Commissioned Art of Spellbinder
So, after a long commission hiatus, I commissioned Hailfire for a picture of Spellbinder.
V1
So here I realized a few things that I ought to have communicated:
- That she’s not mechnical looking
- The legs are to be taken verbatim and not stylized
- The pincers need to be thick/fat
To help, I did edits on the art to call out what I was referring to:
V2
So most of the feedback was addressed, however, the legs were very off, so I tried to explain how to change them via edits:
V3
Still not there/far off from the goal. So I tried to draw over it again to explain the perspective.
And then I also realized I could just send a picture of the LEGO model of Spellbinder to give perspective.
V4
Much better, however, the legs/feet were too skinny.
V5
Still not quite there leg wise, and also other issues, but I wasn’t interesting in continuing to try to iterate on it so we went to color…
V6 - Final
The most frustrating part of it is that the first sketch is the most aesthetically pleasing one, however, it is not Spellbinder. This final version of Spellbinder is…well. It saddens me. She doesn’t look like Spellbinder, like, doesn’t have that spark to her. Like a statue or something. It’s not what I wanted and I don’t see Spellbinder in it.
I think the main problem with this experience was related to communication. I didn’t communicate what I was looking for up front effectively, and the communication broke down from there and I gave up/just wanted to be done.
Another problem was my own expectation/artistic need. I thought I needed an artist/someone who could do robots/mechas, but on reflection, I am not sure if that is really true…Spellbinder might have less in common with robots than with like a weird sci-fi/fantasy race. Especially since she needs like a magical spark and dynamic energy to her. Taken as a robot, she’s just…not right.
So I don’t think it was a good fit for a few reasons, and I learned a lot from it.
I will probably try to get another commission of Spellbinder done since…I feel I need to to make this right by her.
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