Hello Lovelies!
Lost at Sea
This year Guillaume Babin and I participated in InkTober and CuenTober and created the collaborative work InkCuenTober! We had a lot of fun with both of the challenges and putting this book together.
Below are pictures of the book and a selection of the stories and artwork.
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| Cover - InkCuenTober stories by Raely Marie and art by Guillaumbe Babin |
What is InkTober, you ask?
InkTober was an online drawing challenge created by Jake Parker back in 2009 where he released a word a day during the month of October and challenged artists to draw something based on that word. The challenge has become increasingly popular with more and more artists participating every year on Instagram.
What about that CuenTober?
CuenTober is a spin on InkTober created and translated into Spanish by José Luis Zárate in 2018 in which he challenged writers to write a short story or cuento based on the InkTober words.
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| The black and white and color versions of InkCuenTober |
What is the InkCuenTober mashup?
Guillaume and Raely Marie’s take on InkTober and CuenTober. The artist and writer transformed the two challenges, blending them together into a beautiful collection of 31 illustrations and short short stories titled InkCuenTober.
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| This is the first drawing that started off the InkTober 2018 challenge. |
I surprised Guillaume by reposting his drawing with this story:
La venenosa verdad
Emergió del líquido venenoso, listo compartir con el mundo lo que descubrió abajo. Pero, por el olor fatal que emitía, nadie le escuchó y el mundo se liquidó en seguida.
The Venomous Truth
He emerged from the toxic liquid, ready to share with the world what he discovered down under. But, because of the stench of his putrid body, no one got near enough to listen, and the world liquidated shortly after.
Why are some stories in English, others in Spanish, and one in French?
Well, Guillaume and Raely Marie met in Spain in 2011 and speak English, Spanish and French fluently. The artist and writer enjoy working in all three languages and chose to keep the stories in their original forms for your enjoyment.
Some of my favorite drawings and stories:
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| Gift |
The Perfect Gift
He was so romantic, it was cheesy.
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| Guarded |
The Great Kingdom Carlos XIX
Carlitos hired the Guardia de Penguinos – Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and three new recruits who specialized in distracting humans with their intricate dancing – the respected assassins of the Tsar of 86, to protect his thrown.
The thrown was on the only land in the kingdom that remained, and it was the exact spot in which his grandfather’s grandfather had made his stand against the Snow People of 104.
Carlitos, desperate to make his own stand, remained on his thrown until the Great Freeze, which restored the land to its original glory.
Unfortunately, as Carlitos had never left his post, there was no heir to the thrown and, after his death, the Guardia de Penguinos converted the land into a lucrative ecotourist location – The Grand GDP.
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| Whale |
Whale Rides
Frank's favorite way to get to work was on the back of Luther. Luther never seemed to mind the company, the two had become good friends over the years and he was happy to drop Frank off. The only problem was that migration season only came once a year, so Frank was often late to work.
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| Chicken |
Orgullo
Cruzó la calle y se fue al infierno porque le parecía que así se convertiría en un pollo asado perfecto para la navidad y que por fin haría feliz a su madre.
Pride
He crossed the road and entered hell because it seemed like the best and easiest way to become a perfectly roasted chicken for Christmas and finally make his mother proud.
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| Bottle |
He stared into the bottle and at Robinson Crusoe on the miniature raft floating in the water. He wondered how he was going to help him escape, but more importantly was concerned about how in the world he had gotten into the bottle in the first place.
He looked up and around and couldn’t help but wonder if he was in a bottle somewhere, in the hands of another little boy.
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| Expensive |
Giovanni
She loved having someone to go out with, but she never imagined it would cost her so much. She found herself working a second job just to pay for Giovanni's expensive tastes. He preferred high-quality clothing, he said they fit better. He would only go to high-end restaurants because he said he was "made that way."
When she first found Giovanni online, she never imagined that he would be more expensive to keep than the initial purchase.
After three months, she decided she couldn't afford to keep him and called A.I.Boyfriend's customer service. They wouldn't refund her money, but worse, they refused to take him back on account that the Giovanni model was "too much to handle" and their resale value was next to nothing.
The next morning, she dropped Giovanni off at the airport and wished him the best.
The last thing she heard him say was, "I only fly first class."
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| The back cover of InkCuenTober stories by Raely Marie and art by Guillaume Babin |
If you would like to purchase the book, purchase prints of the art, or are interested in collaborating with us, please email us at InkCuenTober@gmail.com.
You can also check out Guillaume's artwork on Instagram at Gabachogui and see my life updates, stories and posts on Instagram at Reili333.
I am working on a new project that should be out soon - keep your eyes and ears open!
Loves,
Raely Marie
