A FRIEND'S COMMISION

Since the novel he was writing is based on the world of Warhammer, a miniature board game with complex lore and backstory, and I don’t know anything about it, I need to research before initiating the art. 

• I talked with my friend for more background information about Warhammer. What subjects he wanted me to draw, how was the character depicted. Overall about his story, I asked when is the time period taken in his story, and some other basic information about the characters in his story or the context of this fictional world. 

• I went online to find references so I know what to draw and how to draw them. As well as searching some more lore so I know better what and why I am drawing it.

Then I began the “commission duty”, it’s been going on until he left the school at the end of the first semester. The overall design and the context behind the characters are complex, and I’ve never drawn these gothic plus futuristic subjects before, so one piece of work usually took me around 3~6 hours. Exams and more IB related work were piling up at the time, so it was difficult for me to squeeze out time and dedicate myself to drawing. Time management was the biggest struggle I’ve experienced in this long activity. 

My friend said not to worry too much about the work, but I remained stubborn. I said I want to put effort in it, because I know there will be readers reading his work and looking at the art gallery too, so I want to produce a decent quality of work for his online novel to be successful.