Back with the theme of reworking older illustrations, I decided to change up this Chrysanthemum sketch a bit!
Reworking older illustrations you’ve done is really helpful when you’re dealing with art block or burn out, and that’s the main reason why I do it. When I’m feeling burnt out I like to revisit an older illustration to see how I can change it up with what I’ve learnt since then, and since the main focus of the work already exists it serves to be a gentle and low-pressure exercise for your creativity! Sometimes these exercises can be just the spark I need to feel like I want to move on to creating new work again!
Since this exercise is so low-pressure it can also be really great for people who procrastinate when it comes to creating new work. If you’re somewhat of a perfectionist, the fear of creating something less than perfect can cause you to procrastinate, this is something I deal with too. Reworking an older piece can break that hesitant mindset by giving you a smaller task to focus on first which can then lead to creating new work!
I know a lot of artists also like to do warm up sketches before starting a new piece and I feel like this exercise can work in that way too!
Have you ever reworked a piece before? If you haven’t, would you consider reworking one?