Project Description

INKTOBER 2023 Day #28: SPARKLE.

“This one caused me a significant amount of consternation and anxiety. I know, it’s ‘just’ a drawing, but I’m sure many artists can appreciate that feeling when a piece gets to a certain point and you really like what’s going on, but it’s not done yet and moving forward risks ‘ruining’ what you’ve already accomplished. I have always battled that problem, which is why I have come to love making art digitally. I can always save iterations or work on new layers and thus not ‘lose’ the stuff I did that I actually like. It’s liberating in the face of my neurotic tendencies. Now, while ink is much more final and permanent, it IS possible to make changes and corrections using white ink or paint. However, that doesn’t bring back a previous state in a given piece.
Anyway, yeah. I did a lot of stalling when it came to the last steps for this piece. Among other hang ups, I have an issue with committing to large fields of solid black, but my vision for this image required just that. One of my problems with it is that it’s too easy to lose bold and intricate contour lines, and I’m generally not a fan of leaving a white halo. I also wanted to try a white paint splatter technique that I’ve only used a few times before (to create star fields), and I wasn’t sure if I could make things look the way I wanted them to. The magic sparkles don’t ‘pop’ the way I hoped they would, so more practice and experimentation is required. I may also need to look into different types of paint or ink.”

Are you enjoying these monkey-filled pen and ink illustrations? Would you like to see even more of them, and be able to hold them in your very own hands? Then grab yourself a copy of my Inktober art book INKLINGS: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1733734716?ref_=ast_author_dp