Hatch Job (#InkTober2017 First Trimester Review)

10/11/17 Maple Leaf neighborhood

I’m so fickle.

I just got through saying you wouldn’t see my toned book again until our autumn weather turned gray. Although we’ve had showers this week, we have also been getting sunshine – if you catch it quickly before it darts behind clouds again. I saw my chance this afternoon, so I was on my way out the door to look for an InkTober sketch. That’s when I had a “duh” moment: If all I’m doing is hatching with dark ink, why not used toned paper? I had been doing all my InkTober sketches in a yellow Field Notes, but I think I like toned paper better for this. And 11 days into it, I’m finally starting to get into the hatching groove.

Since today is the 11^th, we’re one-third of the way through InkTober, so it’s a good day for a trimester review. My goal was to work on my hatching skills, and I chose ballpoint ink because it’s a medium I’ve been fascinated with when I’ve seen the work of others, and I wanted to give it a solid try. A few days into it, though, I was already in trouble. The Uni Jetstream 4 & 1 four-color ballpoint that I’d been using has very fine points, and they looked so pale on the page. In addition, I’ve gotten so used to fountain pens and brush pens – both of which require very little pressure – that I’d forgotten how much pressure ballpoint requires. By the end of week one, I was so annoyed that I didn’t think I’d make it through InkTober if I stayed with ballpoint.

I didn’t quit, though – I just switched to fountain pen, and I kept my goal of working on hatching, which I can do with any medium. It feels much better to have a familiar fude back in my hand. I realized that using a new medium while also trying a new sketching technique was probably biting off too much for one InkTober.

Shown below are days 2 – 10. I’m putting all my InkTober sketches in this Flickr album. 

How’s your InkTober going?

10/2/17

10/3/17

10/4/17

10/5/17

10/6/17

10/7/17

10/8/17

10/9/17

10/10/17