Skribls

Commission WIPs | First Sketches

Added 2023-05-04 15:34:44 +0000 UTC

Here are some of my latest commission sketches.

Whenever people commission me for portrait work I like to start out with some (more or less) rough sketches that already show a good bunch of visual information, so whenever there's possible adjustments needed it can be discussed over a good first image.
It can take some time to get to this point, which could feel a little counterintuitive and risky in the case an overall sketch doesn't work out. But I personally feel like it saves time in the long run to give a better idea of where a drawing is headed from the get-go, especially if it's a portrait where facial expressions and looks are the focal point.

Most commissioners are already pretty good in describing their ideas and/or providing efficient references (even if they themselves don't necessarily always feel like they do😉), which usually makes it easy for me to get started and draw out this first sketch for a drawing.

On a side note:
I know some people tend to wonder why figure sketches are filled in with a gray flatcolor. I personally do it to make it easier on the eye to grasp the volume a figure or object occupies within the composition, especially if the lines are rough at certain parts. It helps to feel out if a pose is working and if the figure sits properly in the space.
It's not a necessity but if you're struggling with your own sketches or have a lot of visual noise in a drawing, mapping out silhouettes of people (and foreground/middleground/background elements if they're present) can really help to distinguish shapes and get an idea of the overall composition.