About a couple months or so ago, I was contacted by Hilland Knowlton to illustrate a poster for the President's Volunteer Service Award. I was pretty excited when they contacted me because it was slightly different from what I had been use to so the project posed a new challenge for me. Namely having a somewhat complicated scene where several different actions and activities were taking place on different planes. They already had a very specific look and idea in mind. So I went through a round of sketches, all of which had to be approved by the clients which I guess is a committee of people that are a part of the Presidential Service Awards organization. I worked pretty hard to get the sketches and revisions done quickly. Then they kinda dropped off, lol. I'm not entirely unfamiliar with this, I think when it comes to committees sometimes approval is delayed etc.
Then a couple months after, my last round of sketches was approved, lol! So I got to take it to final and I really liked the outcome. I think there are some things I'd do differently with the layout and text, but they were very specific about their idea, what they visually required - such as the eagle flying the banner with those exact words, and the sign post and the box, the teen and young boy in the very front with their backs to the audience and the open book ... in fact they were very specific about every little detail, lol. It was a different process for me.
I really liked the outcome and hope that I get the opportunity to work on more projects like this one. It was challenging in that the client had a very specific vision, and I had to be able to let go what I might typically do and be more open to what the client was looking for. And even though at first I was reluctant, I learned to let go a little, and the result was pretty good! Uh, not that I want every client to boss me around like that :winkwink:! I should remember to ask for a poster - as they are 20"x30" posters that I guess will be hung up at schools. Yay!