My first ever commission!

I was contacted about a week ago, by a theatre company called Boxtree productions, who asked if I could create a set of still and panning transitional backgrounds for their backdrops during a Wind in the Willows production. They're flying out to Saudi Arabia in two weeks to start performing which didn't give me a lot of time to get everything they wanted done. I've taken the role of art director and background artist, and to tackle the lack of time, I've recruited a second year to help me with some of the workload.

When I asked for artist reference, I was sent a set of very simplistic backgrounds with block colours, very little shading etc. I asked Rebecca to work on the seasonal transition backgrounds, so I created a base for her to work on.

I then started working on a stately interior for a scene in Toad Hall. I still have a way to go with this background, however I'm liking where it's going so far. Since I've never been paid to do any work specifically to fit a brief before, I'm being super critical of what I'm producing. Which in some ways is definitely a good thing, because I'm paying attention to detail. However, it's also making it hard for me to feel happy with what I'm creating. 

The sketchy line work is how I map out ways I can clutter up the scene and create a more lived in atmosphere. I love designing props and it's definitely the one thing that has been pushing my boundaries a little and really expanding my knowledge of background design and how much work really goes into it.