nktober 2026: A Is for Akita marks the beginning of my 27-piece Lexicon Lands A–Z Dog Breed Challenge for Inktober 2026.

This black, white, and gray illustration features a seated Akita Inu, capturing the breed's powerful build, upright ears, broad face, thick coat, and distinctive curled tail. Bold India ink linework is combined with brushed gray tones to create contrast while retaining the character of the original traditional drawing. Strong ink lines and carefully brushed gray tones bring out the breed’s sturdy build, curled tail, alert expression, and distinctive character.

This artwork combines traditional drawing and ink techniques with light digital finishing. I began with a mechanical pencil and kneaded eraser before creating the black linework with India ink and a dip pen. I used a watercolor brush to build the softer gray tones throughout the Akita’s coat. 

After completing the physical artwork, I used Snapseed to crop and color-correct the finished image. I then used Procreate to resize the artwork and its Clone tool to clean up small particles visible in the background.

This Akita is drawing #1 of 27 in my Inktober 2026 series. Most of the upcoming Lexicon Lands drawings will be created six artworks to a sheet, with the complete collection eventually featured together in a slideshow video.

Artwork Details

Title: Inktober 2026: A Is for Akita
Series: Lexicon Lands — Inktober 2026
Artwork: #1 of 27
Breed: Akita Inu
Style: Black, White & Gray Dog Illustration
Traditional Media: Mechanical Pencil, Kneaded Eraser, India Ink, Dip Pen, & Watercolor Brush 
Digital Finishing: Snapseed & Procreate
Artist: Justyn Simon — The Artistic Shepherd

The Akita begins the journey through Lexicon Lands, where each new letter introduces another dog breed through traditional artwork.

A is for Akita. The journey has begun.

🐾 No tail left untold.