Inktober Day 3 // Windigo

Good evening, ghouls and ghosts. Gather 'round for Inktober Day 3!

Today's theme, according to the Drawlloween list, was cryptids. For those unaware, cryptids are defined as "an animal whose existence or survival to the present day is disputed or unsubstantiated". Think Bigfoot, Chupacabras, the Jersey Devil, the Lochness monster, etc.

Twas a theme I was particularly excited for but one that took me a surprisingly long time to do. In fact, I redid it last minute.

Here was my first go at it:

Not horrible but the landscape just really wasn't working for me. It felt...fake. Now, I know all drawings are "fake". I'm not conjuring up any real scenery. But the environment just didn't feel convincing. It felt too flat. So last minute, I found a good reference photo (something I was lacking the first round) and gave it one more shot.

This was the drawing I ended up slapping all over social media. I'm much happier with how it came out. And funny enough, it took me a fraction of the time to complete than the first one. Amazing how much easier a good reference photo makes life.

Now, I'm off to go see what Inktober drawings everyone on Steemit has come up with for today!

For those of you who want to participate, here are the prompt lists I am loosely working off of: