Come participate in Inktober, and do a daily notan with me!

Hi everyone! After a substantial 4 month break, I’m back. More on that in a later post, but the short of it is I’m feeling good and am wading back into art-making and participating publicly. Well… you know me… more like diving into the deep end. LOL.

This year I’m trying something new and fun. Inktober! I’ve wanted to do this the last few years and am finally getting my act into gear.

Inktober is a free 30-day art challenge, where you do an ink drawing each day. There’s no prize, no fees, no teachers. It’s just… us, making art together. It’s a way to get yourself to make ink-focused art every day, practice simplifying your shapes and cropping images, and share it publicly with others to motivate yourself. Different folks on the internet often give daily prompts to follow for Inktober and such. It has a strong comic-art background, but I’ve often thought it would be fun and educational to do this with notans. If you’ve wanted to get yourself to do more notans, to explore it and get some practice, or you’re just looking for some fun with fellow artists, this should be a great opportunity!

Read on to learn about the private Facebook group I have to host this, if there are any rules (there aren’t! LOL), what’s a notan anyways, and what sort of supplies I’ll be using and recommend. I hope see some requests to join from your guys, and to see your notans over there this month!

How do I Join and Get Your Prompts, Steve?

Great question, loyal reader! :P

I have a private Facebook group called “From Photo to Final Painting”, and I’ll be sharing a reference photo and my own notan there each day. Of course, my intention is that others might use my photo (or a photo of their own choosing) and make a daily notan and share it there too! :) You’ll need to join the free group to have access to things. You can follow the link here— https://www.facebook.com/groups/1060849701261692 Click the Join button, and it’ll shoot a notification off to me. I’ll do my best to approve everyone promptly.

How Will It All Work? Are There Any Rules?

There’s no fee. It’s just for fun, to learn and help each other, to not make art in a vacuum, and to share.

Each day, I’ll post a new reference photo in the Facebook group. I’m literally picking stuff I want to paint and explore. I’ll post a notan there too. Then you go to Facebook, make your own notan, and share it in the group as well. We give each other feedback as a group, support each other, ask questions and respond, and share a community.

Maybe you want to make a notan from a different photo? Great! Share that instead. Maybe you can’t make a notan every day? Great! Don’t worry. I sure won’t be judging you. Only you will be judging yourself. Just participate as best you can and learn as you go. There is absolutely no substitute for practice.

How Do I Make a Notan? Do I Have Any Advice?

Not sure what a notan is? Don’t know how to make one? Watch this short video of mine to get a concept of an advanced one-

The goal of making a notan is to simply yoru shapes, hunt for contrast, create balance, and get acquainted with your image.

My advice for folks who have limited time or experience is to go small and quick. 10 minutes for each notan at first, and make it something achievable in terms of size— perhaps only 3” x 3” at first. Bigger notans (such as the one I’m doing in the video above) help you resolve more complex, interlocking problems, but smaller notans help you see and simplify the big shapes, as you solve big compositional problems. Additionally, working from a smaller photo (like, really small- maybe on your phone at the max), also helps you see the big shapes better. I’ve even worked from the thumbnail on my phone. It’s very educational! So, for beginners, go small or go home! :D

Share your notan in the “From Photo to Final Painting” Facebook group when your done. Anyone in the group will get to see it, but no one else will. If you want to see the notans and photos, you’ll also need to join the free group. If you want to share it online publicly, for everyone else to see, use a hashtag too, like #inktober or #fromphototofinalpainting or #stephenberryart or #notan etc Folks who are participating on Instagram and Facebook are using hashtags such as #inktober to see the work of other fellow artist participants.

Potential Supply List-

You’ll need ink and a brush of some sort. Using India Ink and a brush is a lovely experience on watercolor paper. I also like to use Pentel Brush Pens, which come with replaceable ink cartridges in them. Later in the month, I’m going to start experiment with Tombow pens that are grey and black, to create 3 value notans. Here’s a list of what I’ll be using, but please don’t let it stop you from trying it with other materials!

Pentalic Art Watercolor Journal- this is a heavy watercolor paper journal, that works well with ink and doesn’t bleed. It’s currently out of stock, but it gives you the idea. I’m sure just normal watercolor paper would work too.

Pentel Brush Pen- I love working with this. It has a fine point, but also allows you to use the belly of the brush. It also has a cap and a cartridge, so you can travel with it

India Ink- I’m not finicky about what type. They all work great for this application.

Escoda Perla Arcylic Brush- I like these small brushes because they have a fine point and snap to them.

White Gouache- I dip my brush right in to the tube. The tube can’t be ancient though. LOL. They dry out. It has to be a little fluid still, like in my video.

Tombow Pen- I’ll be trying out a grey tombow for when an image really needs 3 values.