The Commission Process

 As I would like to mainly work as a freelance illustrator instead of working in an office for a design company, I decided to attend this lecture run by Jenny Barker. However I was a little disappointed as she was a glass artist rather than an illustrator or designer. On the other hand, the principles that were taught on this lecture were very useful & cause still be applied to the process an illustrator would use.

Networking is a vital way to promote yourself as an artist. If you gather enough contacts with other artists, you will gain many opportunities for interacting with larger, well known artists which create a much more professional image for yourself. This will encourage people to employ you or if you network with the right people they may even offer you a commission themselves.

An excellent way of networking is to create a selection of social media pages such as a Facebook page or a Tumblr. A blog site such as Tumblr is excellent for getting the artwork itself noticed as it's a very visual social site. On the different side of the social media spectrum, there is Twitter. As the messages you can create only have 140 characters, you're not exactly going to be able to create a whole gallery, however most of the artists that I love have a twitter. Because of the short messaging system, it's easy to send them a quick "tweet" & its easy for them to reply. Therefore its a really great way of connecting & making friends with artists you admire. Thanks to Twitter I have met many artist friends in different fields such as gaming & YouTube illustrators.

Glass work by Jenny Barker

 Jenny Barker gave us an excellent example of how doing a great job on a commission can lead to more work. This piece was created for a new pool extension for a couple. They didn't want something tacky printed so they commissioned a unique piece from Barker to make the area unique. A local Children's hospital loved the piece when they viewed it online & requested that she would make glass in the same pieces for the hallway of the children's ward to brighten the area up. But furthermore, she allowed the children to design the pieces by giving them a template to colour in. This was a beautiful example of also changing the design to suit the environment that the piece will be in.

Assessing the situation for the brief is also a vital part of the criteria when making artwork for a client. This piece was also considerate of its environment as she chose the blue tones to match the colour of the water but also she placed it in an area where it would reflect off the water to create a subtle sparkle. 

 It's not as common to create an illustration & to suit off physical environment but the same thought process can be applied. You need to research the client & the meaning of their company, the audience you are designing for & the subject matter itself to really create an in-depth design. Furthermore, by researching this much into a piece, you are able to expand your idea generation which will enable you to have a lot more variety to work with.