Why did I choose this client?
I decided to go with Talisman as my client due to 3 main reasons.
1: Talisman is one of my closest friends, hence I knew the best way to communicate with them, and wouldn't have to worry about if I was communicating with them through the best platform I could.
2: Talisman already commissioned me prior to this, hence they were already my client. I simply had to ask if I could make this brief about said commission.
3: What Talisman asked of me, the comic pages of an AU of The Owl House, is media I am already familiar with. I am familiar with her AU, and with The Owl House.
Due to this, I believed going with Talisman would be my best choice. I also attempted contact with Alex Hirsch, GLITCH , and the music artist known as "bbno$" . None of which have replied sadly.
What did I learn during this brief?
I learnt many things to be very honest. I learnt that even simple back-and-front Reference sheets can be exhausting to make. I learnt that it's best to figure out the style the client wants before I begin design work, as redoing the reference sheets was also quiet tiresome. I learnt how to use the "Candy" art style, which I will likely incorporate into my current art style, as I really like how it looks, and it is overall very fun to use. I realised just how much grids and taking your time with backgrounds is important. I'm not very happy with the big background in the Doorway page, where the parade enters the castle. This is due to the fact that one side of the road is angled differently than the other, and the overall area around the path was a bit too empty. I also realised that, if I believe that something will be a problem, I should communicate with the client. I wish I didn't keep my mouth shut, and instead told Talisman my worries about the Balcony Scene page, as the longer I worked, the more I realised how draining it was due to the amount of characters featured. I wish I asked if I could remove a character or one of the panels for my own sanity.
How have I organised and managed time?
Frankly, I didn't. When I begun working on this project quiet a lot was happening. Financial issues, medication changes, dealing with grief of loosing family. A lot overall was hitting me, which did not help with the fact that said medical changes led me to sleep for most of the day, which made it so that there was barely any time left in the day for me to work, if I even had the motivation to do so. Because of this, I simply worked whenever I had the time and had enough drive to do so. The Reference Sheets took far longer than I expected, however that is due to my mistake on working on each one back to back, hence not taking a break from the formula for days, leading to burn out. I will say, thankfully using Tumblr made my drive to do the writing/reflections far easier, as Tumblr is a site I know a lot about and how to use, unlike the previous sites I used which I found a bit complex.
How have I generated ideas and came up with the visuals?
When it came to the character designs, I pretty much just used what I knew about the characters, the theme of the fanfic, and then just search on Pinterest for ideas for what could fit. An example being Camila, she is meant to wear a beautiful gown like that of a Disney Princess, alongside that I had references that Tali gave me to start off with. Hence I looked on Pinterest and found as many references that I think would not only fit Camila herself, but that could actually inspire me to make something new. I then would drag all the references onto a Milanote board, and used those references to make 3 different concept sketches, and would finally ask Talisman for her opinion on which she would like me to go with, and potentially mix and match elements.
However with the pages, I pretty much just used Talisman's reference sketches and descriptions alongside the animation from the Prince Ali song from the Aladdin movie itself for inspiration.
What feedback did you use?
There wasn't much that Tali wanted chained, mainly a few additions to designs or mixes of concepts, alongside just making it clear if she wanted me to change something in a page sketch. I of course listen to all of it, and always made sure to ask if she wanted anything changed as she is my client, hence her happiness with the final product is my top priority.
For everything drawn I used Clip Studio Paint EX. I used nothing else to draw. I used Pinterest and Google to gain references, and Milanote to organise said references. I used Tumblr and primarily Discord for communication with Talisman.
I used a Desktop PC with Windows 11, and a XP-PEN Artist 24' Pro 165 Hrz. I also used an Ipad Air 11' while doing my work in class.
An example of improvement is my consistency with drawing with this new style. When I originally began using it with the reference sheets, some this were different from piece to piece. Especially hands and feet. (as shown below)
And here is an example of the comic page where both of these character are seen, but this time more consistently, especially in the hand department.
What were the strengths and weaknesses throughout development?
The main strengths I had throughout this was that I was already pretty good with colours, hence the change in style wasn't that bad colour wise. The other strength was that I was already familiar with these characters and their personalities, hence I could portray them as close to how they are within the show. Alongside that, my choice to use mainly flat colours was due to the fact it is what I am mainly experienced with.
The main weaknesses were, I am horrible with backgrounds. Before this project I only did 1 within the span of around 6 years. Alongside this, I have never made a comic page before, so this was completely new territory to me. Thankfully I have read comics before, so I know a bit about panelling and spacing within them. The other main weakness is, I don't draw more than 2 characters within one piece, even then drawing a piece with 2 characters is rare for me. Hence having to draw so many, was definitely something new for me.
I adore how the designs turned out. Even the ones that didn't get much time to shine, I adore each one.
I love the colours, I'm very proud of how they all turned out.
I'm relatively happy with the backgrounds, even the one that looks slightly off.
Despite it nearly driving me insane, I'm very happy with the Balcony Scene page, absolutely worth it.
What overall didn't go as well?
I didn't realise it during the time I was designing them, but I definitely should have made some of the designs simpler. Especially Adrian. I adore how he turned out, but gosh that fuzz was frustrating to draw every panel.
Some of the colours don't fit too well, especially some for effects or eyes (like Gus' and Willow's.) , I wish I noticed it sooner and fixed it.
I wish I spent more time on the backgrounds, especially in the Door Scene page. I wish I added some nice engraving to the walls and door.
I should have communicated my struggles about the Balcony page with Talisman. As I believe if I did I would be able to figure out a way with Tali to make it less draining.
This took a very long time, but I'm oddly a lot more happy with it than expected. I thought it would be a drag and not as fun to work on, but despite the amount of time it took, I liked working on it. I will definitely do a brief/commission similar to this again.
