I believe my friend hit me up mid-September and asked if I was doing Kinktober. Without hesitation, I messaged her back, saying, hell yeah - knowing damn well I was not prepared at all. She had tagged me in an artist group with the 31 prompts, which calmed me down a bit. I'd say about a few days before October 1st; I started going through my archives, compiling old images I've wanted to draw for years but couldn't quite fill the prompts. That's when I got the idea to feature other artists' work and photos as a lovely tribute or collaboration. I was so surprised that everyone I asked said yes. It makes me wonder what factors went into their decision. Was it their interest in my work, or were they just intrigued to be drawn? Regardless, I can't remember ever being this confident in my work, enough to want to participate in a daily drawing challenge.

Jake Parker created Inktober as I was entering college. I remember always wanting to participate but never felt motivated or encouraged to do so. I don't believe the prompts excited me enough, or maybe I was too naive to put any thought into it. It just never happened. I had heard of spinoff prompts, but I can't recall ever researching them as much I did this time around. Ten years later, Jake finally trademarks Inktober and has artists' work removed if they so dare tag his word. I was glad to be participating in a spinoff version, primarily because of the backlash digital artists get from Inktober - since we're not using traditional ink and brushes. Honestly, I had no idea about any of this shit before I started, and it even discouraged me from wanting to finish or do a challenge as this ever again; because this mentality of exclusion, for me at least, had dispersed long ago. It's saddening to know it's still alive and well.

So finally, what was so fun about Kinktober anyway? 4 big things for me.

My Color Palettes

The timing of my Instagram's color spectrum couldn't have been more perfect. It made complete sense to incorporate yellows, browns, and oranges into this challenge. This coincidence was my second recognition that I was supposed to do this challenge - the first being the confidence in my work. Looking at all 31 drawings and how it starts and end with vibrancy really intrigues me; it feels like proportionate bookends. In comparison to its shaded values in between, they tell all the juicy bits. Plus, of course, orange was expected, it being October, the month of pumpkin everything. I'm just delighted my spectrum lined up so well. It was very reassuring.

Featuring Other Artists

I reached out and asked artists for their permission of three factors: asking to illustrate a photo of theirs, illustrate a rendition of their work or illustrate them reimagined. Surprisingly, I got the go-ahead from everyone and felt so free to explore and create my desires. I'll pick a few stand-outs to elaborate.

Asking to illustrate a photo of theirs:

Day 14: Toys featuring Michelin's #HairBootyEnergy. I love his little hairy buns and was so delighted he even got back to me - I believe he's only online for one day a week.

Day 6: Wet featuring Sohail's saliva. It meant a lot here to incorporate my Boys series into Kinktober - accomplishing two goals at once. And I was even able to mail Sohail a signed print as a thank you.

Asking to illustrate a rendition of their work:

Day 3: Consolation. My creative twin gave me the approval to draw the source material of his painting of him and his fiancé. I was nervous I wouldn't do it justice, to capture its softness. But I love how I portrayed its demeanor.

Asking to illustrate them reimagined:

Day 24: Mirrors featuring thighs from one of my favorite Miamians, Walker. I had no intention of having him nude, but I found an image on Twitter with the exact angle and had to mash these two images together. They worked seamlessly. Uncensored drawing only on my Patreon.

Storytelling

I mentioned on my Patreon a while back about growing up and being discouraged by the lack of representation and misrepresentation of Black bodies in anime and manga art. For someone who held those two art forms close to their heart, again, it hurt not to feel included. It had to be me to portray such inclusion. That is what's so crucial about doing this for me, thoroughly allowing my whole self to exist in any scenario I depicted, comfortably. Particularly with Day 10: Role Play featuring date night with Zuko. My expression in the drawing feels detached or unamazed by Zuko's sweet gesture. This emotion is done purposefully, for he is trying to cheer me up. I feel a lot of pressure is put on me as a Black, Queer artist. I feel expected to talk about Black oppression and bring light to such hardships. But my best friend said some powerful words recently that made me genuinely exhale. "It is not the responsibility of Black people to educate the masses about racism." - Janaye Lunsford. I'm getting to a point where I don't have to second-guess what I create in fear that it's misleading or exploiting Black narratives. Instead, I'm letting my creativity expand and tell stories that pertain to me personally and exist universally.

Another example would be Day 20: Leash featuring an intimate moment with a crush. We all can relate to stringing people along or letting infatuation run rapidly.

Exploring Composition

And the final most significant moment for me was exploring compositions. I knew they would be varied, or at least I had high hopes. There was a shaky start, though. I had solid backgrounds with simple spotlights - my usual pop art aesthetic. They became more elaborate around the last week, especially with days 24, 26, and 27.

While compiling my source material, I was most excited for Day 27 - Shibari featuring Jesus Christ nailed to the cross ass up. It didn't sit right with me to illustrate a traditional shibari rope binding of a Black body. So instead, I chose to mock biblical iconography and its absurdity. I found this composition from a meme, and I could not trace it back to the artist to save my life. I did so many reverse image searches to try and find them but with no luck. By far, the grainiest image I've ever drawn from, but couldn't be happier with capturing the satire.

Thank you to everyone who gave me their consent; it means a lot to have all of you be included in my work.

Journal

What Was So Fun About Kinktober?