The COPPERHEAD Strikes
And My Bank Account Doesn't Like It!
I was hired to create an illustration for a short prose story and in doing so, I thought, why not try it all as a digital piece?
Since I wouldn't be able to sell the artwork (who would want some random art with random characters on it these days?) I thought this might be the way to go. So, I sketched something out traditionally.
The goal was to create a lot of movement and action for what seemed like a familiar 16:9 art ratio. All in, it took about 10 minutes to settle on the sketch above.
Then I took it into Clipstudio to refine for the rough into a solid sketch.
This part took about five hours. And you can see where this is all heading, right?
I was not happy with it at all and ditched the whole thing to start over from scratch.
While this image may not make a helluva lot of sense it still achieved the level of action I was hoping for with all the elements I believed to be relevant. Along with the pencils and the finished inks attached, I think I was in for about another 5 hours total.
Final payout: $150.
And that, kids, is how you make minimum wage. :)
Granted, I knew what I was getting into, there's no sour grapes about it. But the reality is what it is. The best lesson here is, if I hadn't abandoned an idea that was giving me the wrong vibe to tackle it different way, I might have actually spent more time trying to make something I didn't care for work.
At the end of the day, it's my name that goes into print. And as the saying goes, "You're only as good as your last job."
Please…let this not be my last job!
LESSONS LEARNED:
As you may notice, thanks to translating this into digital inks I actually had to rescale the family huddled near the window. While I’m more comfortable with digital finishes, I can’t help but notice how much more time they take because zooming can get away from you.
A good RULE OF THUMB is, only ZOOM in TWO STOPS if you can, to avoid unnecessary detail.
Only take on LOW PAYING work if you:
Have the time
It hits your creative nerve center
You have freedom to do whatever you want (get that in writing)
And you trust and know the people
=s=