My illustration process in 5 steps

Illoguild Question #9

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Each month members of the illoguild answer a question together, and this month it is: What is your illustration process?

Be sure to check out the illoguild page on Monday to read everyone’s responses.

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1. The first thing I do is collect reference and sketch everything! This is my favorite part of the process. It’s super low stakes. You can sketch in pen, with colored pencil, digitally, or with anything. Try a new medium just because. It’s basically play time, but you get to learn new subject matter while you do it.
   
   Plus if you’re low on time, all the sketches will help you to speed up the process. Nothing is wasted, and your brain and hand will remember all the practice in your final drawing.

   

2. Then, depending on the project, I choose some favorite sketches and create poses, thumbnails, a card, etc... Sometimes I draw something completely new, but it’s inspired by the icons and forms that I learned while sketching.
   

3. Next I get the sketch as close to perfect as I can. This will save time later, because I won’t have to edit shapes after they’ve been colored and shaded. (I wrote this newsletter titled Perfect the Sketch about this topic a while back if you’re interested)

   

4. The second to last step is adding color. I begin with flat color and outlines. Then add some texture and shading. For texture, I enjoy making some hand painted watercolor and gouache textures, scanning them in, and overlaying them onto the digital artwork. It adds some interest and keeps the work from looking too uniform or digital.

   

5. The final step is to step away from the finished piece. Ideally I give myself at least a day (a few days is better though), and then I revisit the piece to see if I want to make any final changes.

Is your process similar? Or how is it different? It’s so interesting to see how different artists tackle their work. Maybe something in your process will inspire me work in a new way!

See you next week for a tip about children’s illustrations,

Katie