Here's today's drawing (which was actually yesterday's... the real world keeps creeping in), one of Larry Niven's Kzin war cats. Lesson from this excursion: Always have reference available when you need it. In this case, the gun is woefully inadequate and looks like something not-gunnish.
More importantly, a friend of mine pointed me to this great article by illustrator John Hendrix. How to Find Your Voice:
1. Learn to solve problems on your terms:
Illustrators and commercial artists often make the mistake of being too good at solving the problem. Meaning they let the limitations of the project overly influence how they solve the problem. When I give my student's an assignment I always tell them the same thing."At any point in this assignment, if you are unhappy with what you are drawing, it is your fault. Not mine." Illustrators, not art directors, are in charge of designing content that they will love to create. You can start simply: make a list of things you like drawing. My list looks something like this...
Bridges collapsing
Foxes having tea
Goofy hats and beards
Ray guns
Cute robots
Ugly robots
Boats sinking
WW I gear
Animals with swords
Magic fish
Unmanicured trees
Holy things
Old presidents and kings
19th Century misunderstood abolitionists
on and on...
Make a list that has 100 things on it- and pin it up in your studio. Make a habit of inserting these subjects into your drawings and, even better, into your illustration solutions. Learning to solve a project in a world that you enjoy is a huge part of finding your voice. The reason why is so simple it almost escapes notice: When we make things we enjoy, our work gets better.
Read the rest at the link. It is well worth it.
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