The Ultimate October: Art, Ink, and the World of 8 Glasses of Water
October is never just another month on the calendar for me. I have a feeling if I got you to read this, it isn’t for you either. I have a tendency to turn it into an absolute marathon of creativity… and I probably bite off way more than I should hahaha. This year, however, I am doing something entirely different (but still attempting WAY MORE than I should!). I am tearing down the walls between my daily work practice, my fine art production, and the fictional universe I’ve been quietly building behind the scenes for years.
Starting October 1st, I am launching a massive 31-day Watch & Draw event. It is a grueling, gamified celebration of the season, creativity, and community. Before we kick off, I want to pull the curtain back and explain exactly how all these moving parts fit together—and why I’m taking on this insane workload.
The Three Pillars: Truant, Shadowplay, and The Saga
Over the last two decades, my creative output has evolved into a three-headed beast. They operate independently, serving different purposes and different audiences, but they all share the same DNA. This event is the moment they finally crash into each other.
1. Johnny Truant Tattoo
This is obviously my foundation. My daily driver. But my clients who just want sick tatts, might not give a fuck about art for their walls or weird sci-fi stories and comics, so I mostly try and keep them seperated. Operating out of Lotus Tattoo in Sayville, New York, this pillar is reserved for showcasing my work directly to those who love and are inspired by body art. It is grounded in the physical world, built on traditional craftsmanship, client collaboration, and the tactile reality of the work. The 20+ years in this industry I hope speaks for itself.
2. Shadowplay Studios
Shadowplay Studios (coming soon?) is the creative umbrella and production house. It is where my fine art, merchandise, legacy prints, and digital content are born. While the tattoo shop is for my local clientele and specifically their vision, Shadowplay Studios is for everyone. It is the engine that produces the die-cut sticker packs, the Hahnemühle fine art prints, and the logistics for events like this October Watch & Draw. It’s also where I get to be the illustrator, creator, and musician I have always been.
3. 8 Glasses of Water
This is the magnum opus. 8 Glasses of Water is a sprawling, twelve-book science fiction and fantasy saga set in the fictional world of Stellacineris and the city of Antumbra. For a long time, you have seen sketches of strange characters, atmospheric landscapes, and cryptic lore snippets on my feed. Those weren't random drawings; they were pieces of this massive literary puzzle.
My goal going forward is to create clearly defined aesthetics and locations for each of these pillars while solidifying the connective tissue and pathways between them, as each is informed and supported by the others. I hope that makes sense hahahaha
The Lore on Screen: Movies, Music, and NaNoWriMo
To understand this event, you have to understand how deeply horror, and the sub cultures I was involved in, influence my work. I mean, I’m sure most of you know “Johnny Truant” is not my real name, but was lifted from a character in what some people consider the most terrifying novel ever written. My visual language lives in the shadows of the media I consumed growing up. Much like some of the 8 main characters of my stories.
For the 31 days of October, I am running a daily horror movie watch list, culminating in a community watch party every night at 8:00 PM. There won’t be a live stream or chat or anything to accompany this, but if you are booked for an 8pm appointment at Lotus, we will be watching together! This isn't a random assortment of scary movies, either. Interspersed throughout the month are twelve specific "Double Features." Each of these double features is meticulously curated to represent the core theme and atmospheric dread of one of the twelve books in the 8 Glasses of Water saga.
The accompanying Spotify playlist works the exact same way—it’s a carefully curated mix designed to pull you directly into the atmosphere of Stellacineris. If you pay attention to all of this, my story is right there. Hopefully one day when this all finally written and out in the world, it might even be something that someone could look back on and think, “oh! I get it now!”. That’s awfully lofty of me to assume, but I can dream.
All of this cinematic and musical world-building is leading up to something much larger. I have been planning the literary foundation of 8 Glasses of Water for decades, and this October event is the ultimate primer. Once the Halloween event wraps, I am diving headfirst into the classic November writing challenge to begin drafting the actual saga in earnest.
The Ink and Paint Club: A Real-World Tattoo Simulation
I’m not just giving you a standard "Inktober" prompt list. You can absolutely use it that way if you want, but I thought a fun and interesting way to run a daily drawing challenge, would have you stepping into the role of a resident artist at The Ink and Paint Club, the cult tattoo studio located in the heart of Antumbra.
Your daily prompts are framed as actual client requests. They don't just give you a subject; they dictate a specific anatomical placement (like a knee, a throat, or an elbow ditch) and a strict budget in "Units." In our challenge, 1 Unit = 1 Minute. If a client walks in with a 45-Unit budget, you have exactly 45 minutes to prepare the design. When the timer hits zero, you put the pen down.
I designed it this way for a very specific reason. For years I have talked with so many people who expressed interest and real desire to become a tattoo artist, and I’ve tried in so many ways to help them realize and understand what that looks like. I want to give anyone interested in becoming a professional tattooer or working artist a real taste of what it is actually like to operate in this field. It isn't just about drawing pretty pictures; it is about managing client expectations, adapting designs to flow with the human body, and executing clear work under a high-pressure deadline. You really want to do this for the rest of your life? Why not try it for a month and see how it feels on you? Between you and I, this is still “being a professional artist” on easy mode. I’ll be giving you prompts that should, I hope, be fun and entertaining, -and only one per day… I’ll save you from the true horror of multiple unreasonable requests at all hours of the night.
Real-World Ink at Lotus Tattoo
For my local clients, the marathon extends directly to the shop. For years Lotus has run a Halloween Special every year. When I first started here, it was for one day (Halloween), a handful of designs, and first come first serve walk-ins only. It was honestly so much fun. But things change, and in the interest of practicality and accessibility, the event has changed over the years too. Not everyone can make it out for that one day. We have jobs and kids and commitments. So do I. Throughout the entire month of October, I am running the themed Halloween tattoo flash specials at Lotus Tattoo for $100 per design. I’ve paired down the available designs I’m offering from previous years and added a few new ones.
Because I want to pack in as much of this seasonal energy as possible, I am actively adding extra work hours to my schedule for the month to accommodate the flash specials. Every client who gets an October flash piece also receives a physical prize pack at checkout, including a 4x6 print, pins, and an in-house produced stickers.
I’ve put an option on my scheduling calendar for booking the event that should be available now!
Rogue Waves & The Daily Grind
To guide you through this month, I have launched Rogue Waves, a video comic broadcast hosted by two characters from my universe: Ivy Walsh and Autumn May. I mean, that’s not the only reason I started this up… I have a plan for the strip going forward, but I thought this event would be the perfect opportunity to bring them back and grease those creative muscles again.
Producing an animated comic strip while managing a full-time work schedule, my family obligations, and organizing a massive online event takes an absurd amount of time, effort, and late nights. The scripting, the illustration, the dialogue syncing and animating… is a heavy lift. But the joy of seeing these characters finally return after a 5 year hiatus and breathe and interact makes every hour worth it. They are the perfect chaotic hosts to bridge reality with the world of Stellacineris. They are also great promoters haha
While Ivy and Autumn will be issuing your daily challenges, my own daily output will look a bit different. Because I am managing the back-end logistics (and actually tattooing all month), I won't be participating in the timed drawing challenges the exact same way you are. Instead, I will be posting my own fun, daily artwork reacting to the movies, the prompts, and the events of the day as they unfold. Those stickers and pins take time to draw too, ya know?
Community, Rewards, and The Grand Prize
This entire 31-day machine is wired into a massive, gamified reward system. Every action you take—completing a daily prompt, getting a flash tattoo at Lotus, or tagging me on social media—earns you cumulative entries toward daily, weekly, and then the ultimate Grand Prize! (drawn on November 1st)
The Grand Prize bundle includes an official T-shirt, a complete set of the October Halloween Flash sheets, and three Shadowplay fine art prints, hand-embellished by me with Dr. Ph. Martin's Synchromatic Transparent Water Color. One of those three prints will be a brand-new piece of Shadowplay artwork that I will be officially revealing during the October event. I want to make sure everyone can participate and get rewarded, regardless of their drawing skill or geographic location. You don't have to be a tattoo artist to get your name in the hat. You can post nearly anything related to the event—sharing the daily prompts, showing off your completed coloring pages, posting your movie watch setups, or re-sharing the Rogue Waves broadcasts. Just make sure to tag me and use the official event hashtag #TheInkAndPaintClub so the system logs your involvement.
Because I want to truly reward the time and effort that goes into the heavier tasks, I am using a tiered entry system for the November 1st Grand Prize drawing: casual participation and social shares will earn you 1 entry, completing and submitting a daily drawing prompt earns you 3 entries, and booking an October flash appointment to get tattooed at the shop secures 5 entries per session.
But you don't have to wait until November to win. Every single day of the challenge, I will be selecting one standout prompt submission to win a signed legacy print (measuring roughly 3"x8.5" and mounted on heavy 11"x17" black cardstock). On top of that, every Sunday, I will be tallying up the weekly social tags and giving away an official Halloween Flash sheet to one active community member. To ensure these giveaways don't interrupt the daily flow of the tattoo shop, all physical prize packages will be batched and shipped out—or set aside for local shop pick-up—on one designated day each week.
For the hardcore illustrators out there, there is a dedicated reward just for surviving the entire 31-day marathon. Anyone who puts their head down, beats the clock, and submits all 31 daily drawing prompts by Halloween night secures the Completionist Reward. If you cross that finish line, you will automatically receive an exclusive, complete "trading card" set featuring all the official artwork I produce for the event, along with a heavy "paycheck" discount code to use across the entire Shadowplay Studios webstore
Why give away so much? Because engaging with and rewarding this community is the foundation of everything I do. Art does not exist in a vacuum. The people who support me, who buy my prints, and who read the lore of 8 Glasses of Water are the reason these projects survive. This prize pool is my way of investing back into the people who invest their time in me.
If you haven't yet, join the email list! Subscribers will be getting exclusive perks all through October—including digital wallpapers, coloring pages, and early access to the daily prompts—and that access will continue to roll out with fresh content for the rest of the year.
Thanks for caring about any of this and reading this far! You can get a jump start of the event by checking out the prompts and watchlist in the link down down below. Grab your sketchbooks, make some soup, and get ready. The nightmare begins October 1st.
