There is some art that I do for myself and for an audience, just for the sake of doing art. There is some art I do on spec or for cost. But sometimes there's art that I do, free of charge, in order to further my experience.
A few years ago, I created a youth booklet for Hawaii State Parks. It was mostly a coloring book-style activity pamphlet for kids of various ages. It was an interesting experience because I got to work under a council of elders who oversaw my drafts and made sure that everything I was doing was properly representing the Hawaiian culture and environment.
Recently I was approached by rangers at the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area, part of the State Parks system in California, to help them update their Junior Ranger program. Personally, I perceive this as a much easier task already because I'm far more familiar with the ecosystems here than I was with those of Hawaii! I've since sent them my first set of sketches, some of which you can see above.
It's always an interesting challenge to pick up projects like this here and there. I think commissions like this really push your abilities...AND force you to work under constraints like time and material availability! But all in all, it's FUN.
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