![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMpw1s4XNwDsqD9BiBWCDQzQ_R0Im3dIRW-JIcnN5S-_3shKl3zM0QnFJHvov8fpK6wVO3hAwnH93VKJc7bNqX18XUgScx3OpmPnfnvO7GFulIijBphkpQKbWIx5_3cN-IG2Rh4bFdztH/s280/hibernate_c.jpg)
This is a comparison of the first sketch I did and the one that was finally accepted. The bear and squirrel are acting out a scene from True Blood. My original sketch is on the left, and the final one is on the right.
I think what I liked most about the original was the pose. I needed to draw a bear pretending to be a human vampire, and I feel like I did a good job of portraying a bear's anatomy within that criteria. You can imagine a human doing this same pose yet the limbs bend like a bear's would. Agian, looking at the final piece now I don't feel that it's bad, it's just not "me." I arrived at the final drawing after reworking the entire set of illustrations four times.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DCQvnmEXcGd28BAw6u9dQmnrg2luQlx60ephcT4S7JwwD_WS8zet0ldBiRmCryfN6HJ76_WisZWHXM0WpvZ3BoaBZFfgb5r3jlVPK522tptbJJcOjUbAkP1UKYpLdzrLJz7LhgK_hH0Y/s280/3bears.jpg)
These were some supplemental drawings I did for this project. At one point I was given the instruction to make the bear look more like the Cleveland Show bear, more dopey, and more like a real bear all at once. I did these three drawings to try and show them that those are three very different things and that I was at a bit of a loss as to what they were looking for.
So this is just a post for the curious, and I want to emphasize that reworking drawings is a very necessary part of this line of work. Front is amazing to work for and I have sung their praises many times in the past; they always give me a ton of freedom to do what I want with a drawing while still giving me plenty of specifics to work with. If you ever hire an illustrator or graphic designer remember that the key is to strike a good balance of give and take: Be specific enough that the designer knows what they're supposed to be making (this will cut down drastically on the back-and-forth and revisions) but also be open to deferring to their expertise and opinions since they are the expert, after all. Front has this relationship down and I always look forward to working with them. Right now I'm doing a pirate themed spread for them, so more on that when the time comes.
Love some bear drawings....thrilled that I've just signed up to follow your site... really great stuff to look at... very inspiring...
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