Friday, October 25, 2013



Inkin a Squid

My tale of drawing a squid

Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

Squid. 11x17" Ballpoint Pen and Ink wash

I finished another addition to my "Sea Creatures" Series. A squid. Squids are one of those creatures that when you see them in life they seem about as close to an alien species as you can imagine. So many science fiction monsters have been inspired by these tiny little creatures, and it's easy to see why. With tentacles, huge eyes, wings and glowing transparent bodies, they fit the "monster class" well. Getting the chance to see them while diving I have always been fascinated with there incredible swimming ability. They can hover, turn or a dime and have explosive speed that makes them seem like mechanical flying machines underwater. 

Weird Squid fact that I didn't know. Squids are extremely strong swimmers and certain species can "fly" for short distances out of the water. So watch out! I took liberty on this drawing to break a rule. Squid, like octopus, have 8 tentacles. If you take the time to count up how many tentacles my squid has, it's way over 8. But 8 just didn't seem enough to express the movement i was trying to achieve on this piece. One quote that I read, and liked, about art is that unlike photograph which captures reality, art expresses it. And that is what I decide my squid would do. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and visit.

Here are some photos taken during my drawing process

Just starting in with the eye.

Detail of the eye

Adding in my all time favorites...spots!

Working on the body and tentacle patterns

After about half the drawing is done I start to painting in the background

My variety of Uniball PowerTank pen sizes are to the right

The pen ink and inkwash ink have different qualities and colors

Starting on the tentacles

The finished drawing

Detail of the head

 Detail of the eye
Prints, posters and signed fine art reproductions are available 
for purchase in my Etys shop at: 

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