2026 artober roundup
Another year, another 31 drawings woven into the demands of existing in the world. I didn’t really have much of a gimmick this year, but it would be the first time I’ve done all 31 in full-colour digital. 2024 was also digital colour, but I had decided up-front not to commit to completing every single day. This year, after the first drawing, I though I would try for a ‘concept art’ speedpaint style, the thing where there aren’t really outlines of any description but all the shapes still come together as the perception of an object. I don’t think I really managed to actually do that, though. Still, a good effort in terms of time – I wasn’t watching clocks but things were typically up to or around 30 minutes logged in Krita.
Apple
Relic
Perhaps the most ‘concepty’ of all and where the style really has its benefits. I didn’t really know how to go about this but starting with the vague blocks really does help.
Miniature
I unfortunately did not manage to capture the innate cuteness of jumping spiders. Alas.
Cactus
Smack
Drawing a person! How tragic.
Ogre
A robot without a person, is more like it.
Panic
Stinky
Ram
I tried experimenting with some less conventional angles for the next few. This one works well, I think.
Mystical
A special Saturday effort drawing, which looked better at the time than it does now ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Rescue
Toss
Flimsy
Lady
Trying to bait me into drawing people? I won’t submit that easily!
Hooray
A friend completely indepently also drew someone breaking the ribbon over a finish line, which was rather funny.
Gangly
Contraption
Flightless
Since I’d already done a non-avian theropod for “Hooray”, something else was needed here…
Confused
Inspired by some photos I took of a pair of two very clever rainbow lorikeets doing basically just this.
Lounge
Definitely not inspired by my sister’s dog who never does anything of the sort.
Hero
Beacon
A fun one! I basically know exactly what I wanted to do and it was short and sweet.
Dapper
Bake
Might have overdone the bright washed-out colours here… it’s probably possible to communicate an oppressive heat with a bit more contrast.
Fracture
Can’t say I wasn’t thinking of the ‘Fracture’ map of Titanfall… which I have never played.
Zip
Ptoday’s pterosaur is (inptended to be) nopted cuptie Sordes.
Dumb
Trophy
I already drew a trophy last year! How maddening. I guess it’s handtober now.
Tusk
Cookie.
Hehehe. Geddit? Cookies? Internet servers? Ha.
Flex
📸 I’m pretty sure that’s not meant to be like that.
But of course the real flex is completing another artober for the year! 💪💪
And now, as is time-honoured tradition, I must do the limit of zero drawing for the next eleven months. Oh well!