SHARK SKETCHBOOK

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Inktober Day 31: Slice (of cake lol) I signed up for a Halloween Box exchange this year, which was lots of fun! Rhode Montijo runs it on Instagram. As part of the box I sent, I drew two minicomics and brought back my old “All the Creatures Want Dessert” theme from 2014! (See the original minicomic here.) It was fun to make this Halloweeny and to just draw these characters with shaky hands and a micron again lol. Mixed feelings about the markers (I’ve come a long way in the last few years, I guess!), but the recipient loved these, so... awesome!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(2 of 2 because apparently Tumblr doesn’t let you post multiple videos? Sigh.)

[sharksketchbook]

Inktober Day 31: Slice (of cake lol) I signed up for a Halloween Box exchange this year, which was lots of fun! Rhode Montijo runs it on Instagram. As part of the box I sent, I drew two minicomics and brought back my old “All the Creatures Want Dessert” theme from 2014! (See the original minicomic here.) It was fun to make this Halloweeny and to just draw these characters with shaky hands and a micron again lol. Mixed feelings about the markers (I’ve come a long way in the last few years, I guess!), but the recipient loved these, so... awesome! Another Inktober done!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(1 of 2 because apparently Tumblr doesn’t let you post multiple videos? Sigh.)

[sharksketchbook]

Inktober Days 23-30! I wasn’t sure what to do for the final week of Inktober. Originally I’d planned on going back to my characters from last year, but they didn’t engage me this year in the same way, so I tried something fun and easy and a little different. I really enjoy tweaking the prompts into some sort of narrative, so... have a tiny little story about some creepy twins lol :D

Day 23: Muddy | Day 24: Chop | Day 25: Prickly | Day 26: Stretch | Day 27: Thunder | Day 28: Gift | Day 29: Double | Day 30: Jolt

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A small explanation of why I made this comic during the middle of Inktober, and a list of inspirations!

Why? Because I wanted to. I wanted to try my hand at a small horror comic, but apparently I just can’t tell a very scary story! Tragedy, romance, monsters, sea creatures, and a trusty animal sidekick are what I’m good for. Still, I pushed myself a bit with this tale and I had fun, which is the most important thing. Hope you enjoyed it too! Happy Inktober!

Inspiration:

The film Ladyhawke (a childhood favorite)

Guillermo del Toro’s obsession with the monsters within us and the humanity of monsters

The amazing horror comics of Emily Carroll

The film Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World

My own nightmares about getting older

The Crowded House song “Together Alone” about the Maori myth of Rangi and Papa

My firm conviction that there should be bisexuals and boobs in everything always

The giant women of Steven Universe and Ponyo

The novel Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken (also a childhood fave)

Ghosts and spirits in films like Beetlejuice and Spirited Away

Played on repeat while drawing this: the song “Once” from Brotherhood of the Wolf and the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End soundtrack (lolz)

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Inktober Day 22: Expensive. Together Alone: Page 14 (final page).

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Inktober Day 21: Drain. Together Alone: Page 13.

They know they may never find the Sea Witch. They know that they may never be anything but monsters living half lives. If they could, they’d drain the seas of magic, even though it would mean their deaths. But for now, they carry on, together alone.

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Inktober Day 20: Breakable. Together Alone: Page 12.

Araminta’s nightmares come to her in waking hours. When she catches herself in a mirror and sees her beauty fading. When she sees her clawed hands moving through dark water. When fear convinces her that their bond is breakable.

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Inktober Day 19: Scorched. Together Alone: Page 11.

Ben still has nightmares about the shipwreck. In his dreams, his severed hand floats amidst scorched debris and the bodies of his crewmates. And his former lover Mentiro mocks him from the depths.

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Inktober Day 17: Swollen. Together Alone: Page 9.

They try not to think of the night they were damned. The night when Captain Crow discovered them and cut off Ben’s hand as punishment for the theft of his daughter’s heart. The night when Midshipman Mentiro, swollen with jealousy, pushed his rival Araminta overboard, then led the crew to mutiny. The night the supernatural sea swallowed and transformed them.

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Inktober Day 16: Angular. Together Alone: Page 8.

Araminta’s father is now captain of the frigate Angular. They dread the times of year he is in port. He pretends he does not know them. They pretend they haven’t imagined every revenge.

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Inktober Day 15: Weak. Together Alone: Page 7.

In the early days, they’d let the transformation take them when they were together. But fifteen years on, as hope for anything else fades, it has become too painful to see each other in weak moments.

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Inktober Day 14: Clock. Together Alone: Page 6.

Their eyes are always on the clock, their hours ruled by the curse that keeps them from being together as man and woman.. At sunrise and sunset, they both change form.

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Inktober Day 13: Guarded. Together Alone: Page 5.

Life is not easy. Both half-breeds, it is difficult to move through a world that considers them both aberrations. It is hard for a woman to find work at night, and hard for a one-handed sailor to support himself on land. Their shared secret must be carefully guarded.

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Inktober Day 12: Whale. Together Alone: Page 4.

They keep a small room at the Black Whale. Hers at night, his for the day, never theirs together. The lonely bed is big enough for one, with a little room to spare for a loyal friend named Squalus.

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Inktober Day 11: Cruel. Together Alone: Page 3.

Both monsters now, their cruel fate keeps them from ever truly being together. Fangs and claws and scales prevent the consummation of their love, no matter how deep the ache in the parts of them that are still sometimes human.

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Inktober Day 10: Flowing. Together Alone: Page 2.

She lost her heart to a lowly sailor. Benito Barca dared to love her in return. They recognized each other’s loneliness. One night, he buried his face in her flowing hair and pledged himself to her forever.