Recently I've been having a big think about the state of my digital sketch commissions. This is a long thought so there's a TL;DR at the bottom.

As I play with digital art and evolve there, I tend to get too caught up in details for the type of art I'm trying to do, and it definitely happened again. My digital sketches have become closer to rendered pieces, maybe like halfway or more towards it and left the realm of sketches in my mind. The time I now spend on them is overkill, especially for the prices I currently have them at. It's just not sustainable at this point to keep them up this way.

So, I'm gonna play around. See if I can get closer to what I consider a sketch. Something closer to what I adore in digital sketches - looser, less focused on every line being perfect versus nice and sketchy. I'm not sure how soon I'll have a chance to do it since I'm in the middle of a game of "broken art telephone" with some friends, and it's my turn on the piece. BUT, sometime soon I want to try some new things and get my sketches to actually remain sketches and not have them sometimes take days because I'm being too clean for the type of thing I'm trying to achieve.

Don't get me wrong! I'm really enjoying figuring out rendering in a way I like, and all these recent pieces have taught me a lot more (and kept me a little more sane with the whole job search thing). I'll most likely implement them as a different type of commission altogether, like a semi-rendered or something. I think it's about time to separate them from the sketches.

I also want to clarify that any YCHs I have open currently with this kind of sketch style as examples will remain with the current style - even after I adjust my sketches. Any new commissions or any of my same-day pin-ups as well when I have them open. This will remain the norm until I have a new plan and find something I like.

I'll update my commission sheets to reflect everything when I have it all figured out. For the sketches, the aim is NOT to change prices. I just want to adjust to sketches that actually feel like sketches so you can get your work faster. Then, I'll work on expanding my options for more rendered work instead of offering just sketches. Recently, I've been really enjoying backgrounds and perspective work, which I haven't felt in a long time, and I'd love to do more of that. I have a YCH sitting on the waiting desk for after I get this all figured out because the bg has some nice details I don't want to rush.

Anyway! This is just where I'm at. I know this was a little long, but I wanted to be transparent and also get this thought off my chest. I'm really enjoying being back and working with people's characters and stuff, and once I have a job again, I intend to keep going on weekends or between crunches - my last project had an intense turnaround time, and I'm damn proud of what we all did with a small team in that time. I've been told it's actually coming out, hopefully around summer!

Thanks to everyone who welcomed me back after I disappeared for two or three years. I hope I can continue doing work you're interested in and happy to have.

TL;DR: My digital sketches have evolved from sketches into semi-render ones, which take too much time for the prices and look too clean for my taste, and I want to change them to be more like actual sketches. All current YCHs, same-day pin-ups when offered, and commissions bought now will be in the current style. I will be testing and updating my digital sketches, commission types, and price sheets as soon as I can. Once those are up, the changes will be the norm, and things will follow those guidelines from then on.