. It requires me to set my mind to it, and I can do it. We all have good days and bad days for creative endeavors. And as long as I keep that in mind, I feel there is growth and progress.

However, this is probably the last time I will do the entire Inktober. I might pick and choose some prompts from the whole list and dedicate more time to them instead. The reason for not doing the whole thing again is the other responsibilities and life happenings that require me to break my focus and leave me in a pickle if I do something this time-consuming, not to mention energy-consuming!

Yeah! That is that! ^^ Regardless, I am proud of them! The artworks I created, I mean. They make me happy when I look at them.

Here are the last three of the 31!

Day 29: Navigator

_{Navigator - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

On day 29, we find ourselves on a pirate ship. No ship should ever leave the harbor without a navigator! Unless you are ready to get lost at the sea, of course! You will need some things to plot your journey and stay on the course! Here, we have a navigation table in the view with some trinkets to help with that. Arrgh!

_{Proof of work here. I cannot say I will ever be friends with the Washi tape, but I mastered removing it without causing damage. One of the aspects of a successful removal is patience. Just wait until everything is dry before even considering taking it off. Also, lightly tapping it on helps a ton.}

_{While Liquitex inks contain some chemicals that can cause skin irritation (and my skin is extra sensitive), I have fallen in love with them. After my Diamine calligraphy & drawing inks, they come in a close second (favorite), and I will acquire more of those in the future. The Burnt Umber was the star of the show in this piece!}

Day 30: Violin Kokle

_{Violin Kokle - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

I was rebellious on day 30. As you can tell, that is not a violin! I have gone off the script! Oh no?! Hey, I still drew a musical instrument! It is a Kokle, a Latvian string instrument dating back to the 13th century, and to date, Latvian folk music is unimaginable without kokles. The sound Kokles makes is divine and resonates with me deeply! I am adding a song played with Kokle as the song of the day if you are curious to hear how it sounds.

_{Yes! I have still not learned not to add the background last. My logic about it is somewhere along the lines of - well, I need to get in the most important details first. It is another thing I hope to improve going forward - more elaborate backgrounds that are less of an afterthought. In this case, the background turned out almost like an aura or something resonating from her playing! Happy little accidents!}

_{She does not have a face by design!}

Day 31: Landmark

_{Landmark - Ink drawing, 21 x 16cm, Inktober 2024}

Finally, day 31! The prompt was - landmark. Even though I felt like an old horse heading for the barn to munch on hay (they usually speed up when they know they are heading back to rest), I would not put in any less effort in the last piece. I hope one could say that any castle could be a landmark. That, or I wish to play the Tiny Glade I downloaded before I started Inktober that never got to play because of how busy it got this month!

_{I used the Pigma Micron 05 fine liner in this landmark for line work, unlike in all the other 30 works I created for Inktober this year. I felt the fine details would get lost with the strokes of Brush pen in this one. It was a good decision! I debated it in my mind since it would stand out. But it does not necessarily mean it is a bad thing! I might differentiate more often in the future!}

What else is there to say? I experimented with different techniques a lot. It was fun for me, and I am happy with all the creative angles and twists I added in them! I smile ear to ear when I go over them all.

I hope you enjoyed my Inktober creations as much as I did!

But on that note, I might go potato mode for a few days (not too many) before I do something else. I will sleep without the alarm! Hell yeah!

Thank you all for your support through all this!

Much love!

-M

_{Song of the day: Ansis Jansons - Kokļu Mežs}