I
haven't posted on this group blog in a while. I've been off in the
"dayjob" world and my fellow bloggers have been kind enough to deal me
out of the rotation for a bit. (I mixed metaphors. I know. I'm ok with
it.) But it's my turn today, and since we all know that I consider this
blog the closest I get to therapy, I thought I'd share what's on my
mind.
I
have recently been taking a break. Not only from this blog but from
creating kidlit altogether. Since the end of the summer, I haven't really
written or drawn anything that could potentially end up as a book of any
sort. I was tired and I felt I was spinning my wheels but getting
nowhere. I started a new season of tv at "dayjob world" and told myself I
just didn't have the time but I think I was making excuses. I think I was just a bit burnt out. I doodled a bit here and there and wrote down random story ideas or plot points but nothing really constructive.
And
then October rolled in. I forced myself to try Inktober as a way to
start drawing daily again. Now I would consider myself a pencil guy. I
draw with pencil on cheap paper and mostly color my stuff digitally. Ink
doesn't really enter into my process. Plus, I've tried Inktober before and
never gone further than 8 or 9 days. But it seemed like an escape ladder
out of the small muddy pit of not-drawing I'd dig for myself. I don't
know why it was muddy-- that's a mystery to me too.
SO...Inktober
day 1, I posted something I wasn't entirely happy with but I felt an
ounce of satisfaction at having completed something. I made a decision to do no erasing or digital doctoring.
"Don't be fussy," I found myself saying as a mantra. Day 2, I started to
try to explore the different things I could do with the few ink pens I
found in my bucket o' art supplies. Maybe a teensy bit more satisfying.
 |
| Day 3. |
On
day 3, the prompt reminded me of a character I had written a
picturebook manuscript about. It was the project I was spinning my
wheels on earlier this summer. Day 3 was the turning point for me. On
day 3, I decided to make my Inktober about the bunnies in the book I
wanted to finish. I christened it "Bunntober."
It
started to be fun to visit the characters each day. And the ink became
fun too. I got a few more markers and pens at my local art store. Now I
could do grey washes with Copic wide markers and really teeny details
with Micron pens. I still did my layouts in my very comfortable
Prismacolor pencil #943 and then inked over it. The prompts gave me
aspects of the characters to explore that I hadn't yet and the ink
somehow made the drawing fun again because I got semi-finished sketches that
did, but also didn't, resemble the work I was familiar with.
BTW, if you haven't checked out the amazing work people have posted as part of Inktober, you really should. Superstar Mike Ciccotello is on Instagram @ciccotello and if you want to see more of my #bunntober experiment, you can find me on IG at @jkirsch118. Our other D2PBrs are posting art on social media too...check out the links in their profiles.
By day, Jason is an emmy nominated set designer for
television, with credits that include Harry, The Meredith Vieira
Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David
Letterman. By night, Jason is an author and illustrator of children's
books. You can find his debut picture book, Mr. Particular: The World's
Choosiest Champion on shelves in bookstores everywhere. See Jason's
work, both illustrations and set designs, at www.jasonkirschner.com .
Follow him on instagram @jkirsch118.
