Hello my loves, welcome back to my sketchbook.
Today I wanted to use my morning sketching time for something peaceful- I really can't
stress just how calming it can be in times of anxiety to take some quiet time to yourself
with some paints, if you get a chance, I'd really encourage it.
For me, I found a reference for this bird that I'll leave linked below.
I went with the flow with this one, just sketching and then deciding to go over the top with
watercolours, and as always, info on everything used will be down below, but for now, let's
get into today's topic.
So last weeks video was the first in what I hope to be a series on my channel going
forward where we set our own personal commissions based on a certain type of project, so last
time it was an album cover, in the future we could do greetings cards or home decor
or product packaging or any of the other limitless ways that art is used in day to day life.
And the goal is to get you guys involved so we can all get out of our comfort zones or
have this task that we're seeing through to the end, and exploring our art in different
ways in our own time.
But today I just wanted to talk a bit more about how to take on self-commission projects
on your own and what you should hope to get out of them.
When you are commissioning yourself like this, you take on the role not just of the artist
but of the potential client as well.
You can either be really specific about what you want from the project, providing specific
dimensions it has to adhere to, style or colour limitations, time limits on the completion
of it, and to make things extra challenging you can throw in two or three key words that
the piece has to somehow emulate.
So for example, I could set myself the task to complete a book cover design.
If I want to just explore that in my own way, that could really be all I ask of myself,
or if I want to pose more of a creative challenge, I could say that the finished piece has to
be 6x12" with a design that wraps around from the front cover, onto the spine, and onto
the back- in which case, I'd have to figure out the width of the spine etc.
I could use an existing story as a starting point, let's say the Very Hungry Caterpillar,
and again, I could let myself just read the story and see what imagery it conjure up,
or I could push myself to think more outside the box by actually putting myself *in* a
box.
I could say that.... let's pick three words....
Yellow, I want the dominant colour to be yellow, I'm looking for a piece reminiscent of the
art of Cezanne- you can interpret that as closely and literally or as loosely as you
like, and I don't actually want to see the caterpillar, just his surroundings.
I know that that probably didn't make sense, it was really on the spot.
But what I'm getting at is you can really have fun with... even just an adjective generator
online, just to narrow down the scope of your ideas and challenge you to get into more of
a problem solving mindset.
So what kind of commissions can you set for yourself?
Look around you at all the things that use art.
Billboards, murals, animation, food packaging, all packaging, magazine spots, articles, ads,
stories, poems, invitations, business cards, clothes... art is everywhere, the projects
you could set yourself are endless.
And it's up to you how much time you spend on these things.
For me, I think a week, maybe a week and a half out of the month, an hour or so a day,
is enough to stretch those muscles and still have time for other things, it's all about
what works for you.
Because this isn't for anyone but yourself, the most important part is really getting
those concepts, and getting at least a first draft down.
You're not necessarily doing it for a finished product, although that could be very useful
for your portfolio so bear that in mind as well, so just weigh up what you aim to get
out of it personally, and how much time you can dedicate to that.
Building your portfolio is a good part of the 'why' you might want to do this.
Especially if you're looking to go into a particular field in art, you could really
just focus on commissions centred around that, to build your experience there but also to
put out there to potential clients that will be looking for that kind of thing, to say
'Hey, this is what I do'.
But there are plenty of other reasons.
It keeps art fun and exploratory in times where you're maybe doing a lot for other people
or a lot of practice and study, it sets your mind alight with ideas and just that excitement
that can go away after the day after day of making art.
It keeps your problem-solving muscles warmed up, probably builds them even.
It creates a safe space for you to experiment in and maybe try things that you wouldn't
have before.
All in all, I think it's just a great way to get in tune with your creativity, get some
practice in without feeling like a chore and build the habit of committing to a project.
Hopefully I've encouraged you to at least consider trying something like this yourself.
If you're looking to take part with the album cover designs, check out last weeks video
and I'd love to see what you come up with using the hashtag in the description.
Let me know if you have any ideas for commissions we could work on in the future.
And for now, thanks so much for joining me, take care of yourselves, stay inside if you
can and I'll see you soon for the next video.
Bye!