The Night Gryphyn

Just an update on my Night Gryphyn piece; I received the following fantastic criticism on DeviantArt;

"Anywho, I think the biggest areas that catch the attention and seem unfinished are mostly in the mid section of the work. The back of the gryphon isn't as bad, a bit of fur texture here and there would go a long ways, but the feet and especially wings looks like they ran out of time. A little more contrast in shading in the mid-coverts there would go a long way, mostly shadows, and the texture you have at the top shoulder of the wing would be fantastic if it continued outward. The feet would just pop a little more if there was some shadow justification on those scales. The shading on them seems unfinished.
I don't think it would hurt to define the bottom half of the tree branch or the tail a little more, either, but over all neither really seem out of place or take away from the piece. They still fit in pretty well. It might actually even throw it off if you touched either up too much."

Although I was happy with how the piece looked, I knew there was something missing from it. The above crits allowed me to improve this piece, and I'm now more than happy to include it in my portfolio. I'll re-post it on DeviantArt, and see if any more tips are given. But until then, I'm calling this finished and will be moving on to other projects.



Just as a reminder, this is what it looked like before:



I think everything pops much more now, and this huge difference was easily achieved in only 2 hours.

Cancelled commission

So I cancelled that city commission on the grounds that the commissioner was unhappy with the quality and the speed of which I worked after only 3 days. I remained as civil as possible, whilst at the same time letting him know that he will probably encounter this scenario with anyone who he commissions.

"I’ve completed other pieces to deadlines that my commissioners have been more than pleased with despite me being in university. I did spend all day Saturday on your piece with which you weren’t happy. I have made every change that you have asked for, and that is why progress has been so slow. A completed sketch to the quality that I showed you cannot be achieved in 1 day, especially with such a complex composition and when so many changes were made to the very initial layout. Most professional artists would pride themselves in not rushing a piece and making sure it all worked well as a whole image, which could easily take a week or more to work through to a professional standard. This ensures that you would get the best possible art for your money.

I am sorry that you feel this way, but I do believe that it would best for you to find another artist if you are unhappy with my services. I have tried to make the image work for you, and obviously I am not the right artist for this piece.
Good luck with your novel and all the best with finding an artist that can give you what you require."

This experience has been a mix of emotions really; huge amounts of excitement at the beginning followed by disappointment and stress. As much as I would have liked to have worked through it, I don't think the commissioner was going to allow me that, as well as the time and artist freedom to create as strong a piece as I could for him.
This has been my first encounter with a difficult client, and I've learnt that I really need to learn not to take people to heart. The effect that this failed commission has had on me has been surprising; I felt sick every time I saw that an email had arrived from him, and dreaded working on the piece. I don't think a small amount of money and huge amount of stress were worth my making art seem miserable and totally un-enjoyable.

At the same time, I have learnt that not everyone will be as polite as I try to be, or will see a sketch in the same way as I do, especially if they have no artistic training. It's also proven to me that I am capable of staying professional and civil, even if that's not how I feel.

I now feel that I need to write up a short piece of information that I can give to any future commissioners to let them know what I expect of them in terms of ideas, detail, deadlines, etc. And in turn what they can expect of me and my prices. I need to also rethink my prices and what they include; at only £30, which isn't even minimum wage for a single day's work, I should make it clear that I would be only willing to do two revisions of the initial sketch, which in turn should ensure that the commissioner would give me the correct amount of details and information that I would need.

The London Expo

So it's been confirmed that I'm going to the London Expo! Feeling quite nervous but very excited too. I'll be selling my art there, so I need to get on with those traditional paintings, and also start researching where I'm going to get my prints from. That and deciding which pieces to try and sell.

I've also been look at Moo for possible business cards. There's a huge range of products available, from mini cards to business cards, sticker books and post cards. You can also use one of your own images for the cards, something I'm really excited about trying out. It's $21.99 for business cards and $19.99 for mini cards. Which is £13.72 and £12.47 respectively. Both are really reasonably priced and so I think I'll definitely go ahead and order some. Just not sure which to go with, as business cards are larger and there for show more detail, more information, etc. but the mini cards just look so unusual.

Either way, I want to get started on a piece for them.

:EDIT: I've just had more of a look through the website, and you have the option of printing different images on each card! And for those prices you get 50 cards. I'm very impressed so far, and I've not even ordered any!

A Viking and another commission

This is a quick portrait of a very old character of mine. I did it as a.) a practice for drawing male profiles, and b.) drawing a face that isn't stereotypically "pretty". I broke his nose and roughened him up a bit, and I'm really pleased with the out come. So much so that I want to go further with this sketch and do some fully rendered portrait practice.



And here's my progress with one of my commissions. I think it looks much better than the last update that I posted here. I was afraid that I had made him look too girly, but Kilo seems to like it as it is ^^ So it's time now to clean it all up and start adding textures. Really enjoying this one now... and you can really tell I like blue.



And finally, I received another commission. I'm required to draw a city for it, which is where my two biggest weakness lie; man made objects and perspective.



This is only as far as I've gotten so far. This one is proving to be very difficult, and I've already had to make several changes to it. I'll be roughing in some detail later on today, so hopefully the commissioner will like it.

Useful resources II

Another really helpful site is Colour Scheme Designer 3, which is basically an online colour wheel.

I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but after having a quick look at it I can already tell it's going to help me improve my understanding of colour theory significantly.
The colour schemes especially appear very useful, as does the ability to set things like complimentary colour schemes, analogic schemes and triad schemes, etc.

Definitely a site worth bookmarking.

Useful resources

So another thing that I thought would be a good idea would be to post some of the resources that I use and find helpful on the web.

Something that was shown to me the other day has become an invaluable tool for painting, especially people. I struggle immensely with lighting and this light cage has really helped me to start understanding where highlights should hit and where shadows should fall.

Not only are there spot lights all around the model, but you can switch to natural out door light or to un-natural indoor light. I highly recommend this to anyone struggling with setting out their lighting in pieces.

Self portrait

I completely forgot about this piece. It was done a good few weeks ago to relax and to practice. When I was in school I absolutely adored drawing people's portraits, and I haven't done one since (which is...going on 8 years ago now!!!!!!). I thought it would be a good idea to do a self portrait, as I'd probably need one for when I eventually set up my own online portfolio, and I absolutely hate pictures of myself.

Surprisingly I did this one quite quickly, in about 4 hours or so. I used photo reference, and cranked up the brightness and contrast to simplify the shapes so that it was quicker to paint.



This one was also a really good practice for blending tones with a sharp contrast (i.e. white to black), and I really enjoyed it.

:EDIT: I found one of the WIP's for this piece, just to give an idea of how it was painted.



I pretty much went from right to left, which is quite unusual for me. I recall colour picking for this, purely because I didn't want to spend ages on it, as at the time it was close to assessments.

Portfolio so far

I don't know if this link will work as I haven't published my site yet, but this is what I have so far. It doesn't look like much yet, and a lot of stuff is all over the place. But I've had a good play around with different templates, and this is the one I eventually settled on.

I want to make a header image to insert somewhere on the home page, and move the self portrait to the "about" page. The home page will probably be where I list any news, what I'm doing, where I am, projects, etc.

I'm loving all the different types of galleries I can create, and the fact that there isn't a stupidly low image limit.

Very, very impressed with wix!

It doesn't seem to cost much either to upgrade your account, and there are lots of different packages to choose from. If I upgrade and pay roughly $14 a month, then my site would become wix ads free, I could use my own domain, and have unlimited bandwidth. Plus you get 14 days free. Definitely something to consider if I can afford it.

London Expo

If all goes to plan, I'll be attending the London MCM Expo this May. I'll be going with two other friends and setting up a table where I'll be able to sell my art. I know this is going to be after the assessments for this project, but I thought it would be a good idea to show what kind of thing I plan on selling.

I'll be doing prints of my digital art, but I also want to do some traditional one off pieces that I could perhaps sell for a little bit more. So each time I start one, I'll log it's process here, and how much I plan to sell it for, how long it took, etc.

This is the first one so far, a Sun Cheetah, an old species of mine. I plan to do quite a few of these "portraits" in the style of this and this, but I also want to do some full body pieces, and things like cards, bookmarks, etc.



So far this is only the base colours down on the sketch. I'll be going in with coloured pencils to do more detail in the fur later on today. Unsure on the background yet; I was thinking of a sun set on a savannah, but then I thought some greens might contrast well with the golds and oranges. I'll do some experiments before committing to either idea. I'll hopefully have this done in the next two days, and then I can start on the next one.

The Night Watcher

I started this way back in July last year, and I did post the initial WIP shots on last years PDP blog. I was looking through my old files yesterday when I stumbled upon this. I remember I put so much time and effort into it that I thought it would be a sad waste to not finish it. I believe I finished it off in about 2 hours, and I'm really quite pleased with it. I know it has it's problems, but it's the first time I've ever tried to digitally paint a night scene, and it wasn't as difficult as I imagined it would be.



Another piece for my portfolio ^^

Wix

So I've spent the last three and a half hours or so trying to get my head around Wix, a free website creator. I'm not over whelmed in a bad way, it's just that there is so many options to choose from (which is actually a very, very good thing!). The editor is fantastic- you have a huge range of basic templates to choose from, which you can then edit further to create your own website that is completely unique to you. Although I haven't gotten very far yet, I have had a play around with a few templates, and I'm very impressed with it so far.

I can't believe it's free either; it looks and feels incredibly professional, and I'm really looking forward to getting my own site up and running.

The last thing that would complete it would be if I could buy a domain for it, so I'll have to do some research and find out if that's possible.

A new commission

About 2 weeks ago I received another commission from Kilo, this time for a detailed character portrait.

I thought it'd be a good idea to put my progress so far on here, and explain what I have done so far, and what still needs to be done. Kilo wanted him to have a facial structure somewhat similar to Orlando Blooms, and so I used this reference as a very rough guide.

First rough sketch, lots of errors but the basic idea is there.


Cleaner sketch, the mouth and jaw aliment was fixed at this stage.


Rough base colours.


And this is currently where I am with it. Struggling quite a lot with different hues, and I think it's looking quite flat at this stage. I plan to hide the colour layer and sort out my tones and values first in grey scale and go from there. The jaw line is also really bothering me in this one, so I need to go back and fix that too.


This character is © Kilo112205, and may not be used by anyone without her permission. Similarly, the art is © to me, Rachelle Fryatt and may not be used, changed or distributed anywhere without mine or Kilo's permission.

Business cards

Another thing that I want to create is a business card for myself that I can hand to people. I've heard good things about Moo, which I'll be trying out as soon as I can. I'll also be on the search for other ways of making cards, and would love to do a set with different designs on them.

I'm going to create a specific piece that I can put on the card, I'm not sure what yet, but I do know that it needs to be as eye catching, unique and interesting as possible.

Setting up an online portfolio

Setting up my own portfolio has been something that I've wanted to do for ages now, and this project is the perfect opportunity for it. I also plan to create a business card for myself, and any other things that I can use to advertise my art.
So I've tried out a few different websites for hosting portfolios so far in my search to find "the perfect one". I will be evaluating each one's pro's and con's, and in the end I'll choose the one that fits the best.

Unfortunately I'm somewhat limited because I have no knowledge of html coding. I do plan to learn as much as I can, but right now I don't feel that I have the time as this is my third year, and I only have about a month and a half left.

So far I have portfolios at:
DAportfolio
ImagineFX (which is more of a gallery, and currently only has 3, very old pieces of work on it.)
CarbonMade

Today I plan on trying Wix which is a free website builder which apparently does not require knowledge of coding. A good friend of mine has set her own up, which can be found here , and I'm quite impressed with it so far.
As I said above somewhere, I'll be updating each gallery/portfolio and evaluating what I think of them in individual posts.

Art for others

I love drawing for other people, and I love putting my own style on characters that aren't my own. It's a refreshing challenge, and it always pushes me to do well because I don't want to disappoint or hand over bad art. I think it's also good practice for when I will hopefully get into the concept art industry, because I'll need to be able to draw other characters and styles efficiently and quickly.

This first piece is gift art for my lovely friend Zoie, of her fantastic character Eduardo. I wanted to draw a portrait with emotion, and I was quite happy with the out come of this one.


This second piece was a trade over on deviantart with a lovely artist called Goosechimera. It took me a long time to finish this one, mainly because I think it's only know that I've really got into the swing of things with Photoshop. I remember really struggling with the colouring on this, primarily I think because I tried following a tutorial. Tutorials are great, and I love seeing other artist's techniques and process, but I found it very unnatural to apply it to my own art.


Saying that, I did learn important things from it, namely about how to push your tones and values.

Pieces for my portfolio

So on the side from working on commissions, trades and my Neg 2 project, I've been trying to do pieces that I could use in my portfolio. So this is what this is. It was also a practice with colours and backgrounds. I'm really starting to feel a lot more confident and comfortable with painting backgrounds, and they seem to be coming more naturally to me these days.

So this is Trevor, and I'm not really sure if this piece is strong enough for my portfolio, but it was good practice and fun either way.

Reference Sheet commission

So to my surprise I received a commission about a month and a half ago. I finished it a while back, and I felt stupidly proud of myself that I had made the first money ever from my work.

So here's the process I went through for this piece. I was pretty much given a free rein with this character, which was to be a white eastern style dragon with a blue mane and markings. Everything else I got to decide for myself, (I kept the commissioner update with everything, and luckily she like all the decisions I made).

First step was obviously a sketch of the dragons proportions, size, anatomy, etc. And rough ideas for his markings.


Next was working out the layout of the actual reference sheet, and making sure everything flowed and fitted correctly.


Base colours added.


Working in detail. I found painting a white dragon quite challenging, which I enjoyed. I had to find the right hues that would work to create shadows without it compromising the white and making it look like a dirty or off-colour white.


Final product. I gave the commissioner a choice of different background colours, and this is the one she picked.


This character is © Kilo112205, and may not be used by anyone without her permission. Similarly, the art is © to me, Rachelle Fryatt and may not be used, changed or distributed anywhere without mine or Kilo's permission.

Creative Futures Week Part2

Creative Futures Week

Day 3

The next talk I attened was on the third day, and was easily my most enjoyable one. "Computer Games- Concept art and illustration in the entertainment industry" by Lee Carter was absolutely fantastic. It was so inspirational, and very reassuring that the industry I want to get into is thriving and growing.

Mr.Carter stated some important things to include in your portfolio are figure drawings, show an understanding of cultures and architectures, and that being able to draw well in these areas are really important.

I really liked how he broke down what concpet art basically is. It should never be perfectally rendered and detailed as long as it communicates well and sparks more ideas. Also, if you spend too long on a piece, your client may feel intimdated to ask for changes and alterations. Working quickly but effectively allows you to produce many more ideas and gives more choice for your client or employers.

The majoraty of his talk entailed him showing us various pieces of his, and how he comes to certain conclusions in his work.
I really liked his paint overs, in which he had been given a boring 3D render of a set that looked barren and boring. Mr.Carter then went over it quickly, and the transformations were fantastic.

The best part of it all though actually came after his lecture. He set up a table outside, and I stood talking to him and asking him questions for a good hour after. He reassured me that the prospects of me getting an industry is good, and to just keep going until I get the result I like.

Something that has been bothering me for a long time is knowing what to wear if I ever got an interview for concept art. He assured me to just dress as I usually would; there are same extreme and exentrict people in the industry who probably won't care how I dress. That and I can't imagine it would be a good thing to outdress a prospective employer.

Mr.Carter also gave some great advice on how to start networking, and how important it is. Going to as many conventions as possible and talking to as many people as I can will further the prospect of me being hired, even if it's for freelancing. A lot of work is found by word of mouth, and by friends saying "I have a mate who is good at this kind of thing, do you want his/her details?".
He also assured me that people in the industry are all really nice, and will more than likely give you a few pointers or feedback as to how to improve. And he said if they're rude or horrible, then they're probably not worth knowing. I can imagine that most people in the industry are very approachable and kind, as they were once in my position. I'm going to make an effort to get over my anxieties of asking for critisism, and start contacting professionals and asking for feedback.

It was also reassuring in a funny way that I'm not the only one who sits at my computer all day working. The amount of time Mr.Carter spends working is incredible, and is really very inspirational.

Mr.Carter kindly gave me his email address, and I asked him if I could send him my portfolio and have some feedback. He said certainly, and I am eagerly awaiting his reply, although I totally understand that he has a hectic work scheduel.

All in all, even though I only attended 3 lectures (my work scheduel is pretty busy right now, and I felt that because I'm in my final year that I couldn't afford to attend each an every lecture), I really do feel that I've benefited from this years Creative Futures Week.

Creative Futures Week Part1

Creative Futures Week

Day 1

On the first day of Creative Futures Week I attended two of the lectures; the first of which was "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity! (Applications and Interviews)" by Glen Bertram, who works at the BBC. I find interviews incredibly nerve racking, and it is a constant worry of mine that my lack of confidence will severally impact on my prospects of getting a job. So I felt it was really necessary to attend in the hopes that I'd learn something that could help me bolster my confidence.

Mr.Bertram's talk was incredibly helpful, and really set things straight with how unforgiving the application and interview process can be. He didn't go so far as to deliver a crushing blow to the confidence of those who attended, but Rather painted a realistic picture of how the real world will be. He gave us some really valuable advice on how to improve our prospects of getting an interview, and how to make yourself stand out.

The most valuable piece of information I feel he gave us was about stating experiences on our CV's. Instead of just stating "I am a reliable person", you should always give an example of why that is so. For example "I am a reliable person, and this was illustrated when I took the initiative and opened the shop I worked at when the member of staff responsible for opening failed to turn up." It's an awful example, because I can't remember the one that Mr.Bertram gave, but you get the idea.

You should try and do all you can to sell yourself to your prospective employer, and always avoid negatives. If you don't have any experience in a certain field, don't mention it.

Another really good piece of advice he gave us was to display confidence in an interview, but to remain neutral. If you get the job then you can be yourself. Most people whether they like it or not have prejudices, and if you remain as neutral as possible then you are less likely to offend those prejudices.

Always research the company you're applying to, but don't give them a 20 minute speech about the history of their company.

Practice in front of a mirror, practice in front of other people. Just constantly practicing will improve the flow of your speech and help you gain confidence.

Showing confidence in an interview can often show an employer that you'll work well with other people, and adjust quickly.

Ask questions such as "what do you think my steepest learning curve will be?" Or ask a question about something you've researched, i.e. "I see that you are planning on expanding to Europe. What kind of impact do you think that will have on your employee's?"

Most of the time there will be multiple interviewers on a panel, and you must look at all of them. Sit up straight, display good body language, smile, etc.

Take a bottle of water with you, or accept a glass of water if you're offered one. Take a sip will allow you a moment to compose your thoughts if a difficult question is asked.

A huge factore that Mr.Bertram stressed on was sorting out your CV before you apply to any jobs. That way you don't need to rush around, become stressed, and possibly make an error. Always update your CV with new experiences. When filling out an application form, make sure you state what you can offer them, and make sure they know you understand what they are asking for.

And the obvious one; dress appropriately for what ever kind of interview you attend.

Although I already knew a lot of this information to a certain extend, Mr.Bertram really expanded on things and helped us understand the process that companies go through when chosen possible candidates for interviews.

The second lecture I attended was "Showreel, portfolio and CV: advice for finding work" by Harriet Buckley. I attended this talk for the same reasons as the first one, and yet again was given some fantastic advice, especially bits that were aimed specifically for the art industry. Although Ms.Buckley's talk was primarily aimed at animators, I still found a lot of her advice incredibly useful.

Firstly she stated that you should have: business cards, a physical portfolio, an online portfolio, possible a blog, and a showreel if you're an animator.

Ms.Buckley stated that you should always find out who you should send an application to, instead of just sending it to the company. This way it ends up on someones desk, and is more likely to be looked at. Do follow up if you don't hear anything back, but don't go to extremes.

You should read the job description carefully, and taylor your CV to fit it. Show that you can diversify, but focus primarily on what that specific company wants.

For animators: Keep your show reel short and sweet. You can leave links to longer films at the end, and if they like your work then they may take it upon themselves to look at more of your stuff.

Online portfolios are more easily access able, and you can leave a link at the end of your CV, but make sure it's all sent. At the same time, a physical demonstration of your work will act as a reminder to the employer. If sending a dvd, then design an eye catching cover that will spark their interest.

Include life drawing in your portfolio, as this will show them that you can draw anatomy. Never leave out hands and feet, as this will show that you are a competent and confident artist.
Show examples that you understand anatomy and perspective.

A4 is a good size for portfolios. Always ask first before sending large resolution images via email. Don't include any weak work, or work that you need to explain. State if an image was for a client, but keep written info on all pieces brief.

Respect recruiters time; a CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4, and the covering letter no more than 1 A4. Don't overload them with information, and focus on the most impressive aspects about yourself and experience. If you have one, take a really strong sketchbook with you to an interview.

Say what you can offer their company, and never as what they can offer you. Don't say anywhere "I feel as though working at your company will allow me to develop as an artist", and don't ever make it sound like you'll up and leave at the first offer of something better. Make them sound like the best.

Flatter to a certain extent, but make sure it's subtle and not over the top.

Ms.Buckley also gave us some good examples of websites and online portfolios for us to have a look at. Wesley Louis (an animator), and Adam Oliver- who's website is a good example of what is effective. A really good piece of advice that she gave was to study other peoples websites and 'folios and analyse what's good and what not, and then apply it to your own. I'll be looking into the two she mentioned and will evaluate them on this blog.

Over all I found the first day to be incredibly helpful, and in their own ways a little reassuring. I feel that knowing as much as possible about the application and interview process may help my prospects of even getting an interview, and if I'm lucky, job.

It's been a while

So basically I was advised to put my PDP blog on the back bench until the second semester, and after my dissertation was finished and handed in.

Now that's all done and out of the way, I'll be posting regularly about new work I do that has no relevance with my uni project, new experiences, and I also want to post about some inspirational artists that I've been following recently. Also, I've been lucky enough to be commissioned a couple of times in the past 2 months or so, so I'll be writing about those too.