Although I have a style that I return to again and again, I also like to mix it up and try out alternative ways of doing an illustration. Sometimes I complete the picture and make a mental note never to try that again, but often I end up coming away with a few new processes or ideas that feed into future work.
Since the end of my MA I have had a lot of time to try new things. Mostly I have been focused on revisiting painting, which I have lately dropped in favour of the ease found in digital work. I still don’t feel 100% comfortable with painting, mainly because with ProCreate I can change green to red in seconds just to see the comparison, but I do enjoy the texture it gives an illustration which is much harder (though no impossible) to achieve with digital work. With analogue work there is the depth of the paper grain and the intrigue of water marks billowing across the page, which have a beguiling randomness about them.
I’ve also been trying a few deviations in style choices as well. Usually as small as a different eye shape or brighter colours, but it’s fun to combine new elements with old to see how they look. It’s funny to think how desperate for a fixed style when I started illustrating, when really being able to constantly experiment and evolve is one of the best parts of the job!