J. L. Barnes
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fishwithatophat.com
J. L. Barnes
@fishwithatophat.com
200 followers 140 following 610 posts
I draw gentlemen animals. I write sci-fi and fantasy. And when I'm not preparing for the zombie apocalypse, I run DragonCrest Studios, 'cause it pays for kibble.

www.fishwithatophat.com
https://www.instagram.com/fishwithatophat/
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Day 31: Award. Here's your trophy--you made it to Halloween!

Congrats to all who made it through (or even did some of) Inktober, too! You rocked it!
#Inktober #dragons #art
A flying gold dragon with its tail wrapped around a craggy rock. The background is cloudy and appears to be near sunset. The silhouette of a black dragon is visible in the distance.
October 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
fishwithatophat.com
Day 30: Vacant. How's this for a vacant stare?

(Side note: She got a little drippy and I went with it. 😅 )
#Inktober #dragons #art #cats
Illustration of a black cat dragon with bright, glowing eyes and a little fang. Flecks of white and purple reflect the dragon's body, and the tail has a glowing white ball at the end. The background is dripping sepia tones, matching the random drips coming off the dragon.
October 30, 2025 at 8:44 PM
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Day 29: Lesson. Today's guest speaker will be lecturing on the art of telekinesis.
#Inktober #dragons #art #magic
A blue dragon with spectacles and a mustache carrying a book decorated with a crescent moon. He wears a plaid vest and brown pants, and has a floating pocket watch beside him. A teacup and plate follow after him, likewise floating, and he carries an old-fashioned candleholder with a lit candle.
October 29, 2025 at 10:21 PM
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Day 28: Skeletal. When you're dead but still festive!
#Inktober #dragons #art
Full-body illustration of a skeletal dragon with white, shredded wings and a white plague doctor's mask. It wears a rainbow gradient cape.
October 28, 2025 at 8:27 PM
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Day 27: Onion. An ogre dragon.
#Inktober #art #dragons
A large, hippo-alligator-looking dragon in the swamp, its mouth open in a roar. It's scarred and has a tattoo on its right shoulder. The necklace it wears floats in the water around its neck, and holds a tiny onion on the end.
October 27, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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Day 26: Puzzling. This fellow is very confused as to why someone's made a stuffed version of his best friend.
#Inktober #art #dragons #puzzling
Cartoon illustration of a very confused green dragon looking at a purple stuffed dragon toy in his hands.
October 26, 2025 at 9:28 PM
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Day 25: Inferno. I need to stop doing fire in ink. It takes sooo long!
#Inktober #art #dragons #inferno
A fierce red dragon flying in front of a fire tornado.
October 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
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Day 24: Rowdy. Look, you might not know what the fox says... but fox dragons say "LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

(They talk in all caps, clearly. They have to make up for their cousins' silence.)
#Inktober #art #dragons #foxes
A bright illustration of a fox dragon bust framed in a circle. Golden wings make up the sides of the circle, with evening colors (purples and pinks) between them. The bright orange fox dragon has her mouth wide open and is side-eyeing the viewer. She has a pair of small antler-like horns and a few brown patches on what otherwise seems to be a furry body.
October 24, 2025 at 6:37 PM
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Day 23: Firefly. Just a lil fren doin' their best!

I love how this one turned out--it kind of looks like part of an animation, almost.
#Inktober #art #dragons #firefly
A cute little dragon based on a firefly. Their front half is orange, with black hindquarters and a long, glowing tail. They have two sets of wings: an outer set that looks like more traditional dragon wings (in black), and an inner set like insect wings that are translucent and veined in gold. The background is indistinct green, and the firefly dragon is perched on a single blade of long grass.
October 23, 2025 at 3:25 PM
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Day 22: Button. A little button mushroom dragon! He is as confused about your appearance as you are about his.
#Inktober #art #dragons #mushrooms
A cartoon illustration of a mushroom dragon. He has a button mushroom cap, tiny mushrooms growing from his tail, and mushroom roots for wings. A little speech bubble contains a question mark, but he otherwise seems pleased to see you.
October 22, 2025 at 8:29 PM
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Day 21: Blast. Energy blast? Snow blast? Look, I'm not sure, but I don't want to be on the other end of it...
#Inktober #art #dragons
Close-up of a blue and green dragon with white energy gathering in its mouth.
October 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
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Day 20: Rivals. Who do we think's winning this fight?
#Inktober #art #dragons #fantasyart
Two different styles of dragon facing off against each other--a more nature-themed dragon, with leaves for scales and antlers, against a slightly larger spiked, more traditional dragon. Neither looks very friendly.
October 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
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Day 19: Arctic. I had D&D today and still decided it would be a good idea to do a complicated blizzard dragon. 😅

No regrets.
#Inktober #art #dragons #blizzard #DnD
An ink illustration of a snowy mountain range during a blizzard. A silhouetted dragon flies over the mountains.
October 20, 2025 at 12:17 AM
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Day 18: Deal. He's kind of a big deal.
#Inktober #art #dragons #cards
A King of Spades playing card with a red dragon head and skull mask.
October 19, 2025 at 12:23 AM
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Day 17: Ornate. A little prince- or princessling dragon. They're very certain you've never had a fancier friend.
#Inktober #art #dragons #ornate
Illustration of a small, multicolored dragon lying down. They have a jeweled crest and wear a gold choker. A small, diamond-studded gold crown floats above their head.
October 17, 2025 at 11:14 PM
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Day 16: Blunder. Just a little moment of inattention while flying through the trees...
#Inktober #art #dragons #blunder
A dragon flies through a foggy forest... straight at a huge spiderweb. It isn't going to end well.
October 16, 2025 at 11:34 PM
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Day 15: Ragged. A tattered little fren.
#Inktober #art #dragons #stuffies
A ragged old dragon stuffed toy. It has a stained blue patch and a few rips where the stuffing shows through. Its eyes are sewn-on blue buttons and just about the only part that's in good condition.
October 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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Day 14: Trunk. Today I discovered one of my pens is apparently a knockoff, because it's not waterproof. 😭 Anyway, *that* was a lot of lines to get to redo...
#Inktober #art #dragons #moon
A sepia ink-washed illustration of a dragon lying at the edge of a cliff. The moon is faint in the background. The dragon's horns and wings are made of bare tree branches, and it has a crest of moss and flowers.
October 14, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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Day 13: Drink. Does this make him a Scottish dragon?
#Inktober #art #dragons #scotch
A reddish dragon squished into a scotch glass. He's cleaning his foot with his tongue, much like a cat would.
October 13, 2025 at 7:19 PM
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Day 12: Shredded. I love me an undead dragon!
#Inktober #art #dragons #fantasyart
A green-tinted swamp with an undead dragon perching on a rock. He glows from the inside with malevolent energy and looks... very angry.
October 12, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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Day 11: Sting. As often happens when I search around for the prompt and my theme (dragons), I found a new thing! This is the stinging blue dragon (colloquially), another real critter of the sea. Check out the details and learn things here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaucus...
#Inktober #art #dragons
A floating blue dragon sea slug. He's kinda cute, in his way. Lots of odd little tentacle-type bits in vaguely leg-shaped protrusions, with two little antennae on his little head. He's also super stingy, so don't touch.
October 11, 2025 at 5:57 PM
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Day 10: Sweep. Not a good day for the town.

#Inktober #art #dragons #sweep
A dragon sweeping a town with fire. The dragon is mostly silhouetted, but has some glints of yellow and red off its scales. Its wings are a semi-transparent grey-brown. In the background a town burns; the skies are filled with thick smoke.
October 10, 2025 at 10:04 PM
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Day 9: Heavy. Turns out uranium is the heaviest visible element, so this is my very happy uranium dragon!

Dragons have a lot of cat in them, it turns out.
#Inktober #art #dragons #heavy
A very heavy dragon loafing just like a cat. His mouth is slightly open because he's super happy. (Possibly from a lot of a carbs, because who wouldn't be happy after that?) He's bright yellow and brown, patterned after the colors of raw uranium.
October 9, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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Day 8: Reckless. I'm not holding out a lot of hope for that tiny knight. Good luck, though, friend.
#Inktober #art #dragons #reckless
A massive angry dragon looking down upon a tiny silhouetted swordsman.
October 8, 2025 at 10:03 PM
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Day 7: Starfish. Meet the Red Dragon Starfish Cactus (which is a REAL THING, hurrah) and its guardian! He is fierce!

...He's also six inches tall.
#Inktober #art #dragons #flowers
A fierce red dragon (clearly unaware of his diminuitive height) wrapped around a red dragon starfish flower cactus, which technically isn't even a cactus at all. (It's in the milkweed family.) River rocks provide the base for the cactus, and a single red flower is the dragon's treasure.
October 7, 2025 at 11:41 PM