Okay, so here’s the lowdown on my “Year of the Dragon Collabs” project. Basically, I wanted to spice things up and force myself to work with different artists and try out new styles.
The Idea Sparked: It all started late last year. I was feeling stuck in a rut, doing the same kind of art over and over. Scrolling through socials, I saw a bunch of artists hyping each other up and thought, “Why not try a collab?”. Plus, with the Year of the Dragon coming up, I figured a theme would keep things focused.
Finding Artists: This was the first hurdle. I reached out to a few artists whose work I admired but were stylistically different from mine. Some didn’t reply, others were too busy, but thankfully, a few were totally on board. I used insta mostly to find artists.
The First Collab – Dragon Sketches: The first one was with a digital artist who does these really cool stylized character designs. We decided to each do a dragon sketch in our own style and then swap them for color palettes. It was super fun to see how different our dragons turned out, and using their palette pushed me to use colors I wouldn’t normally pick.
Second Round – Comic Style: Next up, I teamed up with someone who is really good at comic book art. We brainstormed a short comic strip idea with a dragon character. They did the line art, and I did the coloring and lettering. I learned a ton about panel layout and storytelling from them.
A Bit of a Setback: Midway through, I hit a wall. Scheduling conflicts, creative differences on one collab, you name it. It got a little stressful, and I almost scrapped the whole project.
Pushing Through: But, I took a step back, redefined my goals, and decided to focus on the fun of it. I found a couple more artists willing to experiment, and things started flowing again.
Experimenting with Mediums – 3D Dragon: One of the coolest collabs was with a 3D modeler. I provided concept art, and they turned it into a 3D dragon model. Then, I painted textures and did the final rendering. It was my first time seriously working in 3D, and it was a steep learning curve, but the result was amazing.
Final Thoughts: “Year of the Dragon Collabs” wasn’t always smooth sailing, but it was totally worth it. I learned new techniques, met awesome artists, and pushed myself creatively. It got me out of my comfort zone.
- Learned to use new color palette
- Learned to work with 3D models
- Learned about comic panel layout
What’s Next? I’m already brainstorming ideas for next year. Maybe “Year of the Snake Remixes”? Who knows! Stay tuned!
