Last year,
I missed the opportunity to participate in #Inktober, so I created my own month
of drawing: Drawing a Day December (#DrADaDec). And I made a lot of drawings
that I’m proud of. But I’d never challenged myself by restricting my art to one
medium. Inktober’s got it in its name: you’ve got to use ink. I certainly
didn’t feel confident without an eraser or Control-Z, so I thought this would
be a good way to force myself to nail it on the first try. And this year, I
managed to remember to start drawing on October 1st:
#Inktober Day 1: this porcupine hobo is ready to ride the rails!
This
character was so well-liked that after a few days I returned to him, and before
I knew it, started telling a story about him, one installment per day. These
story installments aren’t compiled into one tidy document anywhere else, so I
supposed this is the place to make it so.
Now again,
because there was no eraser, and I didn’t crumple up any drawings and start on
a new one for the day, there are a number of flubs and technical mistakes in
there. Also, I didn’t plot the story ahead of time, I made it up as I went
along. And with all those excuses (heh), here is the rest of The Saga of Porcupine Hobo:
#inktober day 5: hobo porcupine enjoys a feast!
#inktober day 6: Porcupine Hobo stows away.
#Inktober Day 7: Porcupine Hobo meets Bun-Bun the Tramp.
#Inktober day 8: our stowaways are discovered.
#Inktober
Day 9: After the Bull throws them out,
and they plunge down, down, down
into the river,
Porcupine Hobo's and Bun-Bun the Tramp's lives flash
before their eyes...
#inktober day 10: FLASHBACK! Part 1 of Bun-Bun the Tramp's Origin Story:
As Bun-Bun's life flashes before his eyes, he recalls his humble beginnings as a pumpkin farmer.
#Inktober
Day 11: Flashback Part 2 of Bun-Bun the Tramp's Origin Story:
Tail between his legs, Bun-Bun had to admit
defeat against The Great Dustbowl.
He was not a dust bunny, after all.
#Inktober Day 12: Flashback Part 3 of Bun-Bun the Tramp's Origin Story:
Bun-Bun abandons his dust plot and sets off into the unknown to seek his fortune.
#Inktober
Day 13: Flashback Part 4 of Bun-Bun the Tramp's Origin Story:
Bun-Bun meets Cubby the Drifter, a roller skating bear who escaped
the circus.
Cubby teaches Bun-Bun everything he knows about Hobo
Living,
then gives Bun-Bun his hat, and goes to retire in a cave.
Bun-Bun The Tramp is born.
#Inktober
Day 14: Bun-Bun the Tramp and Porcupine Hobo
fish themselves out of the
river and find themselves on a small island.
As they while away the
hours and recover
from their rude awakening, they exchange life stories.
#Inktober
Day 15: FLASHBACK! Part 1 of Porcupine Hobo's Origin Story:
Porcupine Hobo recounts his not-so-humble beginnings
in a 5th Avenue estate, silver spoon firmly lodged in mouth...
#Inktober
Day 16: Flashback Part 2 of Porcupine Hobo's Origin Story:
The prodigal
son departs for his Ivy League studies...or so his parents think.
#Inktober
Day 17: Flashback part 3 of Porcupine Hobo's Origin Story:
Porcupine DID
fritter away a certain stretch of his stint in academia
grooving in one
long dance party. But it was not to last.
#Inktober
Day 18: Flashback pt 4 of Porcupine Hobo's Origin Story:
After one
particularly rough night, our hero awoke to find a hollowness in his
heart.
He knew nothing. He was a shell of a porcupine.
Something had to
change.
#inktober
day 19: Flashback Part 5 of Porcupine Hobo's Origin Story:
If the
porcupine was going to REALLY learn about the world,
he was going to
have to take matters into his own paws. That very afternoon,
he walked
through the wrought iron gates of his school, never to look back.
Porcupine Hobo was born.
#Inktober
Day 20: While Porcupine Hobo recounts his origins,
Bun-Bun the Tramp
uses his Advanced Hobo-ing skills
to build the duo a shelter and start a
fire while they await rescue.
They while away the time, hollow-bellied
but warm.
#Inktober
day 21: Porcupine Hobo wanted to make the swim
across the river, or at
least try to build a raft, but Bun-Bun the Tramp
refused to leave, and
Porcupine Hobo couldn't abandon him now.
He had never been so cold and
wet, and dark was fast approaching.
#Inktober
Day 22: the rain had cleared,
and a strange glow was coming from behind
their shelter.
They ran out and saw a shadowy form waving at them from a
boat.
"Our rescue has arrived!" Shouted Bun-Bun the Tramp, and he began
hopping
up and down, gesturing frantically for the boat to come near.
Porcupine Hobo began calling too,
though he had no idea about the
identity of the shadow.
#Inktober
Day 23: As the shadowy figure on the boat drew closer,
Bun-Bun the
Tramp exclaimed, "Ha! I knew it!
It's Cubby the Drifter come to save
us!"
He explained to Porcupine Hobo that Cubby was that rollerskating
bear
who was his Hobo-ing Mentor. Cubby called out, "Ahoy, hoy! Saw my
old tophat
stuck amongst the reeds upriver a bit, and knew you couldn't
be far. Climb aboard!"
And so they did.
#Inktober
Day 24: After paddling down the river aways,
the animals steered the
boat into the reeds,
following Cubby the Drifter's instructions.
"Where
are we going?" Porcupine Hobo inquired.
Cubby had a mysterious smile in
his face.
"Just trust me," he said.
Bun-Bun the Tramp nodded in
assurance,
so Porcupine Hobo tried not to worry.
#Inktober
Day 25: Cubby The Drifter leads Bun-Bun The Tramp
and Porcupine Hobo
off the boat and onto a tree-lined path.
"Follow me close. It's awfully
dark out here..." Cubby called.
#Inktober
Day 26: As they approached a bend in the forest path,
Cubby the Drifter
gestured them on.
When Bun-Bun the Tramp turned the corner,
he let out a
whoop and ran towards...whatever it was.
Porcupine Hobo cautiously
poked his head around a tree.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
#Inktober
Day 27: colored lights twinkled, the smell of stews wafted in the air.
Porcupine Hobo fairly floated down the small hill and under the banner
of "Hobo Haven."
#Inktober
Day 29: they were welcomed with open arms to Hobo Haven.
Porcupine Hobo
looked around in wonder.
Here were Gypsy Mice cooking up beans, there, a
fox with a harmonica,
and down the path, a whole cluster of happy
hoboes,
dancing 'round the fire, singing "Big Rock Candy Mountain."
#Inktober Day 30: And they lived happily ever after...until...
#Inktober
Day 31: Hobo Haven was great and all,
but Porcupine Hobo still hadn't
seen the world,
and Bun-Bun the Tramp missed his pumpkin farm.
They bid
farewell to Cubby the Drifter
and the rest of the hobo community
and set
off via handcar on their next adventure.
The End...ish.
