Private commissions are always welcome in my studio and usually they are very personal and sentimental pieces. Whether it’s a birth month flower, a wedding bouquet, a family tree that grew near your house or a plant that have a personal meaning behind it - I’m all for creating a custom botanical illustration just for you. I want to always be very transparent about my creative process and would love to tell you more what it would be like to work together.
Custom botanical illustration, early stages - first watercolor washes. Watercolor painting stage
I’ve listed everything that goes into the project from the inquiry to final product:
Initial inquiry - brief
After I receive an e-mail inquiry or a filled out form, I may get back to the prospective client with more questions, to make sure I have all details that I need to start working on the project. Details I always consider that also influence the pricing: size; plant complexity - number or elements; timeline; amount of detail / realism; final delivery - files or physical painting, and more.
Project estimate, Timeline, Agreement, Payment
When I have everything I need to get started, I send out a Timeline and an Estimate. After the client approves those, I’ll outline a Scope of Work, Copyright License and other details in Artist Agreement, after it’s signed and I receive the full payment we begin working on the project.
Sketch + Color palette development. Client approval
A simple outline sketch drawing is always developed first, this way I make sure to map out the objects at scale that’s needed and make sure I included all details that client envisioned. I also send out the color palette - it’s always easier to agree on the colors I’ll be using with a couple of reference images. At this point I’ll make any changes to the “plan“ for the painting we’re developing together, until it feels perfect.
Materials
I use artist’s grade watercolor paints and high quality watercolor paper for every illustration I create, but depending on whether you’d like to get an original or a digital file, I will slightly adjust size and paper that I use. For custom original paintings I absolutely love using (the best in the world) Arches 300 gsm hot press paper. It has a buttery smooth texture and is 100% cotton, so combined with professional watercolor paints by the world’s best producers (Schmincke, Nevskaya Palitra, Daniel Smith) the artwork should retain it’s quality for a very long time.
Watercolor painting process. Client approval
After I do my magic with the brush and painting is finished, I usually scan it and send for the final client’s approval. Every custom watercolor painting is carefully planned so I don’t usually receive any revisions as this point. There are more options for digital files, of course.
Sending out an original / Files delivery
After final approval is received I package the illustration (in a cardboard poster tube or a hard cardboard envelope to mail flat the smaller pieces) and ship it. If the final delivery was digital I always edit the illustration by scanning it into Photoshop, making slight adjustments to the colors and saturation, and removing the background - this gives the best results for printing.
If you are looking for custom botanical illustration - feel free to contact me at a@annafarba.com or fill out this form to get started quicker.
Hope you enjoyed this simple guide to private commissions and seeing what I am working on these days!
- Anna