:: blog ::

Inktober 2019 : The Night Circus Edition

It’s October! My favorite month and the month of Inktober!

“Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month.”

http://inktober.com

Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 to improve his inking skills, and thanks to the wonders of social media, now thousands of folks participate.

One ink drawing a day…how hard could it be? 😉

Inktober publishes a list of daily prompts, but I went off book and used prompts based on the wondrous book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

When I read the book, I was drawn into the enchanted (and enchanting) world of the night circus. I kept a list of intriguing concepts and delightful phrases. So when Inktober rolled around, I was inspired to explore these ideas in visual form.

Here’s the final set.


And here’s each individual daily post.
(Click for a larger image; opens in the same window.)

What I learned this year is to keep going, even when it’s stressful or if an image isn’t done in just one one day. I found new creative reserves as I envisioned different ways to bring the prompt to life. I hated some of them, but ended up liking the set. The size, border and using only black & white gave the images unity. I noticed themes emerging and that fueled the inspiration even more.

This was a very fun and intense project, and when I look back at the images, I get to fall in love with the wonders of the night circus all over again.