Inktober Sketches

For those who don’t know, inktober is an event where people try to finish at least one pen and ink sketch every day in October. I didn’t get a sketch done every single day, but I aimed for most days and didn’t stress about it. Here are the ones I deem decent and complete enough for sharing.

Since I knew I was gonna miss days anyway, I focused more on picking a variety of subjects, including some things I hadn’t really done before, like the ferns and the leaf insect. It was fun, and I’m glad I stuck with it!

Corydoras hastatus (a type of mini catfish) sketch

A baby California slender salamander in pen and ink

Fuchsia flower and bud

Some different types of fern. Maidenhair on top, bracken fern, and then sword fern on the bottom

A cute squid I saw at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

A sketch of my sister’s bunny from when we were kids. Her name was Cloudy, because children do stuff like that.

A little rooster I met a while ago at the heirloom festival

A juvenile male black widow that I found last time I was in California.

A cool leaf insect that I had for a while. Halloween seemed as good a time as any for some cute creepy crawlies.

Personal Update: Still Working on Sleep

I did an overnight sleep study this week. It is very difficult to sleep with a mess of wires glued into your hair and wrapped around your torso, while an infra-red camera and a microphone record everything you do. I brought my computer with me, which was silly. I thought maybe I’d get some work done before sleeping, but I got neither work nor very much sleeping done. Still, it’s another step toward getting more restful sleep, hopefully.

I just finished reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. It’s an older book, obviously, but this was the first time for me, and I loved it. The audiobook is very worth getting, if that’s a format you enjoy. The narrator gave a great performance, and each character has such a distinct voice. That’s surely due to both Gaiman’s writing and the narration, but it makes for a great listening experience.

A black and white sketch of a spider.

Writing days this past week: 2