Note: this is a post from my old website that I still found relevant so I reposted it here Congrats, you have a commission for a client or you have a creative project to do... but now what? How do you start especially if this is your first commission or you aren’t quite sure where to start on your project? What if you have several projects at once?
Well, today I’m going to talk about project planning especially if you are an artist and it’s something you find yourself struggling with. I admit I am terrible at planning... or at least I was terrible at planning. I’m still not a pro but I have found a way that suits me and want to share it with you.
The worst thing you can do with a project, or commission, is leave everything to the last minute and rush to meet deadlines (and almost lose your sanity in doing so).
Firstly, you’re going to set yourself a goal or if it’s a commission you’re going to need to get as much info from the client as you can. When setting your goal make sure it’s specific but also feasible.
Also, check if you actually have the time to take on this new project. It’s okay to say no when you already have a lot planned. Try to estimate how long it will take you based upon how long it took you to do similar projects.
If you haven’t done any project like this before then do a rough estimate. It’s okay to overestimate your time rather than the opposite and try to rush to finish on time. I usually like to dump everything into a mind map. Like so.
Next, you are going to want to break everything down into smaller steps. So what goes first? In the case of this above artwork, you’re obviously going to start with thumbnails and quick sketches. This doesn’t have to be perfect. A tip is to try to do more than one or two thumbnails for a project. Try a few different ones as this kind of gets you thinking about layout, perspective and just play around with trying to draw the same idea in different ways.
Once you’re happy with your thumbnail you can start doing a quick and slightly more detailed sketch. Remember nothing is permanent at this point and you can still change your mind. When working with a client get their feedback as to which thumbnail they like the most and take what they say into consideration.
Now that you have your rough sketch it’s time to do a final sketch. You can either redraw the image, trace and add more details, or scan and start editing using art software. Of course the last few steps are rather obvious and that’s usually lineart, colouring and shading. If you are doing traditional art then it might look a little different, especially if you don’t want to use outlines to get a more realistic look.
When doing project I usually break down each step and assign a rough estimate of how long it will take. I am taking the above project as an example.
Thumbnails: 15 min
Rough sketch(es): 30 min
Sketch: 30min-1hour
Lineart: 30min-1hour
Colouring: 2-4 hours
After you’ve broken your project down it’s time to get planning. You don’t need fancy software for this. You can even use a pen and paper for this. I tend to use Google Sheets as it’s free. You can download a basic template >>here<<
Start by filling in all the time slots that you know you are going to be busy. Then see what time you have left to do your projects. Don’t forget to plan some free time. This can even be finding time to spend with friends/family, me time,..etc. Most of my “free time” is spent together with my kiddo. Next you can start looking where you can fit your projects in. I usually have about 2 hours every evening to work and an hour Wednesday afternoon while my kiddo is at his piano class. As a parent, you have to take advantage of those moments. I also draw on the train during my commute. Now that you know how much time your project is going to take and how much free time you have you can finally start figuring out when to do what. This way of doing things is useful for managing multiple projects as then you can see when you have time to do what. At the moment I am working on my end of year projects for my illustration course. I usually switch between them doing a different one each day since the deadline is far off (at the moment) yet I still have a general guide. I want to try to finish all my sketches by the end of February and start inking the first two to three weeks of March so that I can spend the rest of the time colouring and refining. My deadline is in May but the colouring is going to take the most time. I usually use my bullet journal and my google calendar to add what I’m going to do on which day as having multiple reminders really helps me stay focused. Speaking of staying focused try to avoid distractions when you work. You’ll find that your productivity increases when you focus on one task rather than trying to draw, watch Youtube and respond on social media accounts. When drawing I like to listen to music and I have the volume set lower as I need to concentrate. I prefer listening to video game or movie soundtracks as they tend to be background music so not too distracting. Then when I get to the lineart and colouring part I switch things up by listening to an audiobook or the radio. Colouring is relaxing and I have already done most of the thinking by this point.
If you’re like me and get distracted easily I have found a useful smartphone app and plugin for Google Chrome called Forest Stay Focused. You can read more about it >>here<<. Not sponsored but I really do find it a useful app.
If you have trouble starting because procrastination is a real pain, then you can try the Pomodoro technique. You set a timer for 25 minutes and work until your timer goes off. Then you take a 5-minute break and go back to your work for another 25 minutes. This tends to be useful when you feel like a task is huge and by spending just 25 minutes at a time on it it doesn’t feel so daunting. In fact, I often find myself carrying on after the 25-minute mark. It’s always that first step that seems to be the hardest.
Finally, take care of yourself. Make sure to eat right, get enough sleep, drink enough water, exercise and find time to relax. If you are staying up late every evening working on projects and not getting enough sleep then it will catch up with you later and your performance will drop. You’re also more likely to get ill which will set you back even more on your projects.
So just to recap:
Step 1: define your project in the form of a mindmap
Step 2: break your project down in multiple steps
Step 3: estimate how much time you will need for each step
Step 4: figure out how much time you actually have
Step 5: plan when you are going to do each step
Step 6: add them to your calendar
Step 7: avoid distractions
Step 8: take care of yourself
I hope this helps! Consider sharing this post with others if you found it useful.
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