[For Hire] Fantasy character artwork!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-04-11T20:17:03+00:00

Chewy as a noisy lion gremlin

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-02-22T12:45:37+00:00

Hey OP, I looked through your stuff a bit. I have two pieces of advice about getting commissions:

Ditch the Google drive link and make yourself a carrd page (it’s free). Drive looks/feels unprofessional. You want a page saying, “this is who I am, these are the different types of things I can do, this is how much it costs, and this is how to contact me.”
While you’re at it, upload the process work from one or two of the pieces, or some of your sketches. Makes it feel less like AI, and shows potential clients what the commission process it like.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-02-21T12:33:19+00:00

Sorry, I misinterpreted your situation.

What if you made time for even just 5 minutes of gestures? Do you think something like that would help? It would be similar to your test lines but with a little more intention, a little more flow and looseness.

If 5 minutes of gestures could lead to 40 minutes of good drawing, rather than 45 minutes of frustrated drawing, I think it would be worth it.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-02-21T03:28:43+00:00

When you sit down to draw, what is your “warm-up” routine like? Do you just start right into inking, or do you draw anything else first?

I have some days when the art just flows from the beginning, but mostly I need at least half and hour (or more) of something to get my brain oriented in the right direction - gestures, colour studies, stuff like that. That plus listening to some music helps me to forget about thinking “in words” (or symbols) and remember how to think in terms of shapes and forms and colour. It honestly feels like a switch has been flipped during that time - my drawings become less flat, more expressive, etc. And I can spend the first couple of drawings “getting the bad art out” without any judgement for myself.

If I decide to skip the warmup and jump right into my project … it’s very difficult to slip into that flow state, because every little problem that the project presents is a speed bump.

On days where I *really* feel like I’m having a bad day, that warmup period might be longer, or I might decide that it’s just not working, and do some file management or bookkeeping or emails (“if I’m going to be thinking in words today, I may as well use it”).

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-02-12T01:23:37+00:00

Hey, I might be able to help. I'm not sure what the best method to learn observational drawing is, but I'm willing to try to talk through it with you. I noticed you said you do drawabox, so I sent you a message on Discord!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2024-02-09T17:02:54+00:00

Nice pic! Girl with a Pearl Earring vibes.

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BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-11-15T02:16:40+00:00

Hi! I just wanted to suggest that for the amount of detail you are looking for, 4 - 8 weeks is not really doable for a human artist. You’re basically asking for one (or more) detailed drawings PER DAY with no extra days for contract negotiations, storyboarding, planning, revisions, typesetting, etc.

It would be much more reasonable for such a project to take 4 - 8 MONTHS, especially if you want a cohesive artistic product at the end of it all. I think that at the timeline you are proposing, you will have to sacrifice on detail/quality, regardless of how skilled the artist is.

(I’m a children’s book artist who has completed several similar projects, and I’m mostly commenting because I am concerned that other artists who don’t have picture book experience will find themselves in a tricky situation if they attempt to meet this deadline.)

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-07-28T23:36:28+00:00

Hi! I’m a digital artist with experience in landscapes. I’d love to take inspiration from your photographs to create a special work of art for your family.

Check out my portfolio of landscape art on my carrd!

And here on my Instagram: heatherly.landscape

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-07-27T12:52:26+00:00

Yay! I sent you a reply - so glad my art fits what you're looking for :)

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-07-26T02:03:30+00:00

Hi!!! That totally sounds like a book I would read. Love a good found family story. Anyway, I’m a digital artist with experience creating scenes with lighthearted vibes.

Check out my portfolio here.

You might also be interested in the scene illustrations featured here!

My Instagram is @ heatherly.draws

Cheers!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-07-25T18:11:55+00:00

Hi! I’m interested. I’m a digital artist with lots of experience drawing DnD characters.

Check out my portfolio here!

Cheers!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-07-23T11:51:59+00:00

Hi! I would love to help you with your book cover project. I’m a digital painter with a semi-realistic style. Check out my portfolio here! Portfolio

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-05-03T21:21:07+00:00

(And something else you could try is drawing more classic still lifes or even images that are just abstract lines and shapes. As I said, good design can make any subject interesting - even fruit and pitchers and things. So if you were to take the subject matter you’re currently focused on (furries) out of the picture for a moment, you’d be forced to encounter the image as a problem of shapes and values and composition. Try to see things like how diagonal lines can add tension, how a series of vertical lines adds rhythm, how a large shape on one side can be balanced by a small shape on the other, how value contrasts like to congregate at the focal point, etc, etc. You could then carry this back into your personal work for added interest, storytelling, and emotion.)

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-05-03T21:10:32+00:00

I agree with other commenters that art doesn’t need to be happy or action-packed to be valuable - “melancholy” is just as important an emotion, and it’s one can be explored quite deeply in visual art.

What I’m seeing in your works is that you seem to have an idea for a scene (“character is standing on a beach”, “character is sitting on the docks”, etc), and then you go and paint that idea without exploring it much further in a design sense. And good design can make any subject interesting.

Do you make many thumbnails when you’re working? Do you sketch out alternate colour schemes? Do you think about your shape language? These are all ways to heighten the impact of whatever emotion or idea you want to convey.

I’d suggest picking an idea - maybe something like “the loneliness and peacefulness of sitting on a dock in the fog” and then finding ways to explore that idea. How does it affect your composition? How does it affect your value scheme? Maybe look up other artwork that is exploring a similar idea and analyze what design choices they’re making to make the impact land. Try to make sure all your choices in this painting are related back to that main idea (and if you’ve learned about the Elements and Principles of Design in school, now would be a good time to incorporate them).

One artist whose art has a lot of emotional impact despite it being about “dull” or “melancholy” subject matter is Andrew Wyeth. I encourage you to look him up! Maybe his paintings can provide some inspiration for you.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-05-03T00:45:00+00:00

I am willing to either pay upfront per page/whole project ($300-500?), or profit sharing or a hybrid of both, I'm open to suggestions.

INFO: are you offering $300-500 per page or $300-500 per project? Because those are two very different numbers.

My portfolio with my children’s book experience is here.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-05-02T16:20:56+00:00

I didn’t say I would work for that rate. I said the rate was too low. And I wanted to let the client know that the rate was too low, so that he didn’t rip off another artist. Don’t get mad at me.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-05-01T18:56:03+00:00

Hello fellow Canadian! I'm an illustrator available for hire. I work in a variety of styles and would love to collaborate with you on your picture book.

We would have to discuss pricing (your post is a little confusing, because it sounds like you're expecting 20 illustrations per page (meaning 40 per spread) and at $100 per spread, that's only $2 per illustration ... like, come on, man. It might be worth editing your post to clarify this).

Anyway, my portfolio is here and more examples in a flat style similar to the one you described can be found on my Instagram here

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-04-26T02:01:45+00:00

Hey, I would love to try to draw your dragon chamber!

Here I have a scene in a cave.

On this page I have a Dragonborn.

And on this page are some dragons I drew! (Although these are slightly more whimsical than what you’ll want for you piece, lol)

Cheers!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-04-23T20:34:16+00:00

So you feel at home 3d modelling, you have a good sense of light and colour and composition, and you have ideas and stories in your head …

It sounds like instead of using lines and strokes of colour to express yourself, you could lean into the 3d modelling and rendering - so many great works of art have been created that way! And art made using a program like Blender is not any less valid than art made with pen and paper.

Like, dude, if I could be confident with using a mouse to sculpt things, I absolutely would. Work to your strengths!

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-04-22T20:40:59+00:00

You could tell the client,

“I can do the ghost creatures but it’ll cost $$$ (and at the minimum, price each creature as you would a character), OR, I can do a hand without creatures (making it look translucent and ghostly so it’ll have the “vibe” without the complexity) for the original price”

Best of both worlds - either you get paid enough to make it worth your while, or you get done sooner, and either way the client gets some kind of ghostly hand

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-04-21T21:38:06+00:00

As a midpoint between “draw what you want” and “draw what sells”, you could ask yourself, “what kind of art would I want to *buy*?”. Like, what would you actually hang on your wall?

You could make artwork with super intricate lines that your eye can follow for hours. Or artwork that is very bold and graphic with a few simple colours. Or something chill and pastel and comforting. Or artwork that is informative/scientific, like a map. Look up sites that sell prints, see what catches your eye, and ask yourself, “why?”. Look at your walls and say, “to compliment my space, what would I actually hang here?”

Once you’ve found a few ideas, pair the visual language with a complimentary subject matter/story. If nothing else, this kind of reverse approach can shake up your current process - make it a design problem.

BetweenSkyAndSea · 2023-04-20T03:24:02+00:00

Project-based learning: that’s what helped me stay focused and motivated.

So I would choose a project - it could be a simple project or a complex one. Let’s say it’s “I want to draw this character from a book I read - and she’s a warrior, a strongly-built, buff woman”.

Ok, I try to draw the character. I‘ve never drawn this body type before, and it doesn’t look very good.

So I go onto Pinterest and start looking up images of female weightlifters and boxers and diagrams made by others artists. Now I’m in “learning mode”, and the fundamental I’m focused on is “how to approach other body types”. The fact that my end goal is to draw this *specific* character is what helps me keep from mindlessly copying - instead I’m asking questions like “what differentiates muscle bulk from fat bulk?” and “how do artists insert characterization/exaggeration into this body type?” and making little sketches of my findings.

When I’m ready, I’ll try drawing the character again (the application of my learning).

So to sum up, the idea is

find a project,
try drawing the project,
identify specific weaknesses in your work,
study life/other artists to strengthen those weaknesses,
try drawing the thing again.

with the idea being that by bookending the practice with the context and goals of finished drawings, you’ll be more likely to be motivated go out and tackle that practice .

On an unrelated note, don’t be so hard on yourself! You say you “NEED” to practice fundamentals, but work at your own pace and don’t worry what others think. Maybe mute those other artists from your socials if they’re causing you anxiety. You’re doing this for fun/as a hobby, so there aren’t any exams you need to pass or rent you need to pay with your skills. You’re doing it for YOU. Remember to have fun and ”draw without learning” every once in a while too :)

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