My Commission Process
Since the first lockdown of March 2020, I’ve taken commissions to improve my illustrations. At first it was just something to keep myself occupied while we were all cooped up inside. But now I’ve been able to use it to help myself financially over the course of my studies. In this post, you’ll find out a little bit about my process and the steps involved in making a commissioned piece.
I’m lucky that after posting my fungi drawings on my local Facebook group, I recieved a commission to illustrate Embsay Crag and Reservoir along with Jelly Ears on a tree. I was so thrilled to be able to illustrate mushrooms as well as a landscape because often, I’m asked to make pet portraits so it was a nice change!
I enjoy illustrating nature and wherever possible, I use eco and vegan materials to create my pieces. It’s taken almost two years to develop my method of working when creating commissioned pieces like this, and I am now in a place where I feel my process means I can create pieces I’m really proud of. My core materials are: pencil, brown/black fineliner, watercolours and white ink pen.
The process begins when the client proposes their idea. I start by sketching out the image in pencil before inking the line art using fineliner. The details are not hugely important as some of them will be a little washed away by the watercolour. Next, I block down the general shapes and colours in watercolour to get and idea of where each colour will be. I then build up the layers darker and darker which often takes a couple of days to be able to get all the details. I often find it’s helpful to put a drawing away when it starts to get dark and continue working the next day with fresh eyes (and sunlight!) After the watercolour is complete, I go back in with the fineliner and white pen to add back any details. The piece is then mounted and framed, ready for posting.
I was really pleased with this particular commission, which can be quite a rare thing when you’re an artist! I would love to make more illustrations like this one seeing as I’ve taken up a recent interest in mushrooms and fungi. (Big thank you to Issy for commissioning me!)
I’ve learnt so much about myself and what I want to draw these past years. Things like pricing your work is so so difficult and it’s something I still stuggle with (if you would like me to make a post about pricing your work, please feel free to let me know by emailing or leaving a comment!) I feel now, I’m in a place where my commission process works really well and I’m able to produce things that I’m actually proud of. I can’t wait to make more illustrations in 2022 and see where it takes me!
