I'm conflicted.Of course I've been sketching, but a certain level of sketch (my usual) is poo. It's putting the right scribbled strokes in place so I know where my final is going. It might as well be cuneiform for all that anyone else would (or could) understand it. This site isn't about critique or working one's heart out on some finished product - it's more a David Macauley type of sketch - the sort of thing you could publish in a casual book.
That said, here are couple of the 30 loose drawings I've made recently for a game. I'll try to scan some unrelated things if time allows, but I'd be curious as to your thoughts about the blog in your lives. What's the impetus? Do you really not work 16 hour days on paying gigs?
My take: I think that it's important to spend time doing work that is just for yourself. Client work is usually something of an echo chamber. A client (understandably) hires you based on work you've already done; not for the cool new technique or idea that you've been thinking about. A sketchbook is the place to play around with ideas or techniques that are only for you. To try out something that you've never done before, or keep working on something that you feel is lacking. This blog, for me, is a little kick in the hiney to make sure that, rather than simply focusing on the next paying project (which is very easy to do), I prioritize personal development.
ReplyDeleteI agree with david here. Personal work has to be done if you want to grow as an artist. I think it balances me out. I get so burned out when I just do the paying jobs. It's hard to make time, but if you do it enough it just becomes part of your process...
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate your clever responses. My own "career" is far more varied than that of anyone I know. That's NOT to say it's smart at all, but I think it gives me more latitude to try weird things (see above) than I think most people get.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I hope to work on a couple styles that ADs will "get" so that I don't have to take all the odd jobs I'm taking now....