A 6 week character project!
beginning my portfolio building journey
Have you heard of the 6 week work cycle? I’ve learned of it recently through the SVS Learn podcast (which I’ve been burning through lately on my commute to and from work).
It’s very simple- you work on a project for 6 weeks, take 2 weeks to finish up (if you get delayed), relax and plan your next cycle. I’m loving this idea for building my portfolio- I think focusing on different aspects of illustration for 6 weeks at a time gives me plenty of time to practice, play, experiment and learn, and then incorporate my new skills moving forward.
I really feel my best when I’m challenged and learning but I also find it difficult to balance my studies (courses, experiments, etc) with creating my own work and sharing it. As a new artist, there’s just so many alleys to explore! I feel a raccoon, just always chasing what’s shiny and bright in front of me but frequently changing course before I’ve mastered any of it.
A few weeks ago I decided it was time to start working towards a portfolio and so I think these 6 week projects are the perfect way to get me there. By keeping each 6 week project pretty large in scope, it gives me plenty to explore and learn before I move on to the next thing.
My plan!
Take 6 weeks to improve my character design and development!
My goals:
Tons of practice! Posture, facial expressions, gestures, emotions
Draw the same character in multiple positions/gestures
Experiment with materials and discover what I like to use for characters (including digitally/Ipad!)
Create at least 2 portfolio worthy final illustrations that highlight what I’ve learned
End with a sketchbook (at least) full of characters in different postures and positions that can serve as reference or starting points for me for future projects!
The process:
just some ideas to get me started but I plan to let these evolve as I work as I love the process of way-finding in the creative process
Character exercises- creating sketchbook pages full of characters (at least a few each week) in different postures/gestures, and using these to experiment with different materials
Character exercises from Sarah Dyer’s patreon
An exercise I learned from Kayla Stark’s substack from Vivien Mildenberger- drawing the same character 10 times with different materials and then analyzing each one to discover what you like/don’t like
And whatever else I may find! I love Domestika courses and they frequently go on sale and I know SVS Learn has lots of character courses as well.
I’ll definitely plan to post an update when I’m done and if anything else exciting happens along the way. That’s all for now and I’ll see you next week!
Off to go draw characters!