Video summary
In this episode of Inkblot Alchemy, artist Kim Dasolm invites viewers into an unscripted and spontaneous creative session where the direction of the artwork is entirely dictated by random ink blots. The process begins with a humorous acknowledgment of using toilet paper instead of tissue, setting a lighthearted tone that reflects the channel's philosophy of turning nothing into something through play and magic. Kim explains that while he may have initial ideas, the ink ultimately decides whether the drawing becomes dark, silly, personal, or political, allowing the audience to either follow the journey or jump straight to the final result marked in the video.
The artistic direction for this specific piece is heavily influenced by a series of coincidental events that shaped the mood of the day. Kim was playing the Nintendo Switch game *Orbitals* with his youngest child, experiencing the childish joy and silliness of accidentally destroying each other with laser beams, which inspired a desire to capture youthful energy. This sentiment was further reinforced when he accidentally played Anthrax's cover of "I'm 18," a song he had previously disliked but now appreciated for its sloppy, teenage vibe. These influences led him to decide on creating a character that mocked sadness, resulting in a "brain crab" with blue eyes that resemble the overly cute, non-black pupils of Link from *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time*.
As the drawing progresses, Kim adds details like a broken heart and extra lines to flesh out the creature, eventually naming it Roro. He reflects on how his life is often a tangle of disconnected impulses—from gaming discussions about new graphics to musical discoveries—that somehow converge to create unique art. Despite initially worrying about the darkness of the blue ink or the shadow between the eyes, he embraces the imperfections and the resulting character's heartbroken expression. The final image is a whimsical, slightly sad creature that embodies the chaotic but creative spirit of the Inkblot Alchemy series.
Kim concludes the video by sharing his love for the little brain crab Roro and encouraging viewers to engage with the art in their own way. He notes that while some might find his prices high, all his artwork is released under Creative Commons attribution licenses, allowing anyone to download and use the images for free if they wish. For those who want to support the channel directly, he points to his website where prints and originals are available. The episode ends with a promise to return in a few days for more inkblot alchemy, leaving viewers with a sense of community and the magic of spontaneous creativity.
Read the full video transcript
Hi there, I'm Kim Dasolm and this is
Inkplot Alchemy where we use our
creativity to draw something from out of
nothing. Now, what will we find in
today's ink blot?
Let us see here.
Need some uh
I always say tissue paper, but it's
toilet paper. And maybe maybe we're
going down in the toilet. I don't know.
But I I think we're going basic today.
We're going simple. We're going
childish.
Do I see anything here yet? I might see
some possibilities. There's something
happening up here. And there there's
definitely something moving down there.
But while we look and see the
possibilities,
allow me to briefly explain what inkplot
alchemy is. Two times every week, I draw
something from out of a random inkplot
and release the whole video unedited and
unscripted except for this little intro
script so you can watch it. I may have
ideas of what to draw, but the ink
always decides the direction. It might
get dark, it might get silly, it might
get personal, it might get political. If
you want to skip the whole process, then
you are free to do so. The final image
is marked in the video, so you can jump
there. But if you want to come along,
then random ink drawings is more than
just drawing. It's fun. It's play. It's
magic. It's inkplot alchemy. Now tell
me, what do you see in this inkplot
while I check if I've set the microphone
up correct? Yes, I think I have. That's
that means we're good to go.
So I mentioned that I maybe want to get
silly, maybe want to get childish, maybe
want to get
[snorts] something like that. And there
is a reason for it. And the reason is
the randomness of how the days go. So
today
I
No, no. Let's first look at this ink
blot and then then I'll
talk about why I want to do something
silly. First, let's find out what I want
to do that's silly.
And I think I will be doing
one of my very
basic
ink monster thingies. And I think I want
this here to be one of the eyes because
then we can
do like this.
And that's one eye.
And where is the other eye? I could
place the other eye over here.
But then I have to deal with this whole
shadow in between the eyes. And I don't
want to do that.
So
instead, I will place the other eye
here. Does it need to have two eyes? No,
it doesn't. But this one did
for some strange reason.
Why? I don't know. But I mean, look at
it already. It's perfect.
So, what I want to do here,
it's looking very sad.
So what I want to do here is
to create this into some sort of
character or situation
that makes fun of
makes light of the sad eyes in some way.
And I can
go like this. Now, the reason why I knew
that I wanted to
Ooh, now I see the whole thing.
It is [snorts]
sort of a brain crab thing. It will be I
think something like that. But the
reason why I wanted to keep it light and
silly today
is not just because it's one of those
days a
may not have the most time or the most
patience or or the most energy.
But it's also because of two things.
First,
I started playing
Orbitals on the Nintendo Switch 2, which
is a two-player
game. I started playing it with my
youngest child,
and it's got these magnificent
like 80s anime style graphics. And it's
just in terms of games looking like uh
animation,
I've never seen anything like it. But
what makes it work, you know,
gameplaywise or or or moodwise is just a
there is a childishness to it, a
silliness to it, a a youthfulness
to it that makes you laugh when um
your co-op partner, my my child in this
case, um accidentally or on purpose
again and again
obliterates you with a laser beam even
though you are supposed to cooperate.
So, so that sort of sent me down a
path of thinking
about
these childish joys. And then
on accident,
I managed just while setting up
the the camera and turning on my
computer and and getting ready to
record, I managed to press play on the
music on my
telephone
and the song that started playing was
something I hadn't heard or at least not
in many many many many many years and
that was I'm 18 but not the classic song
by Alice Cooper but the cover by Anthrax
and I love Alice Cooper and I'm okayish
on some Anthrax
but I hadn't really sat down and
listened to their debut album a fistful
of metal
perhaps in years or maybe ever I don't
No, I have no I have recollections of
individual songs, but I have no
recollection of
the whole album in any
in any real way.
So
I just vaguely remember
that when
I had heard that song before, if I had
heard that song before,
I would have hated Anfra's version
because it's
played
as if played by
sloppy teenagers
which an infact almost were at the time
and you know Alice Cooper wasn't the
people in that played in Alice Cooper
weren't a lot
older when they wrote and recorded the
song either but
um
today when I heard 18 as played by
Anthrax. It was just, wow,
this is pretty cool because it is
so sloppy and so stupid and so so very
very 18.
And I wanted to
in some way
capture
that energy
of
of youth. And I don't know if I do it
with
a brain crab,
but uh I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know if this has
anything to do with what I'm drawing
now,
but it has to do
with the intention, the intent, the the
the
thing that led up
to
uh to wanting to go in this direction.
The ink decided the specific direction,
but the the mood of the day, the chance
of
by luck just listening to an Anthrax
song I had long rejected. Likely I I
don't know. May maybe I hadn't heard it
before. I must have heard it before. I I
think I must have heard it and hated it
before.
And then just coming to this con
conclusion that no, no, no.
All the reasons why I I may have hated
it are probably all the reasons why it
actually may work.
And also,
you know, I I'm I'm a gamer. Um, I love
playing games. That's what I want. You
know, if I'm not drawing, I I want to be
playing games.
And I'm so looking forward to the new
Ocarina of Time
remake because hey, good excuse to play
that game once again and
not be
not have to struggle with the the
elements of it that have aged badly like
the controls, like the text speed.
Um,
so, so it's a good
[sighs]
[snorts]
excuse to play a good game again. And
I've been seeing some of that
discussion
online
about,
you know, people always hate the new
graphics in Zelda games. Always. Every
single time.
And now a lot of people hate the new
graphics because
Child Link, the main character, looks
incredibly
uh
cherubesque
and baby like
um and doll like
and and
I I I just go, "What's the problem?
The the
Yeah, I I I [snorts]
don't see the problem. I I I see that
this is
a chance to
revisit
something that is not quite
working anymore graphically.
a a and to sort of instill it with this
sense of nostalgia
and also to cram on a lot of fancy new
graphics on it. And
corporations will do corporate stuff
always. And Nintendo is, you know, one
of the worst when it comes to [snorts]
um response some copyright and all of
that stuff. But artistically,
yeah, this
seems like a [snorts] decent
[snorts]
thing.
And uh
now I'm just wondering where I'm going
to go with this
drawing. I think I have to find
another color
and I think it will be this
like
and
Just do a broken little heart.
This has very little to do with I'm 18.
I don't know if it has to do anything to
do with the cherabesque little link,
[sighs]
but
it has to do with something.
And I don't know if I will
come to any conclusion to whatever I'm
babbling on about.
It's just
that's life for me. this um
constant barrage of
different
influences,
different
impulses,
often disconnected
that tangle together. And that somehow
sometimes
lead
to
drawings
of heartbroken head crabs.
Brain crabs.
I just want a tiny touch of color here.
Yeah. So, so, so the reason why I talked
about
uh Ocarine of Time uh isn't the game
itself or looking forward to it or or
anything like that. No, it it's because
one of the things I found super
fascinating
which which is one of the things that
makes the art style be probably be be
too much be
overly cute
to some people
is
the eyes of baby Link of young Link
because they have like in the old
Nintendo 64 game, decided to keep
the eye, both the iris and the pupil
be shades of blue and no black.
And if you look closely here,
actually the the whole point is wrecked
because this blue ink
while it is blue, it's a little bit too
dark. So it looks almost blackish.
So,
but yeah.
Do I need anything more here?
Probably a few more lines.
like this.
[laughter]
Oh, what a awful little creature.
I love him. Her, it them. I love them.
Okay, I think
that's all I need.
And uh
Oh,
[snorts] almost started tearing the
paper. And we'll give them a name.
And the name is
Ruru.
I don't know why.
And that is inkbot alchemy number 24.
And like this
today's ink plot alchemy was this little
heartbroken
mind crab called Ruru. Why? How? I don't
know. Nobody knows. But if you like Rudo
and if you like what I'm doing here,
then this original and um all the other
originals are available at
dongahadholm.com
where you can buy them or you can buy
prints. Uh and if you think my prices
are too high, which they are for some
people, then you can also download and
use them for free because I release all
my art under creative comments
attribution licenses. You can use them
however you want for free. But if you
want to support inkplot alchemy, then
please go and support it at
denongholdman.com
or just by sharing the videos, sharing
the art, using the art, finding
something to use poor little Luru for.
And uh I will see you in a few days
where we will do some more inkplot
alchemy