Thoughts About Vectober: A digital vector version of Inktober
I started Vectober as an alternative to Inktober since I’m mainly a digital artist and I wanted a challenge for vector artists. Vectober was born. From my experience with Inktober, the goal was to create a new ink Illustration every day for 31 days straight. I failed at daily illos and yet it was still a success.
Creating daily illustrations has always been hard for me and my style of vector art. I started with an illustration I had half done then I ran out of time on Illustration 01.
The next couple of pieces (Illustrations 02 & 03)were cartoony by design because it’s easier to complete and familiar to me. I was looking for wins and I’m very comfortable in this style.
The Illustration O4 was a test. Taking an illustration I created a year ago and push it as far as I could with a new application and everything I’ve learned in the last year. These illos were confidence building to sustain me going forward.
With the confidence of that last test, I dove into this amazing portrait I found with a different intention. With Illustration 05, I wasn’t trying to flex but relay a feeling in my vector work I’ve never done before: softness.
To be honest I was shocked at how well that last illustration came out. I was so afraid I couldn’t hit that level again, I decided to get familiar again. Images 06–07 were done in a style I’ve done quite a few times. There is no growth in your comfort zone.
I was so afraid I couldn’t hit that level again, I decided to get familiar again.
Illustration 08 was outside of my comfort zone. I don’t believe in photo-real illustration. In this instance, I reached for it and flipped it with my style. It’s the closest I’ll ever come to doing anything photo-real. It’s one of the best portraits I’ve ever created.
Somehow Illustration 09 surpassed what I created in the previous piece. It’s somehow MORE photo-real yet embedded deeper in my style. I was so in the zone I forgot how I got there. Which is why Illustration 10 isn’t as great (next slide). 10 is me fumbling around in the dark looking for the remote that turns on the style from the last piece.
The Lizzo portrait was me just experimenting. Almost a necessary experiment because I felt like I utterly failed trying to get the Jamie Foxx portrait to connect as the 09 did.
With Vectober complete. I don’t look at the fact that I didn’t complete an illustration a day for 31 days as a failure. I’m more excited by the fact that I was able to push my work in so many ways over the month. Look at how much my work changed from illustration 01 to 09 (the height of the month).
The goal wasn’t consistency, it was growth.
You can see all the illustrations from Vectober on my IG Page: @popephoenix
