Author: Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

You never really know how a drawing will turn out

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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As you put your pen to the page to make that first mark, you never really know how things will turn out. At least I don’t know. Sure I have a vision in my head, but that doesn’t mean it will turn out that way.

Personally, I don’t really plan much, I get an idea and just dive in and see what happens. If I’m drawing in ink – which I’m doing a lot this month for InkTober – I rarely do a pencil sketch first. Unless the drawing involves a face or body, then I will do some planning in pencil to get things looking “right.”

I was really pressed for time with this “little guy in the leaves.” The inspiration photo was one of my youngest son probably 8 or 9 years ago. I used pencil first to plan things a little – because you can’t erase ink. I was pleasantly surprised with the results in such a short time.

This drawing experience was the opposite of yesterday’s! I was drawing in the car during my older son’s practice. I first focused in on a nearby car. Within a minute or two of drawing the car, it drove off! Without the car there I had a hard time finishing that part. I drew the car in front of me, but my pen started running out, probably because I was drawing upright on the steering wheel. I ended up focusing on drawing the chain link fence. Like I said, you never know what the result will be when you start drawing!

See all my InkTober blog posts:

NY Comic Con and meeting the creator of InkTober

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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My young son was thrilled to win tickets to Comic Con. So on Sunday we took the train into the city to check it out. The fun started on the train where we spotted people in costume. When we arrived, crowds of people were pouring into the Javits Center, many in costume. We walked the convention floor trying to take it all in. We attended a “panel” of the creators of Gravity Falls, of which my son is a huge fan. It was great! Very inspiring for a young creative.

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Back on the floor of the convention, my son found a book he liked. As we purchased it the woman happened to mention that the Author/Illustrator was in the “Artist’s Alley,” if we wanted to get it signed.

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“Artists Alley” was probably a half of a city block away (inside the Javits Center). It was a mini convention of artists. We walked around trying to find the author. (Above some spidermen in Artist’s Alley.)

We walked past Jake Parker’s table. Hmmm that name sounded familiar. He’s the creator of InkTober!! I went over and said hello. My son said I acted like a fan. Ha ha. Such a coincidence to run into someone who is inspiring my creativity this month.

Check out Jake Parker’s work! My son is a big fan of his graphic novels.

 

InkTober inspiration

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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9 days into InkTober and I’m going strong. Some of my sketches I’ve been proud of, some not so much. Some days it takes a while to figure out what to draw. The reference photo above is from Mollie Makes, a creative magazine I love. I find the magazine inspiring even though I don’t sew or crochet or make any of the crafts in it. I think I just like reading about the creative entrepreneurs.

Yesterday I drew our front door. It’s funny the things you end up drawing when you’re doing a drawing a day. If you want to see all my InkTober drawings follow me on Instagram @eileenmckenna. 😀

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Paint Regularly

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’ve been missing watercolor lately. I’ve been busy doing other creative things: working in ink for InkTober, and playing around on the iPad with a stylus pen in Adobe Sketch and Adobe Draw.

When I finally sat down with my paints the other day it wasn’t easy. But I’ve learned not to give up, and as I worked I started having some success and was inspired to pull out two unfinished paintings. I went from struggling to learning to painting with confidence.

It had been 2 weeks since I last painted – way too much time! It reminded me of getting back into running after my third child was born. I was running once a week (and doing yoga and other things the other days). I realized that running once a week wasn’t enough. Every time I ran, I felt like I was starting over. It’s similar with painting, drawing, or any craft. The more you do it, the more your skills and confidence build. When too much time passes you start to lose those same things you worked so hard to build up.

So here’s to a more regular painting schedule. 🙂

What a difference a challenge makes

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

img_0405Today I grabbed my sketchbook when my son and I left to visit my mom. I never would have thought to bring it, if I wasn’t trying to draw everyday for InkTober.

By the time we arrived at the beach the sky had cleared and it was beautiful out. We walked barefoot in the sand, put our feet in, collected shells, watched the surfers. What a beautiful, peaceful day.

I took several photos to draw from later and did a sketch before we left. 😀

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Inktober

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I’m participating in InkTober this year. Jake Parker created InkTober in 2009 “as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.” Learn more and see the official InkTober prompts here. It starts Saturday, October 1st!

There is something about fall and Halloween that really inspires me – as you can see from last year’s sketchbook above. For me, InkTober is just some extra motivation. I’m back in a creating groove, which makes me really happy. Anyone else participating? 🙂

Creating a scene

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Now I don’t mean going to a party and ending up with a lampshade on your head! What I mean by “creating a scene” is I’m aspiring to create illustrations that have depth to them. In the past my illustrations and paintings have focused on a single object.

I created the scarecrow on my iPad using Adobe Sketch for the first time. (I’ve been practicing with Adobe Draw). Although I didn’t end up using the more Photoshop-like brushes. I’m still trying to get the apps linked to my desktop. It would be awesome to draw on the iPad and then be able to open the drawing in Illustrator or Photoshop to refine. And I think I had a breakthrough. 😀