Inktober 2019 Supplies and Prompts

It's my favorite time of the year...fall! And October is the best month of all! The weather is changing, pumpkins are everywhere, Halloween, and of course INKTOBER! But let's be honest, I start Inktober every year, but I've never completed it. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is my year.

PS If you are not familiar with Inktober you can read about it on the official page here.

Here are the supplies I will be using this year, which are mostly my usual supplies. In years past, I've tried out new supplies, like copic markers, liquid watercolor, regular old map pencils...you get the idea. This year I plan to push myself artistically by working on landscapes/backgrounds and on occasion maybe drawing boys. These are two things I'm not confident in.

 

But back to the supplies...I've tried picking a color palette to work with, so I will only be using a small number of colors from my watercolor palette. I'm also using various watercolor pencils in the same color families. Along with my trusty  Aquash Water Brush from Pentel,  I'll be testing out this Mossery Co sketchbook that I've been hoarding for about a year now.

I was actually inspired to use my Mossery sketchbook when I saw their prompt list for Inktober. (Pretty much there are a million different prompt lists out there along with the official list.) My theme for this Inktober is "Everyday Witch" which came to me when I saw a picture of someone walking their dog wearing a witch hat.

I'm hoping to work on landscapes and backgrounds, because I've never tried much before and I'd like to eventually illustrate my own children's books. I'm hoping with this daily practice to learn, improve, and develop my style/voice in this area.

Are you participating in Inktober? What prompts are you following?

Current Art Supplies

I don't know about you, but as an artist I'm always interested in art supplies and what supplies other artists use. It's always nice to try new things, but at the same time you have your tried and true favorites. 

• Last year I went through a watercolor pencil phase and ordered several different types of watercolor pencils. I realized I needed a nice pencil sharpener and ordered this one from Faber-Castell, bonus points that it's cute!
• Washi tape is always in my pencil pouch. I don't have a light board, so I use my backdoor window. I just make a copy (on my printer) of the page from my sketchbook, tape it to the window and then tape my watercolor paper on top of it to trace my image for inking. Also, sometimes I rip pages out of my sketchbook or use small scraps and need to tape them back in. Pink washi can be found here and the white washi was a gift from a friend who went to Japan.
• I'm a big fan of Sakura products in general. They're easy for me to find and the quality is just what I need. I've been using them from the beginning and always feel bad/regret when I try a new ink pen. I've tried every size of the Micron pen and 5 is my number. I actually bought a box of 14 of these on Amazon so I wouldn't run out for a while (I'm pretty hard on my pens). 
• I've tried a ton of sketchbooks and I keep coming back to Moleskine. The size and paper are just right for my needs. This is always a personal preference and it just takes a lot of trial and error to find your dream sketchbook. I like to decorate mine with stickers.
• My best friend got me a whole set of these Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils for my birthday a few years ago (and that's why she's my BFF, she is just the best). These are the most amazing pencils for sketching! I actually learned about these from watching Frannerd YouTube videos. These are the 2 colors I use the most right now, and they are my 'lucky' pencils. 
• I used to paint with several brushes, and saw this Aquash Water Brush from Pentel on a YouTube video and ordered a set on Amazon and it was a life changer. This is the ONLY brush I use, and it's stayed in amazing condition. Also, it's a snap to put away when the baby wakes from her nap suddenly. 
• I only use mechanical pencils to trace my work onto watercolor paper. These 2 are my favorites and I usually loose one, but it turns up eventually. 
• Pentel Techniclick
• Sakura127

Let me know some of your favorite supplies, I'd love to try them!