For the letter A, I chose the Akita Inu.

I wanted the first piece in the series to establish the visual direction for the drawings that will follow. The finished artwork features a seated Akita rendered primarily in black, white, and gray, with the dog's upright ears, broad face, thick body, and curled tail forming some of the most recognizable elements of the composition.

The limited palette also gives me an opportunity to explore how much form and character I can create without relying on a large range of colors.

Creating the Original Artwork

This piece began traditionally with a mechanical pencil and kneaded eraser. Once I had the drawing where I wanted it, I moved on to the ink work.

For the black linework and details, I used India ink applied with a dip pen. I then used a watercolor brush to apply the gray tones. This allowed me to introduce larger areas of value while keeping the artwork tied to the black-and-white ink aesthetic of Inktober.

I also used acrylic paint to create the black border around the physical original and to add my signature.

The original artwork was signed and dated October 4, 2026, marking the beginning of this year's challenge.

Preparing the Artwork Digitally

Although the Akita itself was created traditionally, I also did some digital cleanup to prepare the finished image for sharing and printing.

I used Snapseed to crop the photograph and make color corrections. Afterward, I brought the image into Procreate, where I resized it and used the Clone tool to remove distracting particles from the paper background.

I kept the texture and appearance of the traditional artwork rather than trying to make the finished image look digitally drawn.

For the print version, I also chose to focus the composition on the Akita itself, removing the surrounding border, handwritten signature, and date that remain part of the physical original.

The First of 27 Drawings

The Akita is only the beginning.

Lexicon Lands will eventually contain 27 Inktober 2026 artworks. The main sequence travels alphabetically through dog breeds from A to Z, with Valor serving as the additional 27th entry.

Most of these artworks will be a little different from this first piece in how they're physically arranged. Rather than giving every breed its own full sheet, I plan to create six drawings on a single sheet of paper for most of the challenge.

Most of the individual pieces will also be shared primarily through posts instead of receiving their own dedicated videos.

Once all of the artwork is finished, however, I plan to create a slideshow video bringing all 27 drawings together, providing a chance to travel through the complete Lexicon Lands alphabet in one video.

Watch the Akita Come to Life

The Akita is one of the pieces that does have its own YouTube Short. You can watch it here:

Watch Inktober 2026: A Is for Akita on YouTube

Collect Inktober 2026: A Is for Akita

The finished Akita artwork is now available through The Artistic Shepherd.

Shop Inktober 2026: A Is for Akita

As artwork #1 of 27, the Akita represents more than an individual dog portrait—it is the starting point for the entire Lexicon Lands Inktober 2026 collection.

Next, the journey continues with the letter B: Bull Terrier.

A is for Akita. Welcome to Lexicon Lands.

🐾 No tail left untold.