Every week brings something new through pen and ink and this one was no exception. Looking back through the images from May 20–26, a clear theme emerged: character creation in full force. From ghoulish bones and alien wolves to nautical tentacles that helped develop[ a full-page of monsters, the sketchbook became a proving ground for creatures both familiar and strange. Throw in a cinematic cemetery scene, a ghost-writing comic experiment, and the grief of losing our trusty pen and we have one of the more eventful weeks yet.
Documenting the week of May 20-26
Substack: https://monumentsinruin.substack.com
There is still a lot to learn. Seems like every new day brings something fresh for me through pen and ink. Looking back, as I gather images to share, it appears this particular week was dedicated to character creation. Let’s dig in and see what we have discovered!
Daily Art | May 20-26
We have to wrap up some loose ends here. Perhaps some old bones in the closet. Even though this fell into last weeks date range, I decided to hold it back for this week to showcase the full page of work and not repeat it.
This is where it starts.
And this is where it went. One of these days my work is going to have to dig into perfecting text. There have been multiple occasions where the image either brought text to mind or some ty[e of text accompanied it in my thoughts. We will dig into that later in this post.
Ghoul and bones! This was so fun to see appear on the page.
Snak-clops! This is a family favorite from these pages. It was exciting to work on and the end result still makes me smile. My wife was also very fond of this one.
There was a secondary task within this series. Mixing up the background. Trying new things to bring to image forward.
Sketch and Catch! Another day in the beautiful weather. In this case, we played long enough to develop this drainage scene. Though it’s not shown in the pics, this is just a few feet below the shown image and the pup typically choses to investigate on our way to start our breaks, as if something has changed. To my knowledge, nothing has ever been there except a bit of water after a rainy evening.
Hello Mr. Baby Wolf! Perhaps my skill for wolfing out has not fully developed. It still makes me laugh and wish it was a stuffed toy for the dog to play with!
Baby Drac complete with bloody background. Bat vs chicken is none of our concern! haha
It was time for tentacles. I have resisted this in the series for far too long. Trying to push myself in new directions. I do enjoy a nautical creature though!
“Tentacles up, pal. Gimme all of your ink or else!”
Full page of creatures, complete with borders and backgrounds. Monster yearbook, we are inching closer!
Nearly a year ago, June 3rd, 2025, as i watched the film The Good, The Bad, The Ugly this scene occurs in this cemetery. I snapped a picture of the scene with the though of one day trying to sketch it. It came to mind and I decided now is the time. The surprise of scrolling back through pictures to find the screen shot, only to discover it was taken nearly a year exactly was so cool.
I was so into this that i barely took a break, snapped any progress pics or did much of anything other than think to myself, “Geez, I sure bit off a chunk with this one.” Haha!
Was really happy with the end result and it was fun to tackle. The mountains in the background and the flow of the landscape was really a success, in my opinion. That was a ton of burial plots!
This was a neat experiment. As my mind has been drifting through comic book ideas, mini-monster zines and various other ways to test my imagination on the page, I decided to use a ghost writing exercise with art.
This was done as fast and loose as I could possibly go. Starting in the upper left of the page, i had no particular idea other than to make sure i broke through the border with a reaching hand. Too bad i did not time this. It was super fast. Perhaps that can be for anther day. Time is not as important and the pushing of ink.
With the light sketch of the full page done as quickly as possible I went back over the whole thing to darken and shade. This was also done as quickly as possible. It felt good to dig the pen into the page. “Scratch, scratch, hatch, slash, repeat”
There is a storyline here, though it is vague. In short, the aliens are sending signals to our homes and turning us into monsters who attack each other. Perhaps this concept holds more truth than we might want to acknowledge.
Time to revisit that need for text. The following concept was to sketch something from two different perspective. One from the side and the other above.
The text to accompany them is noted in the image caption.
This follows a similar concept with a slight tweak. In this case, we are focusing on the mirror of light and shadow.
As with the previous image, the text to accompany them is noted in the image caption. The four images are one page and meant to be a sequence from left to right.
Eye of the mountain, look to the heavens and receive its power
Light of the universe, shine upon the land and connect our souls
Angel of light, look upon those who seek to find the path
Angel of shadow, guide those who have lost the way
There is a moment of sadness within this weeks blog. Our pen ran out of ink. Perhaps you may or may not have noticed, the pen in this image has a slightly different look than the one pervious.
I am the type of person who will use an item to its end, when possible. In the case, I decided to memorialize the moment. A quick comic to note the death of my trusty pen, while other things are brought to life around it.
RIP Bic round stic Grip med. You have been a great friend to me.
Close up: Here Lies Pen Ink and the Predator Wolf
Close up: Cemetery action.
A late night sketch in the bed. Still adjusting to a new pen. Perhaps it is all in our heads. Needed some time to find balance. The exchange of energy will one day be complete. For now, it feels like this piece really nailed that emotion of change, loss and recovery well.
Want to take a moment to acknowledge Bone folder press for the fun chat prompts and conversation. Yesterday their idea was as follows.
“Today let’s make something with a decision you wouldn’t normally make. Get weird with it!”
Though the work below may not be weird by visual definition, it is certainly a decision I would not normally make. The entire page has been sketched in a landscape view. (sketchbook spine at the top) For the final work, the page was turned to portrait (with the spine on my left). Breaking this format is absolutely something I would never do. It resulted in a very nice work and fun conclusion to our conversation for this week.
Along with the chat, there is a ton of inspiring art to be seen by Bone folder press / bonefolderpress on Substack. Please check out their work and consider giving them a follow.
Sadly, we must move forward. We can not let the grief of loss become a weight that decreases our artistic activity. Momentum generates momentum!
Daily Sketch Challenges | May 20-26
I am still on a quest to work the daily sketch prompts into one fluid work! Some choices are easier than others and it continues to be a fun way to start my days.
Sunday Challenge| May 24 - Mechanical Creations
This challenge was so much fun! Creating this robot was such a blast and a fun way to wrap up my evening.
Having enjoyed this challenge so much, I decided to dig further into it and continue it’s development. Another fun weekly challenge that really sparked some excitement and inspiration.
Other | May 20
Wednesday May 20
…is this the end?