Since I've been doing a lot of micron doodles anyway, I thought I might give inktober another try.

silver grey and black micron drawing on standard 20lb computer paper, 4.5 x 6"; 11.4 x 15.1 cm, 01Oct2025; rotated, cropped, lightened & (badly) colour adjusted in gimp.

The ‘breed standard’ for Dalmations has a lot to say about their spots, which from an ethical perspective is troubling, because health and temperament are absolutely more important to the dog's happiness, but delightful from an artist's perspective.

“Proper” Dalmations are are born entirely white; black patches at birth, like those commonly found on the ears, are not spots; also spots should be evenly distributed (though, as with the drawing here, they're often denser on the ears) distinct, and of a given size.

Obviously I was playing with subject/ground in this drawing, condensing the spots on the ears to indicate them, rendering the ostensible foreground—the dog—in a very flat, undifferentiated way in comparison to the far more elaborate floral background: in this, the silver (light grey) microns, which are similar in value to relatively hard graphite (pencils) were a real help.

I can't say this is a great drawing—it has a lot of minor flaws—but I enjoyed making it, and, of the first 4 I've made for Inktober so far, is my favourite.

Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.