After doing it for 6 years in a row, I decided to not do Inktober this year. Although I love doing it, I wanted to get some of my life back. Other than some serious FOMO, it was a good decision to make.
Let me start with April, which ended up being a bad month because my mother passed away.
She was a taylor for as long as I could remember. Starting with altering our neighbor’s clothes in the corner of our basement in Ohio, she eventually started making a lot of our outfits. I still remember the bell bottom, Cub Scout pants that she made for me. Even though she worked so much, she managed to raise three kids and took care of our household. She went on to work for dozens of different clothing retailers throughout her life, until she retired at the age of 86.
Even in retirement, she continued to sew to keep her mind busy. Last month, on April 9, she passed away. She was 88.
Her dedication to her craft and to her family, inspired me to make this drawing of a taylor ’bot as a small tribute to her. I miss you, mom.
I also did an Easter Bunny Bot.
Then I took a small break, which turned into a long break. To return, I decided to participate in the @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge. For July, they partnered with @burn353, and asked participants to draw our own pet as a robot, OR their cool cat robot in our own style. As much as I would love to turn our old dog as a robot, I wasn’t sure if I could capture his personality quite right. So, I opted to draw their prompt in my style.
Taking inspiration from Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes,” who captured the vivid imagination of a boy and his stuffed tiger, I tried to show what a kitten might be imagining when playing with a plush toy.
Life was busy so I took another break from art. This is when I decided to not do #inktober this year.
I did, however, get asked to do a commission for a local bike advocacy group, BikeDFW, to do the art for their upcoming Full Moon Ride. It took a while, finding time to squeeze this one out, but I really enjoy it—even if it doesn’t have a robot in it.
Which I digitally converted to this.
Then it was time to get back to the @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge. Not participating in #inktober2025 I had no excuse. For October, they partnered with @majorcrimesdivision, and asked participants to draw a Mecha Jack-o-Lantern.
As usual, the submissions have raised the bar of the challenge. Here is mine.
There’s nothing better than going trick or treating with your own mech. There’s safety from monsters and you have something to carry around your extra loot.
For the fourth year, I was asked by a friend to donate a drawing for a silent auction. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t typically have time to do commissions, however I’m a fan of what Best Buddies (Texas chapter) is doing. I’m happy to show my support — even if it’s just in the form of ink and paper.
This year’s event has a #candyland theme. It’s been years since I’ve played that game with my kids so I had to do a Google search for characters related to the game. I decided to make a Mr. Mint ‘bot.
Here’s another submission to the @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge. For November, they partnered with @braindeef, and asked participants to draw a robot reclaimed by nature, or a functional floral machine. Life finds a way.
As usual, the submissions, have raised the bar of the challenge. Here is mine.
This bot stopped functioning decades ago. Since it was built with such a resilient alloy, nature could only reclaim it by growing on and around it.
I'm not sure if I'm going to do March of Robots, this year. The daily drawing challenges do take their toll on me and my available time. My wife hates when I do them, too.—only because she never gets to see me as much.
I do have a few random things to share, since last year's Inktober.
Let's start with the commission I worked on last year—before Inktober, but couldn't share until it was gifted to the recipient. I don’t typically do commissions, because of my busy regular job. However, when a friend is celebrating their son’s wedding and wants a robot version of him and his wife, I can’t say no. This was certainly a fun project.
For the third year, I was asked by a friend to donate a drawing for a silent auction. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t typically have time to do commissions, however I’m a fan of what Best Buddies (Texas chapter) is doing. I’m happy to show my support — even if it’s just in the form of ink and paper.
This year’s event was have a disco theme, so I thought it would be fun to pose a robot like Tony Manero.
I’m doing double duty with this one. A friend of mine asked if they could use one of my bike ‘bots to put on their Bicycle Coalition giveaway card during the local holiday parade. I was also trying to come up with an idea for “Holiday-Bot” for November’s @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge with @greyfoxbrobots. So, Santa on a Bike ‘bot was made.
I was going to take a break from participating in the @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge but they keep coming up with cool ideas. In December, they partnered with @add_art and asked participants to draw a vintage tin robot.
I’ve drawn a few vintage tin robots in the past, but I wanted to take the opportunity to make a new one. This is my take on a 1950s Winky Robot from Yonezawa, Japan.
I was sitting here, minding my own business over the holidays, when I started seeing all of these inspiring pieces of art, wishing everyone a wonderful holiday. I suddenly felt the urge to do the same. At least the well wishing. Happy Holidays to everyone!
Here’s my Santa ‘bot delivering presents on his rocket sled. If you were wondering how he got it done all in one night. There you go.
I took a small break from participating in the @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge because it was a busy January for me. When the February 2025 challenge came up, it was time to get back to it. That month, they partnered with @daviddiez_ilustrador again, and asked participants to draw their cool robot in our own style.
It was a high bar, but here is mine. I did not submit mine for the vote this time (unless they have an odd number of participants and need an extra challenger). I just enjoy doing the prompt.
Also, it looks like David is putting together a book on these submissions. I'll post it when that happens.
With lots of work and personal stuff going on, I didn't make much art between March of Robots 2024 and the upcoming Inktober 2024. I'm grateful for the folks over at Draw Me A Robot, for putting out their monthly DTIYS Challenges for inspiring me to keep making.
I haven’t made anything in a while so I used their June 2024 prompt to get motivated.
That month, they partnered with @lullabythefearpodcast and asked participants to draw their favorite horror movie Villain or movie poster in their own style, and of course with a Robotic twist.
Seeing all of the amazing submissions, representing lots of amazing, newer horror movies, I decided to go ol’school and do a classic. My piece is fan art, paying tribute to the iconic 1931 monster movie, #Frankenstein - starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke and, of course, Boris Karloff as the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein.
I didn't win, but I was a finalist with this.
It’s nice to know that participating in a Draw Me A Robot DTIYS challenge would help me get out of my slump. In August, they partnered with @daviddiez_ilustrador and asked participants to CHOOSE THEIR TOOL. We’re to take whatever instruments we use to make art and turn it into a robot.
Since I make analog art, and my tool of choice is pen and ink, I decided to make an ink bottle ‘bot.
I actually won this challenge with this.
Here’s a quick break from robots. I had posted this as a sketch, back in 2019. It’s from my old series, which was a tribute to Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the king of #RatFink. Instead of cars, I wanted to ‘fink’ out the different bike tribes. This was what I called my “Bike Fink” series.
Somebody reached out to me to secure the rights to use it for their cycling team’s bike jersey. Since it was a little rough, I dusted it off and cleaned it up a little.
Jersey images from Sandy Fettes.
Original art:
Updated art:
On the jersey:
In the fall, iconic actor and the voice of Darth Vader passed away on September 9. R.I.P. James. #jamesearljones
I posted this old Vader 'bot piece as a tribute.
And finally, as a tribute to the 85th anniversary of Batman, I decided to make some fan art. Here’s a quick look at my sketch process from initial concept to finished piece. This started off with me thinking about the 1960s Batman (my first real experience of the character) and then thinking about all of the variations and interpretations over the years.
I decided that my fan art would be my own interpretation. What if Bruce wasn’t a millionaire but rather a regular person without the budget for 'such wonderful toys'? No spandex or capes, but rather, cargo pants and a trench coat? Of course, I had to make him a robot.
I've tried to keep busy between challenges, because I don't want to be the guy that only works on art challenges. After this year, I may put a pause on them. Before I share my 2024 March of Robots work, I wanted to let you see what I have been working on since the last Inktober.
Let's start with a donated commission. For the second year, I was asked by a friend to donate a drawing for a silent auction. Because I am so busy, I don’t typically have time to do commissions, let alone, pro bono work. However, I’m a fan of what Best Buddies (Texas chapter) is doing and I’m happy to show my support — even if it’s just in the form of ink and paper.
Here’s an original drawing of a couple of Best Buddy ‘bots, leaning on each other for support.
After taking a small break after #inktober2023 I decided to take a stab at the @drawmearobot November 2023 DTIYS challenge! That month the prompt and prize is from @dfunkt.robot and the challenge is to transform a pair of sneakers into a SneakerBot! After seeing lots of entries, with bots inspired by the latest and most popular sneakers, I decided to go old school. This bot is a tribute to a true classic—the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star High Top—the original basketball court shoe of choice.
I really enjoy the fun prompts of @drawmearobot DTIYS challenges. I decided to participate in their final challenge for 2023. That month, participants were asked to create a robot of their favorite food. Since pizza was already taken, tacos and french fries were my other options. Fries won.
I don’t think fries from the place with the golden arches are that good, but they are iconic. This bot is spending a good amount of time waiting on the ketchup to eventually season its fries. Anticipation (queue the 70s jingle).
This is NOT an official entry for January 2024’s @drawmearobot DTIYS challenge.
Unfortunately, the prompt—a single line drawing—is a little outside of my wheelhouse. Instead, I decided to do a ‘bot making a self-portrait in the single line style. As you might notice, this is highly inspired by one of my favorite narrative artists, Norman Rockwell and his painting “Triple Self-Portrait”.
As we transitioned from 2023 to 2024, this ‘bot is busy pondering what the new year will bring. Hopefully, things will be much better because 2023 was a bad year for me.
This next ‘bot was told to keep its room clean and put away its toys.
I’m just playing around with some random ideas, in order to finish this sketchbook out. Since I do #inktober and #marchofrobots on single sheets, it takes a bit more time to get through these. I’ve got a few more pages before I retire this one.
One of the things that I wanted to do this year is play around with unexpected physics—shift the center mass of my bots to, maybe, defy weight and gravity. Here is a test.
I really enjoy the fun prompts of @drawmearobot DTIYS challenges. I decided to participate in their challenge for February 2024. That month, participants were asked to draw themselves as either a Hero or a Villain (or both! BUT on one slide please). I decided to make myself into a hero bot. Of course, I had a lot of difficulty doing this, since I don’t really see myself as a hero.
I went a bit off center with this one. Since my last name is weZENsky, and I see myself as a pretty mellow and calm person, perhaps my super power could be the ability to bring ZEN into any conflict. Using a bit of inspiration from classic super hero comics (and perhaps a bit from the 60’s Batman TV series - Wham! Pow! Zap! Bang!), I thought it would be fun to show this Super Hero Zen Bot, bringing that calm into the fight at hand, drawing it to a peaceful end.
February 14 is also Americano Day (for me). I made this sketch for my wife to celebrate the day.
“What is Americano Day?”-you ask. Allow me to explain.
Back in 1995, my really cute barista made me my first #americano on Valentine’s Day. Within a few weeks, we were dating. Within a few months, we were living together. Not long after that, I told her to marry me - and the next year, she did. Every year since, I enjoy an Americano on this day.
Happy #AmericanoDay to my wonderful wife and the love of my life, Wendy.
This year, I decided to participate in my 5th Inktober, an online drawing challenge conceived by Jake Parker. Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. The goal of the challenge is to improve your inking skills.
Part of the challenge with Inktober is coming up with ideas, that align with my style, but also honors the prompt. My goals for this challenge are simple: all analog ink art, with limited ink wash for shading.
Please do not use or copy this art without permission and full attribution.
Here is this year's prompt list:
Here are my submissions:
DAY 01
Here is my first Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 01 is “DREAM”
This ‘bot’s ‘dream’ is to become an ace rocket jet pilot and ranger. Until then, practice, practice, practice.
DAY 02
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 02 is “SPIDERS”
This ‘bot is afraid of ’spiders’. Too, bad it’s situational awareness sensors aren’t working very well, today.
DAY 03
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 03 is “PATH”
Not wanting to get lost, this ‘bot used a trail of breadcrumbs to mark its “path” in order to find its way back. Too bad it wasn’t programmed with any classic children’s stories.
DAY 04
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 04 is “DODGE”
This ‘bot is programmed with the 5 D's of dodgeball: “dodge”, duck, dip, dive and “dodge”, which, pretty much, makes it a pro at the game.
DAY 05
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 05 is “MAP”
This ‘bot should have spent more time studying its ‘map’ before setting out on its, sight-seeing hike. Or, at least, spend more time worrying about what’s in front of it.
DAY 06
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 06 is “GOLDEN”
I couldn’t do this prompt without paying tribute to my generation’s iconic ‘golden’ robot, C3-P0 from Star Wars. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it, giving it a hint retro-scifi.
I remember, when A New Hope (wasn’t what it was called back then - just Star Wars) came out. I was obsessed with all of the droids—especially, C3P0 and R2D2. I actually bought a metal, C3PO necklace at my local 7-11, and wore that thing for years.
DAY 07
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 07 is “DRIP”
This ‘bot might be classified under my old #misfitrobot series - where I pay tribute to old, analog machines/tech that are made obsolete by newer machines of convenience. This ‘bot pays tribute to the ‘drip’ coffee maker (I still use), which were mostly replace by those nasty, wasteful, single cup, coffee makers.
DAY 08
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 08 is “TOAD”
This ‘bot is completely controlled by its ’toad’ master. All of the functions are activated by specific types of leaps on the control-master treadmil.
DAY 09
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 09 is “BOUNCE”
The newest, most efficient mode of transportation for the next generation of ‘bots, is no longer fusion-fueled rockets or mega-magnetic hover cars. It will now be in the form of a pogo stick, where each ‘bot can ‘bounce’ its way to any destination — near or far.
DAY 10
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 10 is “FORTUNE”
I took a few turns with this idea. I am a huge fan of comedian “Fortune” Feimster, whose stand-up act can be seen on Netflix. This sketch is a representation of a story she tells about participating on a swim team, when she was a kid. At her first competition, before her first race, she helped herself to some refreshments from the concession stand — Fun Dip and Nachos. “Sweet and Salty”!! Needless to say, she didn’t win her race, but it turned into a very funny story.
DAY 11
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 11 is “WANDER”
This zombie ‘bot, will ‘wander’ around—aimlessly—for days trying to get a nice meal of fresh CPUs, hard drives and random access memory cards.
DAY 12
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 12 is “SPICEY”. I always thought it was spelled ‘spicy’ (according to US auto correct), but I guess it goes both ways.
In Texas, we like our nachos ’spicey’ and fast. This Jalapeño ‘bot will bring you a hot plate of this savory goodness, before you can say, extra cheese.
DAY 13
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 13 is “RISE”
Since it’s October, I thought I should give a little love to Halloween. This vampire ‘bot will ‘rise’ every night to feed on grade A, 10-WD-40, non-synthetic motor oil.
DAY 14
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 14 is “CASTLE”
I did this idea for the prompt, sand, during March of Robots 2021. I had so much fun with it, that I decided to redo it for ‘castle’.
Bucket head ‘bots are known for their ability to improvise—especially when they forget their sand “castle” building tools. They have SPF 15 (Special Perceptive Functions) built right in.
DAY 15
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 15 is “DAGGER”
Lurking in the shadows, this wind-up spy ‘bot seems to be up to some serious cloak and ‘dagger’ business. I bet the secret password includes a random combination of capital and lower case letters, numbers and at least one symbol.
DAY 16
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 16 is “ANGEL”
Part 1 of 2. Since this prompt was back-to-back with demon, I thought it would be fun to create a 2-part drawing for these prompts. Here we see an ‘angel’ ‘bot, about to do battle with a demon ‘bot. Come back tomorrow to see part 2.
DAY 17
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 17 is “DEMON”
Part 2 of 2. Since this prompt was back-to-back with angel, I thought it would be fun to create a 2-part drawing for these prompts. Here we see a ‘demon’ ‘bot, about to do battle with the angel ‘bot from yesterday. Check out yesterday’s post to see part 1.
DAY 18
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 18 is “SADDLE”
This ‘bot is ready to ‘saddle’ up and hit the open range—or, at least—the neighborhood playground. YeeHaw!.
DAY 19
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 19 is “PLUMP”
This ‘bot has been trick-or-treating for way too long. It’s starting to show up a little on its waistline. Like this ‘bot, I also feel a little ‘plump’ after the holidays.
DAY 20
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 20 is “FROST”
This baker ‘bot can ’frost’ any cake with complete precision and in any flavor of frosting. Last minute celebrations are no problem.
DAY 21
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 21 is “CHAINS”
It takes two sets of ’chains’ to drive this tall bike and get this bicycle ‘bot to its maximum speed. Stopping is another issue.
DAY 22
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 22 is “SCRATCHY”
This DJ ‘bot likes to get ‘scratchy’ with its beats taking music to another level. Just remember, it's not hip hop, it's Electro.
DAY 23
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 23 is “CELESTIAL”
This observatory ‘bot is in charge of recording and naming all of the ‘celestial’ bodies that can be seen at night—as well as those that can’t be seen with the naked eye.
DAY 24
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 24 is “SHALLOW”
At the end of the day, this ‘bot is grateful that it opted for the cannonball—over the head-first, high dive—into what appears to be a really ’shallow’ pool.
DAY 25
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 25 is “DANGEROUS”
Lucky, the matchbook ‘bot, is warning folks that it’s not safe to play with matches. Fire is ‘dangerous’ and it’s easy for the flames to get away from you.
DAY 26
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 26 is “REMOVE”
It’s a good thing that ‘bots can ‘remove’ parts for repair and maintenance—even cosmetic. This ‘bot is working hard to ‘remove’ some of its wrinkles that are common with older machines.
DAY 27
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 27 is “BEAST”
After drinking the top secret serum, this Dr. Jekyll ‘bot turned into a ‘beast’ that can only be recognized as a Hyde ‘bot.
DAY 28
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 28 is “SPARKLE”
When The Bee Gees start to play and the disco ball begins to ‘sparkle’, this disco ‘bot can’t help but to get down and boogie.
DAY 29
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 29 is “MASSIVE”
Before the dinosaurs became extinct, a race of ‘massive’ ‘bots, with ‘massive’ heads, came to Earth and captured a few species to keep as pets. Some are even litter trained.
DAY 30
Here is my next Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 30 is “RUSH”
Even with all of the advanced technology at hand, these ‘bots still haven’t solved the age old problem of ‘rush’ hour traffic. Instead of roadways, the skyways are now filled with bumper to bumper commuter ships.
DAY 31
Here is my final Inktober 2023 drawing. The prompt for Day 31 is “FIRE”
At the dawn of man, these cave ‘bots were assigned to our planet, to teach our evolving species how to create their own ‘fire’—by simply using things that were readily available.
As with a lot of my ideas, many thanks goes out to my wife for helping me come up with a lot of solutions for these prompts.
Thank you for following along with my feed, this month. I sincerely appreciate all of your likes and—even more so—your comments. It’s truly humbling. I’ve also enjoyed seeing everyone’s (that IG’s algorithm would let me see) submissions. I can’t help but feel inspired by all of the amazing work
Please tag me if you share this art. Do not use/copy this art without my permission and full attribution.
Recap
Here’s a recap of my Inktober 2023 submissions. Thank you for following along with my feed, this month. I sincerely appreciate all of your likes and—even more so—your comments. It’s truly humbling. I’ve also enjoyed seeing everyone’s (that IG’s algorithm would let me see) submissions. I can’t help but feel inspired by all of the amazing work.
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