In 2021 for the annual social media challenge #inktober I challenged myself to follow the official prompt list and create a full-color illustration and accompanying piece of flash fiction every day for the month of October. Each piece started as a pencil sketch and was inked, colored, and digitally edited to add glow effects, darker shadows, etc. Some are more successful than others, and few I've returned to and updated as my abilities increased. Sometimes I had a clear vision for the image and started there and other times I wrote first and let the written piece inform the image. All of the corresponding written pieces can be found on my writing blog (https://bunkbednoctuary.wordpress.com/).
Here's a look into some of the process for each day. The prompt for this piece was "Spark". I started by writing a short piece of flash fiction, then sketched out my concept. I then did an ink layer, colored with alcohol markers, and finally did some digital editing to change the background and add glow effects.
initial ink layer
color layer (alcohol markers)
final version with digital edits
Written piece for "Spark":
When I finally got the torch to light I cried in relief. I had been in the dark for so long.
The lively sparks drifted up from the flame and illuminated my tear-stained face. I still could not believe the miracle it was that I had found the torch. I had been wandering completely blind in what seemed to be an endless empty black space and had encountered nothing but rubble. Even before searching for what felt like miles in every which direction for any sort of edge or boundary and finding nothing, I had somehow been able to sense the size of the place. There was something about the sounds and the way they seemed to echo for far too long.
Although I now had the torch I could still see very little of my surroundings. The lit area around me tapered off into an impenetrable void of darkness in every direction. At least I could see myself and the ground below my feet so that I might not trip on the piles of rubble that were randomly strewn across an otherwise perfectly flat and smooth stone floor.
I did not know how long it had been since I had fallen into this hell, though judging by my thirst it had been many hours. I needed to find a way out or I would soon become too weak to move. But which direction should I go? I could end up going miles in the wrong way if I chose incorrectly. Assuming there even was a way I could get out. The way I’d fallen in had sealed shut behind me.
Timelapse of digital editing process