Inktober 2022
Okay so full disclosure there was little to no ink involved
Okay so full disclosure there was little to no ink involved
2022 was my very first Inktober experience! Thanks a head start going all the way back to August, when the prompts were released...this was the year to throw my hat into the ring.
At first, I have to admit that I didn't find myself all too inspired by the prompts, and I missed a few of the early days (or had to drastically walk back my idea). But as time went on, and making/refining these pieces became a part of my daily routine, it felt great to not only begin making better looking, more nuanced work, but moving beyond Photoshop and into After Effects.
On Instagram, many of these pieces are also accompanied by poems that I wrote to further explore the prompt.
I love my haikus;
I haven't got a problem
but they are a theme.
Each year 'round this time,
She comes in a yellow cloak
and leaves clad in green.
The great autumn heist--
watch closely or you'll miss her
for the foliage.
This is probably my favorite piece that came out of the whole month. Turning the season into a feat of sleight of hand felt like it might be a bit too high-concept for me to pull off. Eventually though, I pinned down the storybook/cover illustration aesthetic I was looking for.
I knew when I'd made the original static image that it was begging for some kinetic energy and depth. All the layers seemed to divide up neatly enough in my head: character, leaves, floor, and backdrop.
Even though making the clean plate and cutting out/animating all the leaves took some time, I think it was well worth the effort. It adds a sense of dimension slows the moment down...to the point where it's even tough to notice all the color elements that have shifted by the end.
"Bluff"
A scoundrel with an AE puppet pin grin...
And when they finally did invite the cartomancer to poker night, he kept insisting that Jokers were wild. Who plays like that?!
"Camping"
Technically the camping is only relevant to Jason, but how do you not then also turn the other 80s slasher villains into cutesy stickers?
"Fairy"
I couldn't leave well enough alone and keep this static, so it became a good exercise in using nulls and expressions to rig the wing rotations in pairs instead of individually. My math teacher would be so proud!
"Scallop"
When I finally swallowed my pride and googled what a scallop looked like, my mind immediately went to Ariel's seashell top from "The Little Mermaid." The next perfectly logical step in my thinking was how this use in fashion would probably make them endangered. Enter Sarah McLachlan.
"Snack"
He's just the sweetest!
I opened to my bag to find
my favorite 'lil snack--
mixed grapes and eyeballs!
I love to guess which I'll get.
He knows me so well!
"Nest"
Hank, the old scarecrow,
is an expert at his trade;
Not a crow in sight,
but all the others
are growing quite fond of him.
As long as there's corn!