Hello and good day everyone!
I spent a good part of today trying to put together a commission journal. But looking closely at the work I've been doing to use as commission examples, I came to the conclusion that I'm really...just not ready yet. I've been struggling to make hands look like hands, making eyes looks like they're looking towards the right place, and with making my lines look clean and nice and all the other little, really difficult things that make art good. At the same time I've been looking at the great work being produced by professionals and artists I admire and it's so clear that I'm still levels below where they are.
My art education has been helping me learn a ton, but I've been defeating myself the whole time by not actively applying what I've learned to my own work. It was easy to do my homework with my teachers holding my hand and pointing me in the right direction, but making my own art, and making it GOOD, is a whole different world. A world I've got to start living in again if I expect to have any chance making it as a professional artist.
So instead of trying to make money with commissions this Summer, I'm going to practice, and put everything I've learned to the test. I'm gonna figure out what I like about art that I like, and start using techniques and elements that are new to me, and start naturally building up my own style and personality. I'm gonna keep pushing myself and attacking all my artistic weak points, and I'm going to make thousands of silly amateurish mistakes, then laugh at them and learn from then and move on to better things.
This summer, I'm gonna level up. And it's gonna be awesome.