>>3448427I agree on that, what I wrote is more about learning art than necessarily creating a specific product for a client. For example I wouldn't recommend abstaining from any references from a commission piece where that specific piece needs a certain level of quality, but doing it to internalize information (even if the product isn't as presentable at the end) has high utility.
Client work, I'd say, incentivises more uniformity of quality than it does experimentality and self-improvement. You want to KNOW you can produce a product that the client expects and do it in a timeframe that keeps it worth your while, so you're more inclined to stick to what you're comfortable with. It means working more towards efficiency than growth, generally speaking (which has a value of its own, especially if you're comfortable with what you're making). Not to say you never learn anything from client work, of course, just that learning isn't the end goal of client work.
