Inktober is a thing where anyone interested attempts to make an ink drawing every day of October, or at least a once a week, or anything else in line with the main goal of making good habits. I’m more of the pixeling persuasion, so this year I did indeed produce an assortment of monochromatic pixels for all 31 days, using the Official set of prompts. Observe, should you desire.

1. Gargoyle

Decent start. I uh, later noticed that there’s not actually any patagium between the digits and arms, oops. With any luck there’s enough jargon there that you still won’t see the grossly negligent oversight regardless.

2. Scurry

Kinda lame. Wasn’t particularly inspired so just spat some lines down.

3. Bat

The ads in the background all say “SPONSOR™”

4. Scallop

This one might need some context … in certain (very limited) parts of the world, it’s common to call a sort of battered potato you might have in lieu of the fish in fish and chips a “scallop” or even “potato scallop” if you’re feeling particularly expository. Here we see a Mesozoic seagull-equivalent being the most seagull-equivalent it can, scabbing hot chips (and scallops).

5. Flame

I don’t know how recognisable this is… I think some get it but others don’t. It’s supposed to be a burning computer.

6. Bouquet

Rhamph returns! Had a severe lack of brain and had to export it at least three times because I kept missing bits (including, at all except the last attempt, the title).

7. Trip

I like this one. First there was a stop sign, but changed that to give way because it’s obviously funnier. Also, quite possibly the single best car I’ve ever drawn.

8. Match

I like this one too. Match itself is perhaps not so prominent but neither is it particularly relevant. Also, in typical fashion, I first drew a pretty much complete set of lines only to shade most of the boundary into the background. Of course I started with white canvas and draw black all over it.

9. Nest

Another eh. It’s a nest.

10. Crabby

This image is unusually sexy, or something. Consistently tripped discord’s awful explicit image filter.

Less obvious is the presence of a horseshoe crab on the rock above. Sort of a horseshoe crab versus actual crab kind of deal, I guess?

11. Eagle

Also eh. It’s a wedgie. Shading rather lacklustre.

12. Forget

The beginning of a tragic human arc. I get over it soon enough.

13. Kind

Spent ages on the background only to cover large chunks of it up. Just dragged those sector antennae up so they’d be visible.

This was also a problem with the bat, but by doing the whole background first I then have to fuss with masking it out so it doesn’t show through the foreground (which is black and transparent). Yuck.

I don’t think it’s obvious enough, but the insect thing is supposed to be helping the woman across the street. Except, DEATH OF THE AUTHOR so make up something of your own.

14. Empty

Perhaps another not-obvious; it’s a fuel truck that’s run out of fuel haha irony. These might be the first eucalypts.

15. Armadillo

Thinking what to draw, I lamented that a pangolin would be far better. And thus, inspiration to draw an armadillo and pangolin fighting. Well, I imagine this is how they’d fight.

16. Fowl

For those not in the know, forward passes in rugby league are verboten. Perhaps the witty wordplay suddenly reveals itself. Also HNDEG = handegg, and the sponsors are “SPORTSBALL” and “SPONSOR” again.

17. Salty

The ocean is surely salty enough, but there’s a minuscule salt shaker in there for good measure. Also it’s a nice Rhamphorhynchus IMHO.

18. Scrape

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

19. Ponytail

After the terrible human trilogy, a cunning ploy to not draw another. The uh, horse does have a ponytail; I don’t think it came out clearly enough.

20. Bluff

I thought ha ha what if I did a cliff, what a cunning twist on the term “bluff,” but no we’ll do not just one but three attempts at some sort of character, FML.

Also that’s the ACE OF FOURS (the best hand – unbeatable, I would imagine) with a single full house lower in the stack.

21. Bad dog

Needs to look like it’s lunging forward more. Ah well.

22. Heist

Started with a plan to do the most cliche rooftop museum robbery sort of thing but managed to have a more reasonable idea in the process. Also that lizard took a remarkable amount of effort to get curving right. And the thing on the left is supposed to be a rope.

23. Booger

WTF kind of horrible prompt is this ???

Some sorta slime monster I guess.

24. Fairy

Superb fairy-wren is not only a cute bird but also a cunning ploy to not draw a fairy.

25. Tempting

PRESS THE BUTTON

26. Ego

blergh, the only vague image I had in mind. Stupid abstract pseudoprompts.

I’m told Instagram was littered with cats seeing themselves as lions in mirrors, so I guess I inadvertently dodged a bullet there. Kinda funny that “ego” has come to mean “egotism.”

27. Snack

Big alien monster munching on Earth, if you can’t tell. For once I actually started with a black background and drew white over the top; imagine that !!

28. Camping

Felt like it took longer than it did. Repetitive nature details are like that. Also an unforgiveable lack of eucalypts.

29. Uh-oh

You fool !

Maybe this is the warehouse being heisted on day 22, who knows. I’ve not yet ironed out the details of the Inktober Cinematic Universe.

Some compensatory eucalypts off to the left.

30. Gear

Ugh, far too ambitious. No experience with anything like this but I did it anyway. Or, some crude attempt at only part of what I had in mind.

Actually it’s not as bad as I though when drawing it.

31. Farm

Short and sweet to top it off. Had considered a Rhamphorhynchus-run fish farm but no, this is simpler.