Inktobor 2024 Finished

“I am not doing Inktober this year.” 

I kept telling myself this, ever since the prompt list came out in September. Every time I do these challenges, I completely over extend myself and end up with serious burnout at the end. Plus, I’ve got some personal stuff that I’m dealing with that would completely distract me from completing the challenge. 

Yet there I was, the night before it started, and what do I do? Start sketching. 


To keep it manageable, I’ve promised myself that I wouldn't let this take over. I’ve gave myself some restrictions to set expectations (not that I’ve been guilty of these in the past):


- Don’t be a completist. You don’t have to do every prompt.


- Don’t sweat the details. Not every piece needs to be perfect.

- Don’t need to be clever. Not every idea needs a good back story 
- Don’t get lost in this. I’ve given myself a time limit to work on each piece. Once I’m out of time, I need to stop - finished or not. 



If you are keeping tabs, this is my 6th Inktober, which is an online drawing challenge conceived by Jake Parker. Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. The goal of the challenge is to improve your inking skills.

Part of the challenge with Inktober is coming up with ideas, that align with my style, but also honors the prompt. My goals for this challenge are simple: all analog ink art, with limited ink wash for shading. 

This art is the ©copyright of Richard David Wezensky a.k.a. @dickdavid_sketches 

Please do not use or copy this art without permission and full attribution. 

Here is this year's prompt list: 

Here is my first Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 01 is “BACKPACK” 

This suitcase ‘bot is the ideal traveling companion. When you are ready to go on vacation, all you need to do is pack its back. This procedure is also referred to as a ‘backpack’. 

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 02 is “DISCOVER” 

You’ll never know what strange life forms you will ‘discover’ when exploring new worlds. This ‘bot is fascinated with its latest find.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 03 is “BOOTS”

This ‘bot is about to find out—the hard way—how powerful these new ACME super turbo, rocket ‘boots’ really are. Sometimes it’s better to read the instructions first.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 04 is “EXOTIC”

When this ‘bot was asked to participate in something ‘exotic’, it totally got the wrong impression. Instead of an excursion to a tropical island paradise, a different activity was planned.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 05 is “BINOCULARS”

Everybody knows that this portable, high powered, ‘binoculars’ ‘bot, with its 10,000x magnification feature, is the best way to observe birds and other wildlife. Of course, finding the wildlife has proven to be a challenge.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 06 is “TREK”

I guess there will be a lot of Star ‘Trek’ themed drawings, today. Being a fan, I decided to do one as well. Original series, of course. This Mr. Spock ‘bot takes a moment, from doing tricorder readings on these Tribbles, to bid you a traditional Vulcan salute, “Live long and prosper.”

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 07 is “PASSPORT”

Congratulations if you made it this far! You’ve earned your seventh stamp in your Inktober ‘passport’. This bureaucratic, customs ‘bot has seen its share of folks who are traveling from challenge to challenge. Let’s hope that we all make it to the end and get that 31st stamp.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 08 is “HIKE”

This ’bot is having second thoughts about taking a ‘hike’ during a heavy storm. Because of the resulting flood, it’s having to ’hike’ up its pant legs.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 09 is “SUN”

When it gets low on power, this ‘bot uses a portable solar panel to charge up from the ‘sun’. On sunny days, it only takes a few hours to get a full charge.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 10 is “NOMADIC”

This ‘namadic’ ‘bot spends its lonely days wandering from one place to the next. It often reflects on how much more important the journey is over the destination.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 11 is “SNACKS”

This vendor ‘bot is always ready with ‘snacks’ when you need them. You’ll never get hungry nor will you ever need to leave your seat during the big game.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 12 is “REMOTE”

This ‘bot enjoys all the comforts of working from home. In its ‘remote’ office, attending meetings is a lot less stressful.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 13 is “HORIZON”

Replaying its original observations of how ships disappear, hull first, when they fly over the ‘horizon’, this Aristotle ‘bot was possibly the first to propose this idea of a spherical planet.

Sorry, this one was a bit of a stretch.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 14 is “ROAM”

I guess this ‘bot should have double checked when it decided to ’roam’ the moon for vacation. As it turns out, it’s just outside of its mobile phone’s service zone, and the roaming fees will end up costing a fortune.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 15 is “GUIDEBOOK”

This tourist ‘bot was a bit disappointed that the ‘guidebook’ didn’t specify the scale of some of the attractions listed in its ‘must see’ section. Things weren’t nearly as big as what the pictures led it to believe.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 16 is “GRUNGY” 

This subculture ‘bot from the 90’s—with it’s original, coal powered, combustion engine—is looking a bit ‘grungy’ as it makes it to the next gig, covering songs from Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 17 is “JOURNAL”

Although most publications may have gone digital, this Gutenberg ‘bot still brings the “Daily Journal,” a printed newspaper, to its readers. It’s a ‘journal’ filled with the most up-to-date and on-demand stories available. Today’s headline: “Print is not dead!”

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 18 is “DRIVE”

Late at night, when the dining room is closed, the ‘drive’-thru is, usually, the only thing that’s open. Even though this hungry ‘bot doesn’t have a car, it‘ll ride anything to get a meal.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 19 is “RIDGE”

This Santa ‘bot is very nimble at walking along the ’ridge’ of rooftops, which makes it easy to deliver all the toys to all the children—all in one night. Beings so top heavy is the key to having great balance.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 20 is “UNCHARTED”

After crash landing on this ‘uncharted’ planet, this ‘bot is wondering if it should have taken a left at Albuquerque (asteroid). Fortunately, the other ship was unoccupied and they can probably just buff that out.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 21 is “RHINOCEROS”

This giant safari ‘bot has a great affinity towards all kinds of wildlife. This Indian ‘rhinoceros’ is one of its favorites — probably because its skin makes it look like a robot.

Quite honestly, I probably would have done something with a full sized rhino (robot rhino or something) but it would have taken me a while to do. Since I’ve limited my time to an hour or two, I had to stick with something that I was a little more proficient with.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 22 is “CAMP”

This s’mors ‘bot has become the official mascot for ’camp’ treats all over the world. It’s here to remind you to stock up your backpacks with chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows, before heading out on your next camping adventure.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 23 is “RUST”

Contrary to popular belief, robots don’t live forever. They’ll become susceptible to ‘rust’ and corrosion, then, eventually, fall apart. This ‘bot is close to its final days.

This reminds me of a movie quote:

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.” - Roy Batty

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 24 is “EXPEDITION”

This ‘bot is about to lead an ‘expedition’ into this reality deep hole in the ground. Some say that it might be a pathway to the center of the earth.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 25 is “SCARECROW”

This farm ‘bot was programmed to protect the crop from any opportunists trying to sneak a free meal. Unfortunately, it wasn’t designed with a bravery circuit. ‘Scarecrow’? Ha! It’s more like ’scared OF crows’.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 26 is “CAMERA”

There is one major design flaw in this portrait ‘bot. Because it has a ‘camera’ for a head, taking selfies that look right, has become somewhat impossible. There’s always something missing from the shot.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 27 is “ROAD”

Some days, this ‘road’ repair ’bot will get a little ’road’ rage, when work gets in the way of work. It seems that there is an endless supply of potholes on this street.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 28 is “JUMBO”

I’ve run a little bit out of steam coming up with ideas, so for this, I just did a ‘jumbo’ sized robot.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 29 is “NAVIGATOR”

Programmed with the latest G.P.S (Glovebox, Printed, Schematic) technology, this ‘navigator’ ‘bot will, almost, always point you in the right direction. If you follow it, turn-by-turn is a breeze.

Here is my next Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 30 is “VIOLIN”

This musician ’bot just played its mechanical heart out, to prove itself against a most dangerous opponent. Queue the Charlie Daniel’s Band.

“My name’s Johnny, and it might be a sin. But I’ll take your bet and you’re gonna regret ‘cause I’m the best there’s ever been”

I, personally, don’t like prompts like this—that are so specific and not open to much interpretation—especially at the end of the challenge.

Here is my final Inktober 2024 drawing. The prompt for Day 31 is “LANDMARK”

I’m tired and burned out, so forgive me if this one turns a few corners to get there.

This pottery ’bot discovered something, while eating cheese fries, as it was turning a new vase. With a few scrapes of its fork, this vase started looking like a familiar ‘landmark’. The vision for this particular natural monument came to it, right after a recent close encounter.

Here’s a quick recap of the work that I did for Inktober 2024. Congratulations to everyone who was able to make it through the challenge as well. 

Summer 2024

With lots of work and personal stuff going on, I didn't make much art between March of Robots 2024 and the upcoming Inktober 2024. I'm grateful for the folks over at Draw Me A Robot, for putting out their monthly DTIYS Challenges for inspiring me to keep making.

I haven’t made anything in a while so I used their June 2024 prompt to get motivated. 



That month, they partnered with @lullabythefearpodcast and asked participants to draw their favorite horror movie Villain or movie poster in their own style, and of course with a Robotic twist.

Seeing all of the amazing submissions, representing lots of amazing, newer horror movies, I decided to go ol’school and do a classic. My piece is fan art, paying tribute to the iconic 1931 monster movie, #Frankenstein - starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke and, of course, Boris Karloff as the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein.

I didn't win, but I was a finalist with this.

It’s nice to know that participating in a Draw Me A Robot DTIYS challenge would help me get out of my slump. 

In August, they partnered with @daviddiez_ilustrador and asked participants to CHOOSE THEIR TOOL. We’re to take whatever instruments we use to make art and turn it into a robot.

Since I make analog art, and my tool of choice is pen and ink, I decided to make an ink bottle ‘bot.

I actually won this challenge with this.

Here’s a quick break from robots. I had posted this as a sketch, back in 2019. It’s from my old series, which was a tribute to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the king of #RatFink. Instead of cars, I wanted to ‘fink’ out the different bike tribes. This was what I called my “Bike Fink” series.

Somebody reached out to me to secure the rights to use it for their cycling team’s bike jersey. Since it was a little rough, I dusted it off and cleaned it up a little.

Jersey images from Sandy Fettes.

Original art:

Updated art:

On the jersey:

In the fall, iconic actor and the voice of Darth Vader passed away on September 9. R.I.P. James. #jamesearljones

I posted this old Vader 'bot piece as a tribute.

And finally, as a tribute to the 85th anniversary of Batman, I decided to make some fan art. Here’s a quick look at my sketch process from initial concept to finished piece. This started off with me thinking about the 1960s Batman (my first real experience of the character) and then thinking about all of the variations and interpretations over the years. 

I decided that my fan art would be my own interpretation. What if Bruce wasn’t a millionaire but rather a regular person without the budget for 'such wonderful toys'? No spandex or capes, but rather, cargo pants and a trench coat? Of course, I had to make him a robot.

#deus_ex_machina #robot #robotart #RetroFuturism #SciFi #DieselPunk #artbyhumans #analogart #sketch #sketchbook #penandink #art #doodle #illustration #drawing #MakersGottaMake It’s always #inktober

This art is the ©copyright of Richard David Wezensky a.k.a. @dickdavid_sketches

Please tag me if you share this art. Do not use/copy this art without my permission and full attribution.