Often when someone asks about a studio drawing they are not sure what I mean by a rough layout. I have found that it’s best to work up a quick pencil sketch to show — usually by email — so the client can see what I have in mind. Then they can more easily picture the final piece. This example below, for instance, features one of my infamous Waving Hands — which sometimes is not desired. It was okay this time, so the rough was pretty close to the final except for the book title. This young lady wrote the novel Gargoyle In The Seine, so that fits, eh?
Below is a second piece in this same project, obviously for a fellow who specializes in more Geeky interests… First the pencil layout, then the final art caricature below that.
Another surprise for the client, sometimes anyway, is when I ask prepayment. After the rough layout has been approved I can quote a precise final cost for my drawing and payment has to be completed before I can go further. Happily, everyone seems to understand after I bring that up.
(You learn to ask for prepayment the hard way, or I did anyway, getting stiffed more than once by blindly trusting to get paid down the line. Ah well… As my wife Diane’s saying goes, “Too Soon Get Old, Too Late Get Smart.” Right?)
These are actually the same drawings in loose layout and in final art — the ink was done directly over the rough pencil, then the pencil erased afterward…
Anyway, this is the procedure in getting a studio piece done. They are usually drawn from photos, as these were, and are often Surprise Gifts, presented to shock and hopefully thrill the subject later. Great fun for all — we hope. Ha!
