#2021 October daily art challenge

[mysticsparklewings]

Obscutober 2024 Prompt List(s)!

Anyone got room for yet another October Prompt List? 😉

I really wasn’t feeling the Official Inktober Prompt List this year & deeply miss the Obscutober lists nikolas_tower used to post over on Instagram, so I decided to break from tradition even more than I usually do & make my own! ✨

The main idea is each prompt is an Obscure Word, but I did get a little choosy & try to put a bit of my own spin on it!

Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk more about the details + Definitions if you need them. ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

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Before I get into my usual long-winded description, if you want to actually follow this prompt list—Or the Lite or Weekly version—here's what you need to know:

Here's the "Official" Definition list so you don't have to spend time looking up the words yourself if you don't want to...But also, if you do want to, feel free! The "official" definitions are intended as a time-saving guideline!

The list is open to all mediums! "Typical" visual art (Digital or Traditional), Literature, Sculpture, Crafts, Coloring Pages—whatever you want!

The word itself does not have to be directly included/related to what you make; You can just take inspiration from the way it sounds or looks, or something the sticks out to you in the definition, etc.

If a word or two doesn't work for you for various reasons, feel free to swap-in a different word—Either another "obscure" word of your choosing, or a word from another prompt list that you like better.

I've provided "Lite" and Weekly versions of the list in case the full 31 is too much, but you can pick-and-choose words from the full list however you'd like if you're not crazy about the words I picked for the shorter versions, or if you want to shorten the list in a different way.

Tagging me is appreciated, but not required!

Remember that my views on these Month-Long Daily Challenges is that it's about the challenge of completing a certain amount of creative pieces in the time given...And that's pretty much it, so as long as you're doing that and having fun, I'm really not bothered about how you choose to follow the list! My Inktober motto has always been "work smarter, not harder," and this is no different!

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Well, well, Sparklers—I assume this is quite the surprise coming from me. 🤭 Both because I've been awfully quiet over the past couple of months and this is what I come back with. [And for the record, I intend to explain more about where exactly I've been in a Museletter, but I wasn't able to get it typed up and ready-to-go today; Once I get it ready I'll add the link here.]

Not that me disappearing for a while and coming back with something not necessarily expected of me is all that abnormal, but rather if you've followed me for a while, you might remember I'm not normally super-keen on everyone and their uncle's mother's brother's sister making their own Prompt Lists.

So then, Mystic, what gives? Why make your own Prompt List now?

You can thank nikolas_tower on Instagram for that, actually. 😆 Some of you might also remember that I follow his Obscutober list in October 2021, and I've also swapped in an Obscutober word a couple of times when one of the "official" Inktober words didn't work for me.

I've explained before how much I love the Obscutober concept to its core, so I won't re-hash all of that here. The important part is that I do love it, but to my great sadness, 2022 only got an abbreviated Obscutober list (2 words per week), 2023 didn't get an Obscutober list at all (though I didn't really need one for 2023 because I was busy enough as it was following two other prompt lists at once) and considering just how close we're getting now, I really sincerely doubt Nikolas has/had plans for a 2024 one. Add to that: I was not super jazzed about the official Inktober prompt list for this year. Now, don't get me wrong—I'm normally not thrilled with every single word on the list (and if you've followed my Inktobers' past, you know I say as much during the month!), but I'm not sure I've ever felt quite so unenthusiastic about the whole list before.

Additionally still, some of you might remember I did talk a little bit last year about some...struggles I supposed is the closest word, that I've had with the past couple of Inktobers I've done. And generally, I've had some ideas for really shaking up the way I handle October for the past couple of years.

While, granted, my main "shake-up" idea is totally unrelated even to this list and I never seem to be able to get the necessary prep work it would require done in time, I think the main takeaway is a I've had a low-grade yearning to do something different...but I do still want to stick to my "tradition" of handling Inktober unconventionally.

So in the end, it kinda just made sense to at least try making my own Obscutober-style list this year. It's something different and I've missed the Obscutober lists, so why not?

Worth noting that I did try to put just a little of my own spin on it in my choice of words. While already I did try to stay away from words Nikolas already used for all 4 of his Obscutobers, I also had a couple of "rules" with the words I picked:

No words that are "Obscure" purely because they're not English/aren't found in English dictionaries. For example, "Lunette" is a French word, but it appears in English dictionaries with a definition that's more than just "the French word for..."

The word must have a definition that's relatively easy to find and/or appears in well-established English Dictionaries like Dictionary.com or Merriam-Webster. This rule exists because I noticed pretty quickly a lot of "aesthetic" definition images on Pinterest either don't turn up any other reliable results that a word even exists, or the word may exist but the Pinterest definition is straight-up wrong.

No overly gross/medical/NSFW words. (This wasn't a problem with any of Nikolas' Obscutober picks, this is just a personal preference that did shape my research a bit.)

One of my problems with the Inktober list for this year is too many words feel like synonyms/too closely related, so I wanted to avoid that. A couple of words are still kind of close in the end, like "Vitrine" and "Hyaline" or "Escutcheon" and "Orphrey, but they're still more different from each other than some words that I considered and ultimately turned down. [For example, I considered "Lambent" and "Clinquant" but decided they were too close in meaning to "Scintillate."]

Likewise, aside from the theme of being Obscure, I tried not to lean to heavily on words that fit a particular theme or idea

I tried not to pick "obscure" words that have become decently well-known or popular because they're obscure. The best example is "Aglet" wasn't even considered because it's been mentioned in multiple TV shows that I know of. "Scintillate" might push that boundary a little, but it is one of my personal favorites.

I also tried to pick words that had a little variety in definition length and not pick too many that had really short definitions, which ties into my next point...

More abstractly, I tried to pick words that feel like they both lend themselves to a really solid image but also leave room for interpretation of that image. Historically I've had problems with Inktober words feeling too much like they really only fit one specific interpretation of the word or they only have so many ways to represent the idea. And on the flip side, some of Nikolas' Obscutober picks (at least when I participated in 2021) felt a little too abstract at times. Ultimately, this feeling is probably highly subjective, but I tried my best to find the right balance anyway.

While not perfectly balanced, I did try not to lean too heavily on one type of word, as in Adjectives/Nouns/Verbs. There are still less verbs overall because it was just harder to find verbs that fit what I wanted, but if I hadn't consciously paid attention there probably would've only been 1-2 verbs and like 20 adjectives.

Not really related to adding "my own spin," but also worth noting that it was also important to me to provide "Lite" and Weekly versions of the list the way that Nikolas did for Obscutober II to make it easier for people that just don't have one-thing-every-single-day kind of time to feel welcome to still participate in some way. As stated in the description for those, you can just jump around the list however you like, but I know sometimes it's just easier if someone already lays things out that way for you instead of having to remember to leave things out and such.

And then for the visual list design, I did a mixture of Nikolas' Obscutober list style and my own more typical branding elements, which ended up working out much better than I expected; I wanted the "spirit" of the list to be recognizable to fans of Nikolas' lists without being an exact copy/looking too much like I was trying to "pretend" to be him or something, and I think I landed in a pretty good place. [And in case anyone is wondering, yes I did use my own template to make the list!]

I do have to admit to you Sparklers though that despite going through all that trouble, I'm actually still not 100% sure I'll be following the list myself. 😅 I've gone back and forth over how exactly I want to handle October at all this year so much...I definitely want to (and intend to!) do a Daily Challenge, especially given how spotty my uploads have been over the last year, but I just can't seem to settle on one full-fledged plan that I'm completely satisfied with.

I do have one potential idea I'm considering that already has a very specific alternate list, but pretty much all of my other ideas would normally use the official Inktober list, and so since that list isn't on the table for me this year, and it's really looking like DeviantArt isn't doing Drawtober again this year—Which I find incredibly sad, by the way!—I need another list on-hand that I know I can use and be reasonably happy with.

And for the record, I'm being intentionally coy about that one specific idea and not sharing that list because it's highly specific and if I do decide to go that route in some way, I'd like the main idea to be a least a little bit of a surprise.

But even if I don't use this list myself, I thought at least a few other people might enjoy giving it a try. After all, I wasn't the only one that enjoyed Nikolas' Obscutobers—I originally found out about them through another person entirely. So maybe a few other people are feeling that Obscutober void, or maybe you're just a big Word Nerd™ like me, or maybe you just want something that's a little different still from a lot of the more typical alternative prompt lists that have been floating around.

So, whatever the case, here the list is (and the Lite and Weekly versions, too); Let us all do with them what we will! 😉

Before I go, I will offer an apology to anyone who's disappointed or frustrated that I'm posting the list so close to time to use it—Believe me, if I'd been 100% sure I wanted to make it in the first place sooner, I would have gotten it out much sooner, too! But I'm doing the best I still can by getting out with this very tiny 2-day cushion instead of just dropping it right on the 1st. If the list turns out to be something you Sparklers want to see again next year, I promise I'll do my best to get it out with a lot more advance notice next time!

With that, there are still two days left in September and as semi-implied already, I still have a ton to do to be anything close to ready for October, so I'll leave you Sparklers to the list and your own October plans, whatever they may be; Hope to see you all again hopefully very, very soon...! 🤗

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List Design  © me, MysticSparklewings

Obscutober Concept Inspired by nikolas_tower

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[encantober-official]

#encantober

Encantober is an Encanto fandom event with themes for each day of the month of October (link to theme list in a copy/pasteable format Here), inspired by the concept of Inktober. Encantober is open to any and all content, including art, drabbles, one-shots, and more.

Fanworks can be shared via the #Encantober tag on tumblr and/or posted as part of the AO3 collection HERE.

Rules:

Works must be a part of the Encanto (2021) fandom. OCs, AUs, and crossovers are permitted.

Works must adhere to one of the Encantober themes.

Series of Encantober works are welcome.

No incest.

QA:

Q: Can I link prompts together? Or multiple prompts into one work? A: Linking works together to create a story series is a wonderfully creative idea! However, combining multiple prompts into one work defeats the purpose of the daily prompt challenge. Each work (or chapter in a series) should focus on one prompt.

Q: Do I have to participate every day? A: You do not have to participate every day. This is meant to be fun, so please don’t stress yourself out. 

Q: Do I need to publish my work on the specific day listed? A: No. We ask that you not publish before the specific day you're filling, but we will reblog late entries.

Q: Why aren’t my posts being reblogged? A: Either you posted it out of order (we will reblog late prompts, but not early ones!), forgot to tag #Encantober, or the admin team just missed it! We’re doing the best we can across timezones <3 

Browse:

Use the links below to find the works for each prompt in our archive!

1 Sunset, 2 Siblings, 3 Reunion, 4 Mystery, 5 Cold, 6 Heart, 7 Storm, 8 Question, 9 Time, 10 Help, 11 Liminal, 12 Nerves, 13 Fear, 14 Safety, 15 Midnight, 16 Grief, 17 Home, 18 Sleep, 19 Clock, 20 Vision, 21 Age, 22 Reflection, 23 Roots, 24 Memory, 25 Quiet, 26 Lost, 27 Grave, 28 Moon, 29 Mask, 30 Blood, 31 Sunrise

[winchester-reload]

The Suptober23 Check-In!

As you may have noticed, today (October 15th) marks the last consecutive day of our prompt list for 2023, and that means no more daily reminders. But that doesn't mean it's all over--and I'm not just talking about that day 31 prompt either! If you're anything like me, you've still got a few days to catch up on (including today's haha oops!) Or, maybe you wanted to join, but you missed the start and thought you couldn't. Jump on in and post those things! Use the rest of the month to get them done! And don't forget to add them to the Ao3 Collection. Also, hey, keep on using that #suptober23 tag so we can find your stuff!

If you managed to knock this challenge out of the park and complete all 15 prompts already, this doesn't mean you have to stop creating. If you're still hungry for more, I'm betting you can find some prompts on old suptober lists, or from friends, or, hey, you could even jump onto the #inktober prompt list if you wanted! The sky is the limit, and you've unlocked God Mode. Congrats to you, my friend. I am envious of your time management skills.

I want to give a massive shout out and thank you to all of you who have worked so hard these last two weeks to bring us such a treasure trove of new art and stories. Thank you for the time you spent creating, and thank you to all the people who've been so kind and encouraging to each other throughout the event. Suptober only is what it is because of all of you. And it is pretty incredible, if you ask me.

Now, how about a few resources? Prompt Lists

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2018 Archive

2019 Archive

2020 Archive

2021 Archive

2022 Archive

2023 Ao3 Collection/2023 Tumblr Archive

Still got questions? Send me an ask!

See you all again on the 31st!!!

[qaanngi]

being economical and borrowing my art summary template from 2019 lol. notes under cut

I did want to do something similar to my 2020 art summary which had notes/thoughts on each digital piece baked into the image itself (and is also the prettiest lmfao) but I haven't been as proactive or even content since then sdfhsdkflds but I'm also of the opinion that artists should talk about their work, even if I still struggle to call myself one T_T

I met my monthly quota of one digital piece per month + one coloured sketch per month except October, which tends to be the month of exceptions since some sort of art challenge crops up. This year I opted to meme countdown loosely for Veilguard, and was the most free and loose I've been with drawing but also kind of burnt myself out a little on that front.

I do appreciate that there have been a few style experiments in the monthly things (March/Sept./Oct/Nov). I always found my style to be pretty generic but able to emulate other styles a little as a result. Except anime/manga evidently. But that means I can evoke different tones with different styles and do really left field stuff, which is always fun and leaves a lot of room for experimentation and a diverse body of work, which I prefer.

Managed to land LNY piece, which is a tradition I want to keep. I think my favourite piece is probably June's, the Lumine/Paimon/Osse/Scylla piece, which I referenced a screenshot because the location in-game was too pretty for me to not draw it. The Lumine/Girl With a Pearl Earring piece I'm pretty fond of, only because it was a genuine study of an old master, and I think it turned out well. The Lucanis minimalist piece is also a favourite, and it was me doubling down on the things I'm better at instead of trying to aspire to whatever the fuck I've been trying to do. Improve in some way I haven't defined yet, or operating on the notion that there is always room to improve (which is true and healthy to think), but also I guess a sense of dissatisfaction that my work is Objectively Broken in some way and desperately needs to be fixed. What's it like being content with your style and process?

The 2019 art summary had a template for Honourable Mentions since I actually managed to do more than one piece per month throughout the year (tho admittedly a lot of those were schoolwork). That's kind of been a struggle since 2021 for Reasons I still haven't fully recovered from, but I did manage a few extra things this year, chief among them the 19/20 Day Countdown mark for Veilguard, which I really wanted to do since I did one for Inquisition 10 years earlier, and I'll probably do one for the next Dragon Age game lol. I'd also like to probably redo the Inqusition one, and do full illustrations for both since I can actually draw backgrounds now. Something for 2025 I guess.

Others among the Honourable Mentions include a twt xlmi event piece I got a ton of "omg it's giving Sailor Moon + Tuxedo Mask" comments which makes it sound derivative as hell 🙃 The concept, was the moon (Lumine) and her night sky (Xiao). He is often associated with darkness and depicted looking at the moon pretty regularly. Also he is literally fading into black in the piece. My interpretation was that the night sky is quiet, and it darkens the sky so we can see the moon. The moon sits in the night sky's embrace. I actually quite like this one, the more I look at it. I've also used Giant Moon in the Middle of a Drawing a lot throughout the years, so that absolutely tracks. Maybe I should do one every year.

Other Honourable Mentions are my friend's commission (she was so patient with me), a noir Neve piece I did around September-ish too (was supposed to be a comic, might revisit the idea. I picked up reading comics again and was inspired to give one of my greatest inspirations a run - comic art, specifically the way they ink), and a quick lineless illustration for the xlmi zine I helped with.

For daily sketching, I only filled about 4-ish sketchbooks this year, all about 30-32 pages, but I've started to double up on pages so each is filled with more than one thing. Some sketchbooks were lazy in terms of what I did than others. Some were great, and had a lot of stuff where the things I practice (people in environments, action-oriented things, foreshortening, the bane of my existence) were abundant and pretty well executed. With the exception of one Lumine sketch that was so very in my own style that I really love and an adapted sketch of an OC, the favourites are all very action-oriented, and I'm glad. I really love the ones with Lucanis and Rook since there's genuine contact and an energy to them that feels very alive, which is something I've been working desperately towards, so it's nice to see it pay off. In a little daily drawing no less~

Around June there's a huge shift in subject and I all but ditched Gnshn immediately, which I think is healthy. I spent an inordinate amount of time in the months leading up to June and throughout with my daily sketches trying to force change my style to be more anime-esque since the gnshn fandom isn't particularly fond of western art styles, of which mine is painfully so. I have a lot of uncoloured sketches of Lumine that I'd like to get around to, but feel like a waste of time now. Leaving trying to make it in the gnshn fandom behind has been good for me, and it's been really nice to go back to the shit I love, which is just fights and blood. It's funny, since I ended my Cybird Ikemen run with swords and blood to jump into soft, cute shippy art for xlmi only to return to swords and blood.

Appropriately, I started my art blog ages ago for my silly little Dragon Age doodles, and I've returned to that. So: thanks, Veilguard. I hope I'm still fixated on you throughout all of 2025 because I have a loooot of ideas. And hopefully the patience and skill to get them out there.

[deathsmallcaps]

Masterpost of Art, Writing and Amusing Tidbits

My original masterpost started out as a place for me to link my 56 Win A Commission Stories (See below for more). Then tumblr mobile and eventually tumblr desktop said the post was getting too unwieldy. So here is a masterpost of my creations! It is not complete, because when I started out, I was not as careful about linking and keeping posts. But it is still fairly comprehensive :)

My Ao3 - Where I post both fanfics and original works that are too long for tumblr or come with no art.

Art Summary 2024 - A little showcase of my drawings from 2023! It has links to the previous years, and a new one will be posted every January.

366 Art Challenge - (April 2019 to April 2020) - I posted a different creation every day for a year. It is not a masterpost (though it does have a few links) but more of an explanation and celebration.

OTGWtober 2020 - (October 2020) - 31 days of Over The Garden Wall drawings for that October. It was part of the 366 Art Challenge.

Holes - An explanation of the movie Holes of which I am proud

ATLA Kuspuk Week 2022 - (February to March 2022) - Drawings of various Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in kuspuks (a piece of modern Yup'ik clothing that resembles hoodies)

Derin Stories Fan Art (April 2019 to now) - A masterpost of my fanart for Derinthescarletpescatarian's writing.

Li's Friends: Horrible Pets to Protect You From a Horrible World - (November 2020) - A stealth-ATLA fanart coloring book to which I contributed, and whose profits go towards wildlife funds.

Disney Princess Coloring Pages - (January 2020 - now) Coloring pages of Disney Princesses and heroines that also went into my coloring books. Occasionally updates when new movies or inspiring outfits for these characters are posted.

Disney Princess Choose Your Own Adventures - (July 2023) - A project I would like to continue one day. In excitement for polls coming out on tumblr, I tried to write a CYOA style fanfic. As of posting, it only has Snow White, but we shall see.

Win A Commission Contest - (May 2019 to December 2024) was a project I started in 2017, back when I was 16. i decided to make a fairy tale coloring book for my little cousins, and it spiraled from there. In May 2019, after a month on tumblr, I started posting the stories onto here. The idea was that if you could guess the fairy tale (and later children's books - I branched out) from a daily post of one illustration through the story, you could win a commission. Over the course of many months and one year-long break, I posted all 56 of my stories. On this masterpost, it also has pictures of sketches, the commissions I completed, my real life coloring books, and a specific list of fairy tales I adapted to become queer :). Just as a side quest sort of thing, I also started coloring them in. Yes, I am ambitious to my own detriment, thanks for noticing! Anyways, you should check it out. The official stories stopped in December of 2024, but I do have plans to write a short, smutty sequel planned for my last story in 2025. It may be posted only to my ao3, only time will tell. It no longer allowed me to edit the post despite attempts to remove links, so this takes you directly to a reblog with the last few links of the project.

Colored-In WAC Illustrations {1} • Colored-In WAC Illustrations {2} - (April 2021 to now) - what it says on the tin. I figured it deserved its own link considering that coloring what amounts to over 200 illustrations is also ambitious. I used to color these in on Google Drawings and occasionally by painting or coloring the actual initial drawing; now I mostly color them in on my phone in waiting rooms and such. Latest story was The White Snake, am currently working on coloring in Godmother Death.

Secondary Dashboards • ‘Pastboards’

[onenettvchannel]

BALITANG HANEP: Filipino Brony YouTuber releases animated parody music video of 'Somepony That I Used to Know' (updated as FINAL!!!)

(Prepared by Craig Ichabod Williams / Herkleton Oaks Elementary School news intern of Cartoon Network News)

(art photo from Makaryo via Twitter Banner)

MAKATI, MANILA -- A Filipino YouTuber named "Makaryo" created a popular animated parody music video featuring Princess Twilight Sparkle of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She is a current broadcast president of the Equestrian Broadcasters Association (EBA) and a former Radyo Bandera Patrol news reporter, Station Manager and President of both OneNETtv Channel and OneNETnews. Mordecai from the Regular Show is also featured in the music video, in a crossover ship with Princess Twilight. The parody is based on a hit song 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye and Kimbra.

The creator "Makaryo", is known for making animated fan parody music videos of the same cartoon show. He is from the Philippines and created his YouTube channel back in mid-December 2015. The video features Princess Twilight Sparkle and Mordecai, who are depicted as each other's love interests in a realistic setting in a fast-paced timelapsed color painting while singing along with the fan parody animated music video.

In a fanfiction story called Earthworm Zim - Chapter 14: Part 2, Princess Twilight had been reportedly heart broken for a while in most reasons after being loved to someone else, known as the cheating point. One of her friends named Mordecai helped her heal and they eventually fell in love. This fanfiction story continues well smoothly.

(amateur art photo via BlueDog444)

As we all learned that the "BlueDog444" is not actually the originator. Because of a viralistic meme in 2020, internet artists began parodying and/or redrawing the amateur classic art, eventually leading to the creation of the 'Redraw MordeTwi Challenge'. It was first posted an amateur drawing of Mordecai and Princess Twilight wishing to arrive on the airplane.

The shipping couple "MordeTwi" originated from a fan artist and fanfiction author named "CartunesLover16" on a website called DeviantArt in the United States of America (U.S.A.). They shared their artwork and stories in late October 2011, which led to the creation of this shipping name. The said pairing has become quite popular in the crossover fandom on both shows in different cable networks in America. Equestria Daily, a website that tracks Brony fandom and news surrounding the show reports – that the said animated music video is inspiring for generations. The original artwork went viral and thus attracted a lot of attention. They even appeared on many TV shows, images and music videos as their relationship became famous among the fanbase.

To sum it all up, Makaryo's animated music video for "MordeTwi" has received widespread acclaim for its creativity and quality animation. This has also contributed to the growing popularity of MordeTwi's over the pairing.

A big SPECIAL THANKS to collector1observer via Tumblr for the story clarification, as edited out in portion of its paragraphs.

SCREENGRAB COURTESY: Makaryo via YT Video

SOURCE: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHpqfFBtlqU [Referenced YT Video via Makaryo] *https://open.spotify.com/album/0r2xXrd3oQ338oO29kNXPg [Referenced Song Track via Spotify] *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somebody_That_I_Used_to_Know *https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UCdd7j6whCEP25q8yPvpNsqw [Referenced Statistics via Social Blade] *https://www.deviantart.com/mordetwi/gallery/ [Referenced Directory via CartunesLover16 via the DeviantArt Group] *https://www.deviantart.com/bluedog444/art/MordeTwi-Airplanes-319272821 [Referenced Amateur Artwork via BlueDog444 of DeviantArt] and *https://www.insider.com/mordetwi-meme-ship-airplanes-regular-show-my-little-pony-tiktok-2021-8 [Referenced News Article via Insider]

-- OneNETnews Team

[dismalia]

INKMalia

I (godofallthings) declare TODAY is the start of Season of Slayers.

For the past 3 years, we have participated in Inktober with DISMALIA by writing and inking scenarios in response to the prompts from the notorious daily art challenge every October.

Beginning in October 2021, we created traditional comic-style illustrations with pen on paper for this challenge to further explore concepts, themes and ideas for DISMALIA.

(Variation of the logo for our challenge designed by godofallthings)

After this brief introduction, I will be sharing our entries from 2021 as separate posts, complete with lore from each scenario.

If you enjoy our content - please follow and like our posts. Your support means a great deal to us. Thank you.

[midomon]

My favourite pieces from Cringetober this year.

Vent about art struggles and mental health below break.

Man, this October kicked my ass. I've been doing all sorts of October challenges every year since 2017 and usually half of the year's best art comes from them. For 2021 and 2022 I did a promptless artober/drawtober challenge just to get me back into drawing and painting after burnout and it's worked wonders to get the creative juices flowing.

This year was different though. Massive stress and negative life events have been kicking my ass since May and I had 1-2 months of no drawing in July and August because of moving houses. I've felt like I lost my art ability in that time (not that I was that great to begin with lol) and I hit a slump, with a feeling of regression.

I had high hopes for October though. The daily drawing spurt usually helps with those slumps and I get many sparks of happiness and inspiration. I felt like the art burnout was far enough behind me, that I could challenge myself with a fun prompt list and just enjoy doodling silly stuff.

Instead, I just struggled. Everything felt bad since day 1 (I tried making a new drawing then, but after 2 hours of struggling and just not being able to draw what I wanted, I posted a drawing I completed 2 days earlier that happened to fit the prompt. It was cheating, but at the same time not, because I had made it in one day).

I just felt frustrated, like I couldn't draw or paint at all and those art muscles just wouldn't wake up. And that feeling hit me in the face again and again 31 times. I'm still not sure, what was different this year... Am I not fully aware of the toll this year has had on me and this was just a symptom? Is my dead beat job fucking me up so bad? Was my new and very different sketchbook contributing to the feel and look of making art? Was doing prompts adding too much challenge for me after all? Did the fact that I didn't get as much external validation, affect the feel of everything? (I had 600+ followers on Twitter and this was my first year not posting there, but to new platforms instead so there was wayyyyyy less likes and such. I know you shouldn't care about that but external validation feeds my nonexistent self esteem too well). Did I have too much internal mental pressure to only make amazing shit, because I'm on new platforms where I should build an audience?

I don't know. We'll see how I think and feel about all this as time goes by. We'll see if I'll do promptless stuff next year instead or not even do a challenge at all.

My mental health overall is in shambles and the feeling of isolation, hopelessness, anxiety and dread gnaw up on me every day more and more. I don't know when I'll pick up the pen next, but when I do, I hope I have found a chill and easy way to loosen up and build back that deteriorated skill.

[mcgiggers]

London, San Marino, Toronto - October 2023

Just back from fabulous art viewing experiences abroad and in Toronto. Stopovers included: Frieze London, Frieze Masters and the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London as well as the Philip Guston exhibit at the Tate Modern; La Galleria Nazionale in the Republic of San Marino; and Art Toronto in Hogtown. The whole, for the most part, was enjoyed in the context of a three week stay in Italy where the hilltop medieval village of Petritoli, located in Le Marche, served as home base, and offered spectacular vistas of land, sea and mountains, all longstanding muses throughout history. Without looking too hard, traces of Ellsworth Kelly’s curves, Jasper Johns’ crosshatches and Frank Stella’s grids could all be seen in the roofscapes and landscapes, providing a breathtaking backdrop to daily activities, whether art related or other.

London

The transition from bucolic and sunny Petritoli to chaotic and rainy London was drastic but exhilarating. Frieze Week in mid-October is the global launching pad for the all-important fall season in the art world. With summer days in the rear-view mirror, an intense focus radiated from the London art scene with the convergence of exhibit openings, important contemporary and modern auctions, and preeminent art fairs. While the weightiness of a challenged economy and ongoing wars was perhaps most evident in the squishy auction results, elsewhere, the mood and excitement were upbeat as fair venues and exhibits were flooded by art fans and aficionados.

Frieze London and Frieze Masters art fairs ran concurrently under the stars, so to speak, in separate tents in the wonderful greenspace of Regent’s Park. Frieze London’s defining focus is on living artists and contemporary art. This year’s edition, the 20th, included over 160 participating galleries with a strong contingent of 40 or so international exhibitors. Noteworthy was the caliber of presenting galleries and works on display. While remaining very faithful to the contemporary focus, large well-established mega galleries were ever so present along with their roster of anointed stars, perhaps at the expense of the more experimental flair historically more synonymous with Frieze. A walking distance away through a maze of outdoor sculptures, Frieze Masters hosted over 130 galleries that showcased an eclectic mix of art works ranging from archaeological finds dating to thousands of years BC to 20th century masterpieces. Fair highlights included:  Tabboo!’s “Desert Moon”, 2021, acrylic on canvas (60 x 50 in.); Simone Leigh’s “Untitled”, 2022, stoneware, 25.75 x 11.75 x 16.5 in.); and Anna Mark’s “R 1002”, 1968, synthetic resin, sand, pigment on canvas, mounted on wooden frame (20 x 20.25 in.).

Elsewhere in the city at Somerset House, the 11th edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair was in full swing with a line-up of over 60 galleries showcasing more than 170 artists. There, the excitement of discovery and seeing new things being done by emerging talents was palpable. Highlights included: Godwin Champs Namuyimba’s “Fathering spirit”, 2023, acrylic on canvas (90.5 x 78.75 in.); Emmie Nume’s “When we use to”, 2021, mixed media on paper (55.5 x 41.75 in.); and a pair of works by Theresa-Anne Mackintosh, “Walking with my body conscious” and “Comfortably dazed”, 2023, oil and acrylic on canvas (each, 34.25 x 39.5 in.).

Also in London, a captivating Philip Guston retrospective was being held at the Tate Modern. Spanning a 50-year career, the comprehensive survey included everything from the artist’s more classical early works to pieces depicting his fiery brand of abstraction and, most prominently, paintings and drawings featuring his iconic comic-like figures and imagery that captured the anxious and turbulent world around him. The whole made for an intense and sometimes unsettling experience. While the museum walls were bursting with large scale masterworks that chronicled the Guston story, it was a small self-portrait that was most memorable - “Untitled”, 1968, acrylic on board. Barely noticeable behind the artist’s gaze painted in the foreground were the remnants of an earlier work of a hooded figure. The effect hauntingly captured Guston’s lifelong nightmarish preoccupation with racism.

San Marino

The next art stop was an unplanned pleasant surprise that surfaced during a day trip to San Marino. Located on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains and surrounded by Italy, San Marino is the fifth smallest country in the world, and it boasts a historic center high up on Monte Titano at approximately 2500 feet above sea level that features three medieval towers dating back to the 11th century. There was almost a Vegas-like surrealness to the place with throngs of tourists making the pilgrimage to take in the spectacular views and medieval setting. Nestled in one of the few quiet corners of the historic city and a bit isolated from the many churches, palazzos and eateries was La Galleria Nazionale di San Marino, the country’s center of modern and contemporary art.Housed in the renovated Logge dei Volontari, the museum is dedicated to showcasing its collection of post war art which was amassed from international art biennials held in San Marino beginning in the mid-50s. It was totally surprising to come across fantastic works by lesser-known American artists, including: James Brown’s “Opera Contro Natura”, 2003, mixed media and collage on folded linen (59 x 98.75 in.); and David Row’s “B.N.I.”, 1992, oil on canvas (in three parts, overall, 66 x 85.75 in.).

Toronto

Returning back from the old world with only one viewing day left at Art Toronto, the opportunity was seized to cap off the art adventure with a visit to Canada’s premiere contemporary and modern art fair. While the corridors were filled with rumblings of challenging times, the viewing experience was fantastic. Over 100 galleries took to the floor of the Toronto Metro Convention Center and offered up works from over 1000 artists. As a bonus, the launching of Jack Bush’s catalogue raisonné drew out many of his works that were scattered throughout the fair, including two favorites: “Untitled”, 1962, gouache on paper (35.25 x 23 in.); and “Red, Orange, Green”, 1965, serigraph, edition 67 of 100 (25.5 x 20 in.). Other fair highlights included: Emma Kohlmann’s “Tulip”, 2023, oil on linen with cherry frame (14.25 x 12.25 x 1.25); Catherine Desroches’ “Déliason du corps contre le ciel”, 2023, bronze, pine, plywood, lost wax casting dust, foundry kiln ashes, graphite powder, charcoal on newsprint and on panel (84 x 49 in.); Marcel Barbeau’s “Iris”, 1962, acrylic on canvas (76.4 x 51.2 in.); and Jean-Paul Riopelle’s “Sans titre (1958.006P)”, 1958, oil on paper (25.5 x 19.75 in.).

Meanwhile, the sports scene in North America was frenetic with activity as all major sports leagues were in some state of play. In Dinoland, emotions were cautiously optimistic following a perfect pre-season and a home opener win. After that celebratory moment, however, reality set in for rookie Head Coach Darko Rajaković. Three losses later, the new system was being questioned, and all the ghosts of last year’s disappointing season were surfacing. A win against a star-laden Bucks team provided some glimmer of hope, but that too was soon quashed with a thumping courtesy of ex-Dino Head Honcho Nick Nurse and his 76ers. Can a Fredless team be so different? It’s got to be the system. It’s early, I know, but it doesn’t bode well. Up next, Wemby-mania in the Lone Star State. Ugh.

For more information on any of the artists or works mentioned, the fairs, exhibits, Petritoli and Coach Darko’s system, “Just Google It”.

There you have it sportsfans,

MC Giggers

(Https://mcgiggers.tumblr.com) Reporter’s Certification

I, MC Giggers, hereby certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views and that no part of my compensation was or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific views expressed herein.

I also certify that I may or may not own, directly or indirectly, works of artists mentioned in this report and that I may or may not have a strong bias for such artists and, more generally, for “Pictures of Nothing”.

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day (green tea.) Welcome to the weekend!

Wow! Here we are again: Friday! Where did that week go? No, seriously, where did that week go?

First of all, many thanks to everyone that got involved with Throwback Thursday on my page. Yesterday’s word was CULTURE and the responses were – as you’d expect - cultural. Everybody that’s connected to me on social media, the ‘culture’ that we belong to is probably different to most people on this earth. We are unique and that’s why we get on. We are multi-cultural. We accept, we enjoy, we embrace and we love each other, no matter the race, creed, colour or sexual orientation. We mix, we collaborate, we socialise, we fuse, we create new forms of art. We don’t just partake in culture, we are culture.

Although it ended in 2021, we’ve only just finished watching ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’. For the last few months, it’s been our go-to show while eating lunch or dinner. Why did it end? The changing public attitude towards the police. It was difficult for the ‘Nine-Nine’ cast to keep up the charade that police people could be sensitive, humane and law-abiding. For black people, it’s always a daily struggle (365 days of every year) but, since George Floyd, everyone and everything has been under a microscope a.k.a. the camera phone. (The black mum being arrested in front of her traumatised kid for alleged ‘fare evasion’, for instance!) My Twitter feed is FULL of American news stories (that you won’t see in the UK) about officers of the law going to prison for assorted crimes.

Yep, The T-Shirt King got rid of some T-shirts yesterday. The local recycling plant took custody of almost 30 T-shirts. Yes, I’ve got that many! They had to go! Many of them, I had worn to death! Brand new ones incoming!

In amongst all the prepping, teaching, marking, moderating, meetings and course-designing (comes up for air), in coming weeks, we’ve got lots to look forward to. It’s the Margate Soul Festival THIS weekend. The Trouble and I are coming down to Margate for the day on Saturday and I’ll be doing my radio show live from Olbey’s Cafe. Please pop in for a selfie! Got a big, music industry networking event on August 10th, we’re going to see Dolly on August 12th, The Trouble is selling jewellery at a craft fair in Monk’s Park on August 15th, got a garden party on August 20th, we’ll be at Panorama on August 26th to see our nephew Elijah perform with Metronomes, then I’m looking forward to TWO gigs on Bank Holiday Sunday: The White Lion All-Dayer and ‘Let The Music Play’ at Cinnabar in Stevenage (REALLY looking forward to that day!) We’ve got a wedding in Jamaica in mid-September and, of course, we’ll be back and forth to Hove regularly to see Lady Wesker. I’ve got one beautiful friend that I’m trying to make an arrangement to see and I literally have no space in the diary until October!

Really hope you can join me tomorrow at 1.00 p.m. for ‘The A-Z Of Mi-Soul Music’: The Letter P (Pt. 3). Margate: here we come! Somebody needs to contact The Guiness Book Of World Records. I shall be attempting a fairly challenging record: Most Selfies Taken In One Live Radio Broadcast.

Have a fabulous and funky Friday! I love you all. You’re probably thinking, “You don’t even know me!” but, if people can hate for no reason, why can’t I love?

[sterlinggeedoodles]

2021 October daily art challenge Creatures Magical and Mythical

29. Dragons

[makenna-made-this]

Behind on all the october art challenges so here's a good ol' chicken doodle. Maybe i should stick to this theme. BAWKtober anyone?

[peachsodah]

Peachtober 1 2021: Traveller

[lilacleonor]

Frog cookie! Do you guys bake christmas cookies?

[pattokarts]

Day 07: Treehouse || Tiger goes Rawr

🍂 It’s okay to ignore this one. :) I’ve mentally already put it in the box of shame. :) Maybe someday I’ll learn how to do perspective. And houses/architecture. And foliage. But for today, done is better than perfect (or in this case even “good”)

[astro-line]

that's all you need to know (and also im really bad at keeping up with these october challenges, keep me in ur prayers) #magtober day 1: so... tell me about urself

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