October 2017 was the first time I accepted the challenge known as INKTOBER. I added a twist to make it interesting, I only wanted to draw something if I had drawn it before. In other words, I went through the drawings of my childhood and redrew them with new line art. It would be an understatement to say that I had a blast doing this for 31 days straight.
I have my mother to thank for keeping a lot of my old pencil and crayon drawings, from as early as six years old. These made great candidates for my Inktober redrawing challenge. I also dipped my hand in some of my art as a teenager, but I didn't use any art beyond high school because I wanted to keep the nostalgia of my youth. Once I entered collage I shifted from illustrating as a hobby to doing it as a professional, so I didn't think those pieces fit my vision for Inktober this year.
Day 1 - Lumiere
My wife suggested that this would be my first piece. Not only was this one of my oldest drawings but Beauty and the Beast was also her favorite Disney movie of all time. I don't have too many Disney fan art drawings under my belt, so it was interesting making this one again. It's certainly a style that required me to draw in a new way.
Day 2 - Cassandra
Even before my Inktober challenge, I always had a desire to go back and redraw some of my old art anyway. This piece featuring Cassandra from Soul Calibur 2 was always one my favorites, but it didn't really stand the test of time. I was ambitious as a teen, but still very much an amateur. I was happy to bring new life into this old drawing. I plan on coloring all of these new drawings, but for the sake of Inktober I only posted the line art.
Day 3 - Batman
This is one of the funniest comparisons because even though the figure in my original looks like a sausage, I still remember with clarity that I was drawing Batman diving from trapeze wire. For some reason I must have forgotten to draw his cape. Even though I drew Bruce Wayne in 1994, I thought his pose and lack of cape called for a different Batman, namely, Terry McGinnis from Batman Beyond.
Day 31 - Fierce Deity Link
I know I jumped from Day 3 to the very end, Day 31, but this was one of my favorites. Not only is the Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask of my favorite games in the series, but the epic Fierce Deity Link is a character that I think deserves so much more attention and explanation from the good 'ol folks at Nintendo. I would love to see more games explore the many adventures of the Hero of Time.
Worthy Mentions
I would be a bit much to share all 31 drawings in a single post. If you enjoy my art and want to see more of my Inktober drawings, I recommend that you pay a visit to my Facebook Album where you can view each one in detail. I have drawn a variety of characters you might recognize from Saturday morning cartoons, anime, and famous video games series.
If I am able, I will make this a #Inktober tradition. It was the high point on some of my days. It was fun going through my old art and great practice for pushing my creativity with the goal of improving technique, anatomy, and interesting posing. I will be steadily coloring each and every one of these new drawings and sharing them in the coming months, one at a time.
I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe you can join me for Inktober next year! It would mean so much to me if you shared your own experience as an artist with me. We artists should challenge and inspire each other, right? Leave a comment if you have any suggestions for future posts!