#126 INKtober Day 31: Heroes' Last Stand

"...And so it was that he, along with the Archer and the Dwarf made a desperate last stand on that barren hilltop. The Lost Gold was safe, but any hopes of a return to the realm from which he came, and all hope of winning the hand of his lady had been dashed upon that desolate mountain. As the dragons circled around them, he resolved in his battered, weary state to die fighting, die nobly, and die with her name on his lips..."

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And so, the great INKtober journey comes to a somewhat bittersweet end. I will miss doing an ink drawing every day. But it has totally inspired me to move forward and work harder than ever to become a better draftsman and artist. The month of INKtober has pushed me to think in creative ways, and to never give up.

It has been an amazing month, thanks to everyone who has commented and been following this incredible journey. I hope you'll stick around to see what November holds...
Until then, my friends!

#125 INKtober Day 30: Perilous Stair

“...after destroying the wild beasts that accosted him in the plains, he gained with no small difficulty access to the Perilous Stair. He began to climb, his heart trembling half with terror, and half with joy, knowing that any moment his life could be snuffed out, and that the Prize of his Quest was near at hand. But little he knew of the foul Evil that resided in that dark Tower...”

#124 INKtober Day 29: Master of the Forest Way

"Well he knew that blade and its cruel master, but this would be their last meeting. 'Twas a slim chance that he would make it through that grim forest, but there was no turning back, indeed there was no other way to find the lost gold, and win the fair hand of the lady Gwyneth.."

#123 INKtober Day 28: Speed Demon

Nothin' like cruising the back roads in a hovercraft on a crisp, fall day..

#122 INKtober Day 27: Overnight Shipping Co.

Special Delivery.

#121 INKtober Day 26: Unicorn Battle

UNICORN BATTLE!

This is based on a suggestion by @jackierudolph84 (on twitter). I couldn't wait to do this one, because I loved the idea of 2 mythological creatures fighting to the finish in a battle of good vs. evil. Intentionally, I left it up for you to decide which one is good and which one is evil. I have my own opinion, but I won't bias you either way. I'd like to hear what you think in the comments.

Only 5 days left of INKtober! I hope to make them count. More tomorrow!

#120 Unicorn Sketches

Drawings from photo reference (with horns added of course). And pardon the trashy scan quality.

#119 INKtober Day 25: Fido

Yes, my dog bites.

#118 Gandalf Virtual Birthday Cake

Get your own! | More Flash Toys from TheoWorlds.com

Muddy Colors, a fine art blog with multiple contributors of great artistic caliber, has turned one year old today. They are hosting a giveaway in which you decorate a virtual cake, and then possibly win a cool prize. I decided to do Gandalf. Hope you like it, and I'm sorry, but no, you cannot lick the beaters.

#117 INKtober Day 24: Voyager

"Reluctantly the dark corridors of space gave up the trinket it concealed, depositing it on a lonely forsaken planet - the glistening, majestic Voyager whose singular goal was the transference of humanity between worlds known to worlds unknown. There it stood - a monument to the grandeur of space, soaring into the cold black sky of the alien wilderness."

An eloquently written excerpt from a book that was never written, but seemed fitting for this particular INKtober.

#116 Further Up And Further In

Reepicheep Pencil & Photoshop 8 x 5"

I received a fine set of Justin Gerard's Watercolor Blossom Photoshop brushes today, and I put them to good use. Of course, there is learning curve to them (I handle them in no way as well as he does), but there are some amazing textures in there, and I look forward to exploring them more fully in the future.
You can get your own set here.

#115 INKtober Day 23: A Very Respectable Hobbit

A Very Respectable Hobbit.

#114 INKtober Day 22: Smuggler

I imagine this is one of Han Solo's colleagues.

#113 INKtober Day 21: Clocks

Okay, I'll start off by saying I don't like this drawing.
Then I will finish by saying that it is a very early conceptual-type drawing for a hero for a comic series I'm fiddling with in my mind. I might call it Clocks and yes, that is somewhat indirectly inspired by the Coldplay song of the same name. You can never tell, it might end up in the shops some day.

#112 INKtober Day 20: Frankenstien's Monster

This thing came to me fast. I mean, I just started drawing, and it appeared in the page. So that's what you get for INKtober today. The End.

#111 INKtober Day 19: B-Wing Attack

Today's INKtober honors the unsung virtues of the B-Wing Fighter.
Admittedly, the B-Wing is an unusual-looking craft, but its speed and firepower make it a valuable asset to the Rebel alliance.
And in case you haven't noticed - I have really been enjoying using black in my INKtober sketches. It adds a lot of depth and contrast to the sketches. The application is a bit rough in places, but I like that markery look. It's cool.
Until tomorrow troopers!

#110 INKtober Day 18: Moonlight

Moonlight buddies!

My mom suggested "mushrooms & owls" so I drew them. Sort of a nice departure from the stuff I usually do. It was fun, even though it sort of looks like Super Mario Bros. meets Winnie the Pooh. And why the Mr. Owl is talking to the bugs and the mushroom and not eating them is beyond me...

Anyway. Hope you like! More tomorrow.

#109 INKtober Day 17: Tunnel Bot

Upon blasting through miles of thick rock, the Tunnel Bot finally discovers its objective: the Lost Jewel! Why does he want to find the Lost Jewel? Why Not? He's a Tunnel Bot. He like finding stuff underground. 'Nuff said. Any arguments will answered with the buzz saw. The end.

And today I cheated. I used a grey Prismacolor marker. I just couldn't bear that black to white transition. Hey, it's ink isn't it?

And today's drawing is inspired by none other than ZBots! I had a few when I was a kid. The saw arm is pretty much a copy of the purple one in the picture. Cheers!

#108 INKtober Day 16: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.6

The conclusion of our 6-part epic saga. Poor Vader.
Okay, now I'm finally done drawing Darth Vader for a whole week straight! On to cooler things tomorrow, I promise!! Thanks for your INKtober support guys & gals!

#107 INKtober Day 15: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.5

In which Lord Vader receives a present!

For all you Star Wars fanatics like me, here's a wonderfully descriptive article on the Star Destroyer which I used as reference for today's INKtober. Enjoy!

#106 INKtober Day 14: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 4

In which, Darth Vader learns the importance of this momentous occasion..

#105 INKtober Day 13: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt.3

The Saga Continues!

Note of Interest: Imperial officers rarely wear mustaches. This is merely creative license on my part. Also, for the uninitiated, Vader and the Emperor are communicating via hologram. This explains why the Emperor is exponentially larger than Vader in this particular scene, and also explains the fact that he is transparent. Thank you.

#104 INKtober Day 12: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 2

In which the Dark Lord groggily begins his morning...

#103 INKtober Day 11: Darth Vader's Birthday, Pt. 1

Inspired by yesterday's post, I am beginning this short webcomic, entitled Darth Vader's Birthday. Don't worry, it'll be over in a week. Hope you like Vader, cause this blog's gonna be chock full of it by the time this is finished!

Be sure to click on the image to get the full size version for INKtober in all its glory!

*Note to LucasFilm, LTD.: I am in no way selling these images, so please don't sue me. Thanks, and tell George hey for me.

#102 INKtober Day 10: Lord Vader Says

Here's the winning request from blog reader One of a Few: "Darth Vader posing with a big cup of french roast Starbucks." His request was chosen randomly out of ... one vote, his own (please note my sarcasm here).
Congratulations sir!

So thanks to everybody who participated... (crickets in the audience). We'll definitely have to do this again some time!

And happy 100th Post Anniversary to Drawing the Sword!
More INKtober tomorrow!

#101 INKtober Day 9: Plant Food

Plant Food.

Tomorrow I'll announce a winner for the 100th post giveaway!

#100 INKtober Day 8: Royal Guard

Today, a portrait of an Aidelonian Royal Guard. Pardon the crude columns in the background.
You may remember this dude from a post back in February, which you can read here. It'll give you more of the background on the character, and an alternate view with droid-demolishing action.

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And this is my 100th post on Blogger! Hooray! The blog has been a lot of fun, and as you saw yesterday, I'm doing a little giveaway. Comments will be open on that post until tomorrow. Then I'll select the winner (which probably won't be hard due to the lack of comments, ha ha). Then on Monday I'll do the winning drawing. Also, stay tuned for some changes I'm planning for Drawing the Sword in the coming months. Thanks for reading!

#099 INKtober Day 7: Pizza Monster

Better late than never! Had a lot to do today, so today's INKtober drawing was delayed a little. The Pizza Monster portrayed here is much like the ones that I drew when I was 9 or 10 - updated slightly with some added details & such. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Pizza Monsters never slice their pizza.

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On a side note: My blog is about to reach post #100! Tomorrow I'd like to do a giveaway of sorts (cause that's what people do I guess). So, if you'll leave a comment and tell me what you'd like to see me draw for INKtober, and I will pick a random comment and draw your request! WOO HOO! Celebrate! So, tell your friends. And you shall have a real drawing by me to call your own. There. Don't be shy! Comment! Thanks!

#098 Mr. Tumnis & Lucy (by Bethany)

For those of you who don't realize that my little 5 yr. old sister Bethany is a great illustrator, and a Photoshop painting wiz, here is proof that indeed she is!
Mr. Tumnis & Lucy from LWW walking by the lamp post! Drawn by her and painted in Photoshop all by herself. Good job Bethany! Some day I will have a collaborator, I just know it:)

#097 INKtober Day 6: Edgar & Otto

INTRODUCING: Edgar & Otto, your favorite 19th Century Gentlemen Scientists!

These two guys have been floating around in my head for the past couple of years, and have manifested themselves different ways, but now are making their grand internet debut for INKtober! I hope that they'll show up more in the near future... until then, "For Science!"

#096 INKtober Day 5: War of the Worlds

Recently listened to an audiobook of H.G. Wells creepy (and somewhat overrated) classic War of the Worlds so I figured this would be a great subject for INKtober.
And, no, the guy in the top hat is not doing disco moves.

#095 Boba Fett (in Blazing Technicolor)

Spent a couple of hours today coloring my INKtober sketch from Saturday. I used a more comic book approach for this one. I think it turned out pretty good!

#094 INKtober Day 4: Whale Convoy

Whale convoy in the sky!
Used a dark grey brush marker for some of the lines, which was a bit of a mistake when it came to the final product - looked a bit washed out.
Big thanks to good ol' Tony Cliff for his great tutorial on cleaning up scanned artwork. Made a huge difference this time around!
Also, as I mentioned on Twitter last night, if anyone has a request that you would like me to try (note the italicized try) to draw for you, I'd be happy to. Just shoot me a comment, email, tweet, whatever.
'Til next time, troopers!*

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*Not really sure what that means. But take it to mean that you're part of the club.

#093 INKtober Day 3: Space Creep

THIS IS A 100% GENUINE, AUTHENTIC SPACE CREEP.

Really fast one today. I was feeling kind of lazy. But Day 3 is on! I promise I will post Day 4 earlier in the day!
Nite.

#092 INKtober Day 2: Dwarf

Quite frankly, this guy freaks me out!
It's INKtober day 2! Hooray, I actually have enough self-discipline to pull one off again for the second time in a row! Let's see how well that keeps up...
I think this one made me realize how pitifully lacking I am in anatomy skills. But! This is for practice! For Improvements! For FUN. And it is. Thanks for checking it out, and a huge thanks to Jake for featuring my blog over at Agent44! I am honored and flattered.
'Til tomorrow Friends!

#091 INKtober Day 1: Boba Fett

It's October! Or INKtober, I should say!

I've decided (in a somewhat last-minute fashion) to take the INKtober Challenge as given by Jake Parker here. The object is this:

Every day in the Month of October, draw a pen & ink sketch!

It's that easy! And it's a great way to stretch your creativity.
So what better way to start than with the baddest dude in the universe, Boba Fett himself. I did this portrait with Zig Micron pens (I hope that counts as pen & ink!) in my Moleskine sketchbook. I think I should have probably left out Cloud City in the background, but I kinda liked the background element in there. Overall, it took me about 30 minutes.
So thanks Jake for the challenge, and I look forward to seeing all you other INKers come up with!