Welcome
On most Wednesdays, check this blog for a strategy, process, or reflection for illustration with the iPad app ProCreate or Affinity Designer. This week I completed a collection for a Spoonflower challenge, updated my Spoonflower shop, and started Brushtober!
Brushtober
Liza Bardot is once again sponsoring a #brushtober month, challenging us to learn about different brushes by using one brush for one or several prompts, or mixing it up with different brushes just to learn and practice with brushes one has not used before. The prompts are on the spooky side. Check out her Making Art Everyday for this October, 2026. Above is my Flickr album for this year’s Brushtober, tagged with both #brushtober and #brushtober26 so I can add to it next year.
I’m taking this seriously this year and naming the brushes on my illustration:
SKETCHY BRUSHES
1 Pumpkin: I love Lisa’s brushes; for the pumpkin, I used two brushes from her Bonus Set 3. Chalkline — sketchy brush with texture; I also applied some Thirsty Ends strokes on the pumpkin, and to create the background. You can see the loose brush strokes that create the streaked effect.
2 Lantern: Procreate brushes: swansea and stringybark. Both are sketchy, pencil brushes. Swansea is for sketching and filling the lantern; stringybark created the background — nice, streaky brush.
3 Classic Sculpture: Procreate Pelion — another pencil brush, small, textured, but smooth. Works well for sketching and fill. In this prompt I learned that the white classic sculptures we learned about were not left white, but were painted! Learn about it here: New Yorker: The Myth of Whiteness.
4 Gravestone: Procreate Huntsman — a great texture brush with one side of the stroke textured and one side solid for lots of creative effects and easy shadowing.
INKY BRUSHES
5 Ink Bottle: Procreate Swift — great brush, a bit of pressure sensitivity and a bit of texture in its stroke. Great for a darker outline and easy to fill. I liked this brush.
6 Raven: Procreate shearwater. This brush worked for the raven — it works like a wet brush so full it’s blobby so when you brush with it, you’ll see the strokes and spaces. It worked well for stroking in the feathers. Its blobby edges make it sloppy though. Play with it, and let me know what you think.
7 Palmistry Hand: Procreate Pen Inveresk. This is a textured inker that flows well with a bit of a “streaky” effect. I like this one.
I plan on completing all the prompts, but probably not one each day. Join in. It’s fun! I’ll post on IG at @42Sheri so see you there!
Spoonflower Challenge and Banner
Spoonflower’s Patchwork Revival Challenge was fun to create. I had the assets ready and just needed to turn them into a pattern. I entered the one on the left, which has embroidery stitches along the edges of the rectangles and on the yellow stripes. The right one is plain. I need to create a few blenders to accompany the two patterns, which I uploaded in three scale sizes in my own Patchwork Quilts Pastels Collection— bright pastels!
I have many collections, most with heroes and blenders, as you can see in the image above. Spoonflower is revamping its site in December, and each artist needs to update their shop. I created the mockup from a template I created after taking Tracey Capone’s MockUp class on Skillshare in 2024; I updated my project and thanked Tracey. It looks sharp on the preview of my shop, which won’t be up until December. Here’s my current shop: Sheri42: I wonder if I draw a line…
Olive You
Jennifer Nichols Creative Journey Community [Affiliate link], we drew filled jars together with guidance from Jennifer. I chose to do olives because I wanted to let a few people I love know that I do love them. That’s what I love about Jennifer’s community: we can chat together, learn together, and go our own way based on her guidance. Take a look.
Thanks for stopping by!
It’s been a busy week new projects and learning about brushes.
As always, if you have any questions, please ask in the comments.
You can find many helpful artists teachers, including Lisa, Tracey, and Jennifer, on my Artist Resources page. Take a look at their IG and YouTube. Find one that fits your learning and art preferences and stick with them a while to develop your skills.
You’re welcome to follow this blog for art inspiration. We can share with #warmup4art to enjoy our work together! I look forward to your sharing and find me at @42Sheri, on Mastodon Sheri42, on Flickr teach.eagle Sheri 42. And, I’m so thankful you’ve been joining me with art this year! Take care!
