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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1209879
you to be disciplined. It teaches you the methods and when you are surrounded by people who share your passion it can be very motivating. Q. Methods and discipline are important when working professionally with clients. What does professional work look like for you? I don't have as much experience with commercial work, simply because most of the people I work with just see my art and want their characters or ideas to be drawn in my style. My community on Twitch is very eager to support my art. Work for private collectors and commissioned work are very different. Commercial work needs to suit a specific style and look that the company is after. Private collectors often just want your style and you have a lot of creative freedom. Right now, my income is mostly from streaming, attending conventions as a selling artist, and also as a representative of companies like Wacom and Celsys with Clip Studio Paint. Q. How do you go about making a commissioned work? Basically, the clients give me a basic theme and I go from there. Recently, I had a commissioned piece that featured Medusa vs. Perseus and that was all the information I got from the client. There was no indication of style or any other visual indicators. I put them in a fight scene, as it was the first scene that came to my mind and I stuck with it. I enjoy a good challenge when it comes to creating very dynamic visuals and telling a story with my art. I want to make each piece an opportunity for me to grow. In the scene, Perseus is coming down to fight Medusa and the challenge for me was to incorporate the colors and the movement to make it dynamic, rather than a character just standing in a cool pose. Q: For the Medusa piece you went with your first idea. How much do you usually experiment with your ideas? Generally, I will make a few thumbnail sketches of the ideas in my head, as I need to see if they actually look good. Some ideas look good in your head, but when you put them down you just think, "OK, nevermind." (laughs) Thumbnail sketches will take me a minute or two and they help me try out different variations to see which one comes out better. Sometimes my first draft is the best, but I will often alter it throughout the process to find the right proportions and perspective. However, generally, I tend to stick with my initial instinct, as I am the type who may also overwork a piece to a point where it becomes static or gets too overwhelming. On the other hand, freehand drawing with traditional art like ink and watercolors - where I will draw something depending on what I see in the blobs created in the process - helps me train myself to think outside the box. Sometimes I use this technique for commissions as well; to explore ideas, instead of focusing on the technical aspects. Q. As a freelance artist, what does a typical day look like for you? If I wake up really late, I panic. (laughs)