I noticed some artist and animator friends were posting drawings with the hashtag #inktober. This is the sort of thing I never do. But it had been years since I’d respectfully drawn with ink on paper, and I kind of missed it. So I ordered myself some different brush pens, and the day they arrived I sat down and drew these:
No warm-ups, no practice, just bam, out they came.
It’s been more than a decade since I’ve drawn in this style, with ink on paper. I’ve avoided it due to burn-out from drawing daily comic strips. Advice to you kids: turning something you enjoy into a daily job is a great way to make you hate it. I quit my last daily comic, The Hots, in 2003 (before that I did another mainstream daily, Fluff, and before that was my self-syndicated weekly Nina’s Adventures, the entire archive of which you may download here.) I guess 12 years is enough time to recover from style burn-out, at least a little.
“Inktober” has a list of “daily prompts” and I decided to just follow them:
Honestly I’m enjoying this so much right now I’d kind of like to take on an illu$tration gig while I’m still fresh. Too much of that and I might burn out again, but right now it would be fun.
Love ’em!
I love how you draw with pen and ink and it makes me happy to know that you are enjoying it again! Your ink linework is incredibly distinctive and juicy. Joyful. Besides enjoying your comic strip, I remember getting books with my son in the childrens section and being thrilled to find a book of riddles you illustrated. I can’t seem to find it online, (or “Life on Prozac”, for that matter).
I love the “Little†one! hahahaha
“brush pens!” who knew?? i sure didn’t . . . and thanks for posting this. your work is so great!!
I had no idea that you were the artist for “The Hotts”! I really enjoyed that comic, back in the day, and then didn’t make the connection when I found “Sita Sings the Blues.”