This week started chill because I finished Inktober the previous Sunday. Without pressure to produce, I practiced Copperplate script. But on Wednesday, I found out about #Callivember. Practice on pause, back on challenge!
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camera
frozen wisps
amber waves
The lower 5WP with the ruling pen (used as a drafting tool!) was so different from previous pieces that I uploaded it to IG. But I’m also fond of the upper drawing’s nod to the lens aperture. It’s rare when one concept falls into place, much less two!
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five words for the road
The “driving scene on Peppa Pig” concept landed quickly, but it took a few attempts to get right. Like architecture, each decision leads to more choices. The small details and the big concept are all interconnected. And then execution. Everything can be refined. More! More! More! Then you run out of time.
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jumbo jet
crossing Orion’s belt
After omitting 75% of “road”, I took the next step and dropped the theme word altogether. I posted the jumbo-er “JET” on IG, but the lower version feels better composed. Maybe I need to try an extreme crop on the top version.
Before, I might soothe myself by planning to return to the these files. But time is much more expensive after kids, and I’d rather take a shot at a new composition. Oh well.
In architecture you also learn to live with the mantra “on to the next one”.
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lost
in
circles
missing
navigator
I planned on a series of random overlapping circles, but concentric rings were just too friggin’ awesome. Take the win and run.
This piece also crystalized a nascent realization that readability is only one criteria among many for calligraphy.
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a duet between
two violins
I really liked the font on the top drawing, but the lower one felt properly confrontational, thus getting the IG nod. The wording on this poem changed quite a bit as I worked on the composition for the visual pun. So I’m annoyed that I chickened out at the last letter and didn’t re-word it all the way to “duel”.
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landmark
thirty-one
days of glyphs
Apologies for indulging in three versions of the the same image. The top two backgrounds were drawn by the boy last week while messing around on my desk. The bottom one was from Easter 2023, maybe the 2022.
And yes, this was inspired by Baskin Robbin’s old logo, even though I’ve never been there. They should have stuck to this classic 1991 BR logo. I understand why they updated away the original overtly western vibe, but the latest versions muddy the identity without injecting any new energy to the brand.
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glove stuffed with seven fingers
Before finding out about Callivember, I started to work on the backlog of old prompts from “Inktober52”, a weekly challenge to encourage folks to keep drawing outside of October. This one timed nicely as a slightly horrific 5 word flash fiction for Halloween.
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This closing section should have been reflections from completing #Inktober. Instead, I spent the weekend getting ahead on #Callivember to minimize the pressure during the workweek.
But the first month’s experience has been helpful. I’m tired, but now that I have a good rhythm, so I’m less stressed than two weeks ago. I doubt I’ll embark on a full 2-month challenge next year, but I feel comfortable with this year’s choice to keep going.
I’ve been lucky that fun ideas keep showing up with each prompt. The poem kickstarts the brain. Then the hand inserts feedback as ink hits the paper. And viola! something shows up, one or four hours later. Hopefully, my skill will increase next year so that I won’t have as many failed sheets for each word.
But hey, it should be about the process! So hopefully y’all enjoy the images, but selfishly, I’m #winning cause get to wander this journey.
Cya next week!
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PS. This is my first practice page of the basic strokes for Copperplate over the week. It was nice to focus on not-producing for a few days.
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PPS—We finally made Jack-o’-lanterns, lit with cell phones.
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