MY FIRST 15 DAYS OF #INKTOBER2017

Hello There! How are you? Hope you’re having a great autumn!

If you’re following me on Instagram or Facebook you will have noticed that I joined the Inktober this year; I’m a big fan of this challenge and I’ve been staring at other illustrators’ and artists’ drawings for years!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the Inktober is a drawing challenge created by the american illustrator Jake Parker in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. Since then many artists all over the world take on this challenge and I think it’s a beautiful way to share our passion and our work, but at the same time this is a perfect chance to put ourselves out there and improve our skills with a certain technique or a certain subject to draw. The challenge takes part online and consists in filling the 31 days of October with 31 ink drawings.

It’s a big commitment but for me it’s kind of fun and I must say I’m happy I joined this year!

I wanted my Inktober drawings to have a common theme that could be interesting and pretty fast to draw everyday. So I decided to draw…insects! Every artwork is made with ballpens and watercolors. I’m going to share more at the end of the month but I’m really getting into this insects world, discovering some special ones! Let’s take a look at my first 15 days of this Inktober, we are at the turning point! 😉

DAY 1 – Deilephila Elpenor

Also known as the elephant hawk-moth. You can find it in Europe, Asia and North America. It seems that its caterpillar can actually swim! I was really impressed by its vibrant colors!

DAY 2 – Geotrupes Stercorarius

DAY 3 – Aporia Crataegi

Protected in a few european countries, her wings become more transparent as she grows old.

DAY 4 – Calosoma Sycophanta

I’ve found out that this beetle eats caterpillars and it’s used against some damaging moths in organic farming

DAY 5-6 – Acherontia Atropos

Even when she’s still a larva she has the ability to emit a loud squeak if irritated. This beauty is also known as death’s-head hawkmoth for her skull-shaped pattern on the thorax. She loves honey, so you can often see her raiding beehives at night (poor bees). She’s usually related to death and evil. You can find this moth in a novel by E.A.Poe “The Sphinx” and in the movie “The silence of the lambs”.

DAY 7 – Cicindela Campestris

This is a voracious insect predator and helps mainteining the ecological balance between species.

DAY 8 – Gonepteryx Cleopatra

Her greenish color, the shape and the pronounced venation on the hindwings give to this butterfly a good camouflage, making them resemble just leaves.

DAY 9 – Acrida Ungarica

I was very impressed by the look of the Acrida Ungarica too. She lives in central and south Europe.

DAY 10 – Hyles Euphorbiae

This moth is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious weed Euphorbia esula.

DAY 11 – Bombus Hortorum

I was always watching at this insect flying in my garden, when I was a kid. I’m not really proud of this drawing and I sadly discovered I don’t really like drawing bees!