Inktober 2024, Part Two

With Inktober 2025 merrily chugging along, I am following up my last post to show you more of what I did for Inktober 2024 (I mean, it's hard to do a retrospective of current events, right?) Without further ado, here is more art from exactly (or so) a year ago: 

Inktober 2024, Day Four, "exotic" - this one is a bit more detailed, so it's where I bogged down slightly; I think I posted my pencil sketch on the correct day, but I posted the finished inks a few days later.

Inktober 2024, Day Five, "binoculars" - this was a pretty simple design that I thought came out very well. Another favorite. I just like the vibe!

Something I didn't mention before, but you may have noticed when you saw the prompt list in my previous post, is that the 2024 prompt list was mostly made of obviously related words, as though someone lazily opened a book on travel for, uh, "inspiration" when deciding on the prompts. I mean, 30 of the 31 prompts are obviously travel-related, and I'm sure you could fit "violin" in there with not much extra effort. I'd contemplated making an actual story out of these...but then I thought I should probably leave that to people who can finish things. 

So anyway, Inktober 2024, Day Six, "trek", is my attempt to derail the narrative, because art lets you do that. My portrait of Counselor Deanna Troi came out very nicely, I think. Of course I posted it late, but these things can't be rushed. One thing I have a slight issue with is that her hair looks oddly two-toned due to my using a Sharpie to fill in the bulk of the dark area rather than drain my beloved Micron pen with non-precision work. Sacrifices must be mad for great art, so this is not great art. Hee! Oh, and since I was late getting this done, I sneakily threw in Day Seven, "passport", tucked into her hand. I'm a rascal! 

Inktober 2024, Day Eight, "hike", and Day Nine, "sun" - at this point, I decided to fling myself into combined prompts. I also got a little experimental with decorative patterns, turning out this semi-psychedelic drawing on a piece of bright-pink cardstock rather than in my dedicated Inktober sketch book. I subsequently placed it, and another doodle, in the local FLAG (free little art gallery) for anyone to take and enjoy. 

And that, my friends, is my output for Inktober 2024, both in drawings and blog posts. I have produced artwork for Inktober 2025, so I'll be covering that at some point. 

For my previous Inktober posts: 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-little-backstory-on-inktober.html 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2020/10/inktober-2020-is-under-way.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2020/11/more-fun-with-inktober.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2021/03/another-shot-of-inktober-so-what-if-its.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/04/inktober-restrospective-2020-part-two.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/08/inktober-2021-starting-off-with-bang.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/09/inktober-2021-did-i-start-unraveling.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2024/10/inktober-2024-prompt-list-and-some.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2025/10/inktober-2025-is-under-wayand-i.html

For more shenanigans, you can follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart 

Inktober 2025 Is Under Way...and I Completely Forgot to Write about What I Did for Inktober 2024

The reason for that was, of course, that in October of 2024, I was writing about things I had done for Inktober 2023, 2022, and Inktober 2021. Hey, folks...art never gets old, although occasionally it does age poorly. 

First things first: again I am providing this year's prompt list a bit late (but in the first week, this time), but those of you who are cool enough to follow my Facebook page will again note that I did provide it last month. (This is basically a plug for my Facebook page. Thank you.) 

Inktober 2024, Day One: This is actually an inside joke, so I need to set it up. Back in 2023 around Halloween, my friend Tre invited me to draw, in my style, his picture of Cthulhu trick-or-treating as a human kid (whom he'd slain for the, uh, "costume"). Tre's cartoony style made it cute. My style is...a little creepier. Anyway, here is the original side-by-side:

and after I added color to mine:

Now, the prompt for Day One of Inktober 2024 was "backpack", and so I created this drawing I call "Ricky's Revenge": 

Inktober 2024 Day Two, "discover"- Because I won't be denied a good 'dad joke', this one is called "Waiter, There's a Fly in My Soup": 

Inktober 2024 Day Three, "boots" - this gave me the opportunity to indulge my inner Richard Scarry/and or Shrek animator. One of my favorite Inktober drawings! 

Don't worry, I did more, but this post is getting longer than my attention span, so I will let you go and hopefully cover the remainder before too many more Inktobers have passed. For prior years, please check out: 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2019/12/a-little-backstory-on-inktober.html 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2020/10/inktober-2020-is-under-way.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2020/11/more-fun-with-inktober.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2021/03/another-shot-of-inktober-so-what-if-its.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/04/inktober-restrospective-2020-part-two.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/08/inktober-2021-starting-off-with-bang.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2022/09/inktober-2021-did-i-start-unraveling.html

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2024/10/inktober-2024-prompt-list-and-some.html

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache Color Review #6: Deep Red and Ponceau

This is the sixth in a series of reviews of the individual colors from the Miya HIMI brand 24-color “jelly” gouache paint set. This review will concentrate on the Miya HIMI Deep Red and Ponceau jelly gouache paint colors and will also include updates on my Star Trek painting and how my swatch chart is coming along.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Deep Red

Last time, I painted Captain Kirk's yellow uniform jacket, and now it was time to do Captain Picard's tunic. Judging the colors by how they showed through the unopened containers, I thought the color called Ponceau was too light and orangey for Picard's uniform, so I opened Deep Red to see what I could see. As you'd imagine from the name, it's somewhat dark, but it's also a very cool red that I would liken to Alizarin Crimson.

To me, Picard's jacket is a very neutral red, neither extremely warm nor cool. Since lightening a cool red gives a rosy pink, I was definitely going to need Ponceau, as well. Cool colors are nice for shadows, though, so I used the Deep Red for the darker areas on Picard's uniform jacket.

As you can see from the white swatch chart, the granularity of this color is quite high, and the opacity ain't no great shakes.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Ponceau

Ponceau is a color name that I have never heard before, but this one would go in the Cadmium Red (warm red) slot in your color palette. It's very warm, but not quite as orange-y as I'd feared. It made a good foil to the Deep Red and kept Picard's tunic very balanced, overall.

As with the Deep Red, the granularity was high and opacity was pretty wimpy. That said, I didn't feel like I had to glob it on to get sufficient coverage for the painting. I might be singing a different tune if I weren't working on a medium-value brown background, though.

One more review to go to have this Renaissance/Classical Mythology/Star Trek extravaganza finished. Stay tuned!

For the original post describing the unboxing of the Miya HIMI jelly gouache paint set, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/03/unboxing-himi-jelly-gouache-24-color-set.html

For the first review in the series, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-1-sky.html

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

Basic Information about Gouache Paint

If you are unfamiliar with gouache (pronounced GWAHSH), it is typically described as an opaque watercolor, although when diluted with water, it can be used transparently, as well. As with traditional watercolor, it doesn't dry waterproof, so be aware that if you paint over it, you could activate the dried layer if you use enough water. This can be great, as it makes the colors blend easily and gives you the ability to soften edges and spread color. It can also be annoying, of course. Be careful not to get drips or spatters of water on the dried paint surface, as this can create spots.

The opacity enables you to use the paint on dark surfaces, though, which can create interesting results. I painted this nighttime scene of my bedroom with white gouache on black bristol board. I especially like the reflection of the edge of the pillow against the night-darkened window glass. That kind of effect would be harder to achieve with a different medium. 

Gouache paint dries matte, like that tempera paint you probably used in grade school. The two paints actually look very similar in their finished state, but tempera dries permanent and gouache is rewettable/reworkable, as we've discussed. The paints have different binders – traditionally, egg yolk for tempera and gum arabic for gouache. There is also a type of gouache called acrylic gouache that dries permanent, like acrylic paint. I prefer workable gouache, since I already work in acrylic and can use that if I want a more permanent finish. 

Gouache has been around for quite a long time, but it was considered more of a designers' medium (that is, more for advertising and design layout sketches than for finished pieces - even my painting above was just a tonal study for a larger piece). However, it's been getting a bit of a renaissance lately, via art YouTube channels, since it is colorful, fun, and easy to use. I have been getting back into it myself and really enjoying it! I bought myself a set of Miya's HIMI jelly gouache and am in the process of posting some reviews of it showing the different colors and a gouache painting in progress. 

For the initial unboxing: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/03/unboxing-himi-jelly-gouache-24-color-set.html 

The reviews start here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-1-sky.html

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

All images are copyrighted property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The Best Drawing Paper to Use with Drawing Pencils

As I mentioned in this prior article about the different grades of drawing pencils, the paper is an important part of the drawing experience. The way pencils (and other dry media, like charcoal and pastel) work is that when you draw, you leave a trail of the graphite powder that, when compressed, forms the pencil "lead", on the surface of the paper. The various pencil grades indicate exactly how much of the powder you will leave, which determines the quality of the mark you make. 

So, let's talk about that paper surface, which is the other part of the equation. If you've ever tried to draw with a pencil on a piece of slick posterboard, you'll have learned you can't get very artistic with it - the slick surface doesn't have enough tooth (texture) to abrade the graphite particles off of the pencil. It's fine - posterboard is designed for ink, which likes a smooth surface to sit on. For pencil drawings, however, you will want a paper surface with some tooth. How much depends on what hardness of pencil. 

If you are using very soft pencils, use a paper with more texture, like pastel/charcoal paper, which is designed to grab those particles and hold them in their nooks and crannies, allowing you to build up layers of tone. For harder pencils, use a smoother surface, so your pencil won't catch or "skip" on the texture. You'll want to display the sharp, clean line a hard pencil makes on a surface with just enough texture to grab those graphite bits but not enough to dull or smear them. Vellum is a great choice for use with hard leads. 

Just as with any job, having the right tools makes the work a whole lot easier! 

The portrait above was completed with a 2B pencil on Strathmore 400 Series Drawing paper. Strathmore is my favorite brand. It's Scottish, so it's nae crap! 

Other articles about drawing you might like: 

https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2016/02/learning-to-draw-first-step-have-right.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-have-been-professional-portrait.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/03/figure-drawing-101-wacky-secrets-of.html

http://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2015/05/figure-drawing-101-so-you-wanna-be.html 

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart 

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache Color Review #5: Earth Yellow and Burnt Umber

 

This is the fifth in a series of reviews of the individual colors from the Miya HIMI brand 24-color “jelly” gouache paint set. This review will concentrate on the Miya HIMI Earth Yellow and Burnt Umber jelly gouache paint colors and will also include updates on my Star Trek painting and how my swatch chart is coming along.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Earth Yellow 050

With the background finished, it was time to start on my figures. Animal bits aside, this was still Kirk and Picard, so I needed to ensure they were recognizable. The easiest way to do that was by including their uniform jackets. Despite the whole green/gold controversy surrounding Kirk's uniform, I always saw it as gold, so I needed a yellow ochre-ish color. The HIMI set has a color called Earth Yellow that is the right shade, so I busted that out and swatched it, then painted the base color of Kirk's jacket. It was a very straightforward match – no color-mixing necessary. 

As you can see from the swatches, Earth Yellow has a strong opacity with some marked granularity, typical of earth tones.

Miya HIMI Jelly Gouache color Burnt Umber 046

Next, I needed a brown color for Kirk's goaty lower body. I also needed to mix a shadow color for his jacket and some brown for his hair. Burnt Umber, a slightly cool, dark brown, blended well with the Earth Yellow gouache to create a neutral, mid-range brown to create the shading on Kirk's jacket and his brown hair. 

Then I flipped the script and used the Earth Yellow to create highlighted areas on Kirk's satyr legs and hair. The colors mix very well and application was smooth, as with the prior colors. 

The Burnt Umber was a lovely chocolate pudding color – very tempting! As with its fellow earth color, Earth Yellow, the Burnt Umber had strong opacity and granularity. These are also probably the most lightfast hues in the collection, another feature of earth tones.

A look at the swatch chart shows several of the color mixes as well as the comparison of the lighter and darker and warmer and cooler colors. I've only done a few 50/50 mixes so far, as I was focusing more on getting the painting done for my friend's birthday, but I did swatch a mix of the Earth Yellow and Burt Umber, which appears halfway down the right edge, where the two colors converge on the grid. As you can see, it makes a lovely golden brown. 

The birthday card was starting to take shape - as you can see above, I filled in the lettering, since the background was complete. 

Next review can be found here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2025/07/miya-himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-6.html

For the original post describing the unboxing of the Miya HIMI jelly gouache paint set, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/03/unboxing-himi-jelly-gouache-24-color-set.html

For the first review in the series and an explanation of the painting and its very particular subject matter, go here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/himi-jelly-gouache-color-review-1-sky.html

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart

First Look at the Sketch Pad from the Artownlar 72-Piece Art Set

 

This is a follow-up on the blog post about unboxing the Artownlar 72 piece art set (here: https://allsortsartbyali.blogspot.com/2023/06/unboxing-artownlar-72-piece-art-supply.html ). This is a first look at the sketchbook that was included with the Artownlar art supply set. At the time, this sketch pad was shrink-wrapped, and so the only thing that I could tell you before opening it was what I could see from the outside.

It was labeled as a 60-sheet book, 8½ x 11 inches, with a paper weight of 80 pounds. I was pretty excited about that because most sketch pad paper is only 65 lbs, but 80 lbs is the same weight as my favorite drawing paper, Strathmore's 400 series. I could also see from indications on the cover and from looking at the side of the pad that the paper came in three colors: 10 pages of tan paper, 10 pages of black paper, and 40 pages of white paper. I've never seen a basic sketchbook with a variety of colors before, so that was fun.

 

Now I have unwrapped the sketch pad and have had a chance to examine it more closely. I have discovered something interesting: Not only do the pages come in different colors, they also come in different textures, according to color. The white pages are textured very much like drawing paper, with a fairly light “tooth” on each side. Good for pencil or colored pencil, and perfectly okay for media like pen or marker, too.

The tan sheets, however, are different: Unlike the white pages that are textured on both sides, the tan pages are extremely smooth on one side and have a texture on the other. 

The smooth side probably would not be good for the charcoal pencils that are included in the set and perhaps not for the softer drawing pencils; maybe the harder ones. I think these might be best suited for a medium like pen and ink or marker; possibly a somewhat dryer and thicker paint like gouache. As for the textured side of the tan pages, they have a lot more texture than the white pages, and so this might be ideal for a medium that gets built up in layers, like charcoal or colored pencil. Since the the set is very colored-pencil-heavy, then that might be a good thing to try.

Last but not least, the black pages are actually smooth on both sides and might not be receptive to any dry media. Again, these would kind of be like the smooth side of the tan sheets, but since they are black, perhaps they would be best used with gel pens in white or neon colors. I could possibly try white colored pencil and see if that goes anywhere, but with no tooth to the paper, I don't think trying to layer colored pencils as usual would work. I do have a silver Sharpie that might make some fun marks, but I would really prefer trying to stick to the supplies that are included in the set just for consistency sake and also it might be kind of fun to limit myself – it might force me to be more creative in figuring out what I can do.

I'm pretty sure that the black pages cannot be used with the watercolor pencils, but who knows? We'll see. I feel like the only possible page for the watercolor pencils might be the tan paper, because I think watercolor would probably just wrinkle up the white pages. Even though all the pages are supposed to be 80 lbs, the tan paper seems more sturdy, like maybe it would be okay to use watercolor pencils. Maybe I'll just try to use not very much water. I'm trying not to destroy things, here!

Anyway, I did end up using some supplies from the set, including one of the sketchbook pages, to make a picture, so I will write a more detailed review on that in the future.

For regular shenanigans, please follow my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/allsortsofart