Inktober 2021, Day 2: Suit

Day 2 prompt was - suit. Spacesuit then? Which one? None other than the legendary 2001: A Space Odyssey’s red/orange suit worn by David Bowman. If you have never seen this amazing Kubrick film, you are definitely missing out, and my inner sci-fi nerd is shaking head and silently judging you. The film was created in 1968. The first time I saw it I could not believe how well made it was. Not only the plot line but also the visual effects were excellent. Some of the sci-fi movies created today are nowhere near a match to what was achieved by Kubrick 53 years ago. It is brilliant! Timeless masterpiece!

Part of the inspiration to create this particular suit came from one of my new inks, the Autumn Oak. I felt it would be a perfect fit for the job and I was not wrong. It was the first time I worked with fountain pen inks, but after some testing on a blank sheet, it was clear to me that this piece will be a blast.

_{“Open the pod bay doors, HAL!”}

I spent some time studying the features of the suit and figuring out the posture. Those bits remain behind the scene, in what I call the messy sketches. They are so messy and I did not even try looking, I am too shy to show them ever. Yet they are part of the process before I come up with the final pencil drawing seen in the right upper corner in the above image.

I then lined the whole piece with the Pigma Micron fine liner 03 since I felt there were a lot of tiny little details that required a more delicate tool as well.

Working with inks is my favorite bit. It is where everything becomes alive before my eyes. I loved observing how wherever I touched the Autumn Oak with water it lit up brightly after drying creating the dance between shadows and light hitting the surface of the suit. I also used a bit of layering technique on parts of the suit to create the texture and the fabric of it. I used the Diamine drawing & calligraphy Jet black ink for the darker colored and metallic bits.