Inktober 2022: Crossing the Finish Line

Inktober artists: we did it!

This challenge was so much fun, I’m glad I finally went for it. It was the highlight of my day to see the unique responses to each prompt, and I found some great artists to follow on Instagram. I plan to do Inktober again next year–this time with more advance planning (like, the entire month of September…).

Between pushing to finish up Q is for Quarantine in September, and spending all month on Inktober…I am tired. I’ll be posting a comic weekly on Fridays during November and December, both brand-new and from the last few years (along with nicely edited versions of three Inktober comic strips), and evaluate how that’s working for me going into the New Year. I want to create and post comics regularly, so I need to find a way sustainably pace myself. Behind the scenes, I’ll be working on publishing Q is for Quarantine, and setting up a Lab Mice Etsy shop.

…Anyone else ready for a long post-Inktober nap?
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Wait–what do you mean, the holidays are coming???

October

October starts tomorrow, which means that it is also the beginning of:

1) Inktober

2) Dysautonomia Awareness Month

I’ve wanted to participate in Inktober with Lab Mice for years, and finally decided to go for it. I have a goal to complete all 31 prompts, one each day. Doing this on the heels of finishing Q is for Quarantine probably means that I will be very tired by November 1 (so, probably not doing NaNoWriMo this year).

I will be posting photos of each day’s drawings on Lab Mice’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and will do a weekly post here on the blog.

It’s also Dysautonomia Awareness Month, which will be inspiring a few of my cartoons for the Inktober prompts (like #17, “salty”). I was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome–a form of dysautonomia) a year-and-a-half ago, and cartooning has helped me keep my spirits up and see the funny side of things while I learn to manage it.

It’s going to be a very busy month!

Y is for Years

Q is for Quarantine: a Coronavirus Alphabet

One more letter to go!

I had no ideas for “Y” until a week ago, when it occurred to me that I’ve drawn two comics on the subject already. This was obviously not a part of the original list, because in April 2020, everyone was talking hopefully in terms of weeks or months. We didn’t know that covid had signed up for a full marathon, and not just a 5k….

X is for X-ray

Q is for Quarantine: a Coronavirus Alphabet

In an alphabet book, the options for “x” are either “x-ray” or “xylophone.” Though I am sure some ambitious person taught themselves to play the xylophone during lockdown, “x-ray” seemed much more relevant to the pandemic.

This one wins the award for “Struggled Most to Draw.” Be assured that I will not be releasing a Lab Mice anatomy textbook anytime soon.