Hello! We haven't seen each other for a long time and probably haven't written off even more. Today I want to convey to you all my experience that I have gained drawing for this blog over the past year. Rushed!

I would like to boast of a large amount of it, and even as an application to newspapers, magazines, news portals, books, which can be appreciated by tens of thousands of people every day ... but, the experience is modest and consists of one newspaper for pensioners and this blog.

I won’t tell you that “you need to do it this way, and nothing else” ... although, in principle, I never said that, and I’ll just share my experience in creating illustrations for articles for the blog site

What is illustration

Let's leave the free interpretation of this term in the depths of my head, and let's turn to the global web.

An illustration is a drawing or any other image that explains the text; photographs, engravings, and much more can be included here.

The purpose of a drawing is generally to highlight the subject in question, rather than to show form, explain, or show textual content in graphical ways.

It is used to convey emotions, the atmosphere that is created in the text, the image of the heroes of the story, the demonstration of objects, step-by-step instructions and diagrams in technical documentation.

How illustrations are used

Where do we meet them most often? IMHO, such a priority is children's books, then websites, newspapers, magazines, other books.

Newspapers mainly depict cartoons that make fun of the situation described in the text, while magazines use more collages in photos and, if necessary, drawings that can be bought on stocks.

A real treasure trove is children's books and websites. There is an opinion, and not only mine, that a person whose portfolio is made in the same style and similar topics will be taken to draw illustrations for a book than someone who has a hodgepodge of styles, techniques, themes, etc.

And what is the conclusion from this? That's right, if you want to make money by drawing pictures that accompany the text, then you need to adapt to the market, and not the market to you.

In fact, when you understand the rules of the game and stop resisting, sticking out your "D'Artagnan" for show, then you can count on work in this area.

With sites, in my opinion, the situation is different. There are many of them, and despite the fact that you still have to adapt to the client, no one forbids you here, and even recommends making your portfolio as diverse as possible so that the customer can choose the style in which he wants to accompany the illustrations on his portal.

So, to summarize, in order to draw a commercial illustration, and this is what paid drawings are called, you need to choose the area in which you want to apply your talents, create a rich portfolio in the same style ( for a narrow field, like children's books), or in different ( for sites and projects with a wide range of topics) to demonstrate your experience to the customer.

I hope we both understand that today the question of how to draw in general will be omitted and we will talk about the idea and concept, and not forms and lines. Rushed ... again!

1. In the first lines you need to understand, or rather ask how the customer sees the illustration . If the answer is in the style of “At your discretion”, then consider yourself lucky, while others create a picture in their head in advance and complain when it does not match what came out from under your pen.

Of course, I am my own customer and performer, but if I ordered illustrations for “someone”, I would definitely say what exactly needs to be drawn and how I see it, and not “there is a text - illustrate”.

2. Generally my illustrations rely on subtitles , but not always enough information to draw a clear picture. In other cases, I reread the text and isolate the sentence from the entire section, or better yet, the context and try to somehow beat it.

3. I have a blog and according to my observations most of the illustrations drawn for websites are for entertainment purposes and they want to make the reader laugh, dilute the atmosphere, give them a break.

Large online publications, like adme, lookatme and others like them, often need specific and creative drawings. With books it is easier - just a drawing illustrating the text, without any allusions and secret meanings.

4. Illustrations on websites are needed first of all so that the reader does not go off the rails while reading this sheet. Therefore, the more drawings, the better. But be careful, drawing eight illustrations for one article is difficult but possible, and drawing eight illustrations for ten articles is fucking suicide (I know T_T).

The same is true for books. If the customer strictly determines the number of drawings per square centimeter, then first of all it is necessary to assess whether you can do it. How to evaluate? Take a test task, maybe not even paid, because if it suits you, then they will cooperate with you, and if not, then you will buy yourself FREEDOM from slavery on a project that in the future will be associated with you only with pain.

5. The color in the illustration sets the mood for the entire text.. Light and bright drawings are associated with a good mood and indicate that the text is “friendly”, not written in depressing colors, not trying to scare you. Dark colors, on the contrary, can thicken the colors to convey all the horror that is described in the text.

6. Black and white drawings are created faster than color ones, but not as fast as it seems at first glance. ... Well, this advice is useful, perhaps only for me (with my drawing style ...), but lately I have been starting to add colors more and more often and ... I would not say that I draw noticeably longer. So that's it, advice for those who don't know how to paint yet and think "my style will be black and white" - as I thought.

7. Optimize your backs. Often in an illustration, the object is important and the background is completely unimportant. The background can be abstract or just some pastel. If the customer does not require such an “Atmosphere” from you, then do not bother - you will save yourself a lot of time.

8. Try to stick to one drawing . Yes, a very strange piece of advice, which can be answered by the phrase: “The stump is clear!”. But we are novice artists (if you are not, then what are you doing here?) and each of our drawings teaches us something new and after each work we draw better and better.

9. For websites, newspapers, magazines: when you choose a single style of drawing, sometimes there is an opportunity to come up with a character. If you recall the illustrations for the newspaper, which I constantly looked for as a child, then there was such a character as Petrovich. To be honest, he was drawn terribly, but it was catching how the same character gets into different situations.

So I did for my blog, I have two main characters (well, I'm a substitute) that illustrate everything that happens in my articles.

10. If the text is descriptive, draw an object; if it is narrative, action. Now I’ll explain - if they describe to me what a gorgeous vase my neighbor has, then I draw a vase, if they tell me how this vase got to him, then I can draw it all the way from the factory to the house, how it was made, dropped , glued, transported, etc.

11. Not the most categorical advice, in my opinion, the more details the better.. Yes, a large number of small things lengthens the production process, but at the same time helps the reader to better read the picture. Eyes cling to one thing or another and the image is deposited in the head. But there is a fine line between a moderate amount and a strong overabundance ... you have to find this line yourself;)

Well, there is not much here, but as I said, this is my experience in creating illustrations and some points that I noticed personally for myself.

I hope you enjoyed it and got some useful knowledge.

And, yes, do not forget that you need a graphics tablet to create digital illustrations)) I have been looking at Aliexpress lately, there are many tablets at low prices. I have already bought things from the Chinese more than once and in the near future I plan to buy myself a brand new tablet ... otherwise my vacom is already completely erased T_T

All creative mood friends!

For several years now, my Virtual School has been holding courses and trainings on working in Adobe Illustrator. Back in 2012, I recorded a short video course “Adobe Illustrator One-Two-Three”, which I still distribute for free to my subscribers.

Then, in 2014, together with my team, I launched an online training on creating vector illustrations for microstocks. The training turned out to be very popular and successful - we recruited groups of 50-70 people 4 times.

During the course, many of our students were able not only to create high-quality portfolios - they really began to make money on microstocks!

Several works of the participants of the training

To view the full image, click on its thumbnail

Alumni of our Adobe Illustrator training have often asked me if I plan to prepare a new training for advanced illustrators.

The question is quite natural, because in vector illustration, as in design, there is no limit to perfection!

Having learned how to draw simple icons, ornaments and textures, which are starting to be sold on microstocks, a person gets a taste. Drawing vector illustrations becomes not only a hobby for him, but also a constantly growing income. Of course, everyone wants to earn as much as possible, and for this you need to be competitive and constantly improve your skills.

It’s no secret that there is huge competition on microstocks. If you enter this market with a standard set of icons, abstract backgrounds and mockups, then it will be extremely difficult for you to stand out from the thousands of competitors with similar portfolios.

In order for your work to be noticed, they must be different, have their own "highlight".

There are 2 ways to do this:

Path one: to persistently look for new non-standard forms and visualization styles in order to stand out in the general mass of illustrators.

Path two: find a niche with relatively little competition and become one of the best in it.

You don't have to be a professor of sociology to figure out that the second option has a much better chance of succeeding.

But how to find such a niche? And how do you know that you can really succeed in it?

One day, in the process of searching for materials for lessons on working with a gradient mesh in Adobe Illustrator, I found illustrations on the Web Andrey Panchenko.

In addition to the "adult" theme in the author's portfolio, I saw a lot of funny "cartoon" characters - mostly illustrations of cute little animals with big eyes and shy smiles. The quality and attractiveness of these characters also did not raise doubts about the skill of the author.

I found Andrey's work on several stock sites and found
that they have a good rating - it is no coincidence that they are issued on the first page of Google when searching for children's cartoon characters.

I decided to write to Andrey and discuss possible cooperation. It turned out that the creation character illustrations- a fairly profitable stock niche, because, unlike others, there are not so many competitors in it yet.

Andrey sold his first illustration on microstocks 9 years ago, when he had only a few basic works in his portfolio. Moreover, the work is far from “killer”. Andrey himself today says that then he knew little. However, since then, his illustrations have been sold almost every day and bring the author a steady income, which is not affected by fluctuations in the exchange rate of the ruble against the dollar!

I also found out that Andrey himself had been thinking about teaching others for a long time, even recorded several videos for YouTube, but his hands didn’t get to something more ... In a word, he readily agreed to become one of the teachers of our Virtual School .

Meet:
Andrey Panchenko
illustrator,
microstocker.

“I have been illustrating for about 10 years. At first it was a hobby, but now it is my main professional activity.

Participated in many freelance projects, in particular, performed work for the Disney Channel. Worked with several large furniture firms, such as JSC "Vector" and "Leader", on the design of preschool products.

Currently I sell my illustrations on microstocks - I actively work with almost all major microstocks and draw illustrations to order.

Andrey's portfolio:

We decided to prepare a new training on the topic of creating character illustrations. Why on this topic?

Firstly, as I said, the niche of character illustrations is quite in demand with relatively little competition. By learning how to create such illustrations, a microstock illustrator or freelancer can significantly increase their regular income.

Secondly, drawing vector characters requires a high level of proficiency in Adobe Illustrator tools. Therefore, such a course will be especially useful to all those who want to properly "hone" their professional skills.

Well, and thirdly, I was extremely inspired by the workflow of creating illustrations performed by Andrey. His work is distinguished by high precision, confidence and rationality of all actions. It's simply mesmerizing to watch how funny mischievous characters appear on a blank slate before your eyes - a cat in boots, a tiger cub or a sheep.

I am sure that it will be extremely useful for novice illustrators to receive mastery lessons from Andrey.

The most interesting thing is that Andrei deliberately does not use a graphics tablet in his work - he draws all the illustrations with a regular mouse! Moreover, he does not have a tablet at all. Thus, he clearly debunks the myth that high-quality illustrations can only be created using a Wacom tablet.

Don't forget to turn on the sound on your computer

It took us more than six months to develop and create the course. As a result, Andrey recorded 30 detailed video tutorials, in which he showed in detail the process of creating a professional character vector illustration - from a pencil sketch to the final implementation in Adobe Illustrator.

Well: "Highlights Illustration Basics" . Illustrator material from scratch from a well-known company! Suitable for beginners. Reviews are only positive, sometimes even chic! The material receives the label of exclusive material! The material can be quickly deleted, we recommend saving / downloading immediately. Material sent Webwith comment:

Hi all! Material for training FROM ZERO to illustrator. The authors are professionals in their field and over the years have collected a lot of great reviews. The course is very detailed and suitable for all categories of people and any level of training. This job pays well enough. I advise you to learn and apply the skills in practice. Do not forget about the practice, practice before offering services. Good luck to everyone and have a great end to the summer!

Material can be removed at the request of the copyright holder!

Course Description:

We teach you how to create professional vector graphics, logos, icons, illustrations from scratch, even if you have never drawn before.

Advantages:

• The course lasts 4 weeks and consists of 8 lessons of 2 hours each.
• A huge amount of useful material and bonuses throughout the training.
• You will not only learn the basics of the Adobe illustrator program, the basics of illustration, but also form your portfolio, which will allow you to take commercial orders immediately upon completion of the course!

Course program:

SESSION #1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM:

• Differences between Adobe illustrator and other vector editors.
• Introduction to the concept of a vector (raster and vector).
• Create a document. Document settings.
• Program setup (dimension, interface).
• Getting to know the interface.
• Construction with a pen, Bezier technique.
• Vector curve nodes.

DZ: Creation of a complex vector object.

LESSON № 2. VECTOR AND ITS PROPERTIES:

• Interaction of several objects.
• Working with layers.
• Grouping. Ungrouping.
• Insulation. isolation levels.
• Color and stroke.
• Working with Gradient and Gradient Mesh.

DZ: Character Creation

LESSON #3. MANIPULATIONS WITH OBJECTS:

• Construction of curves.
• Advanced work with nodes.
• Combining objects. Types, ways.
• Operations with objects.
• Creation of patterns.
• Shape builder.

DZ: Creation of a complex of vector graphics.

LESSON № 4. WORKING WITH TEXT:

• Types of text.
• Basics of typography - leading, kerning, tracking.
• Ways to create fonts.
• Creating a poster. Immersion in printing
• Triangulation.

DZ: Font rendering in several ways. Creating a poster

LESSON № 5. EFFECTS FOR VECTOR. RASTER GRAPHICS:

• Effects that change the visualization of vector objects.
• Managing the effects of vector objects.
• Types of object transparency.
• Combining a vector with a raster.
• tracing.
• Screening.
• Mask of vector objects.

DZ: Combination of vector, raster and text. Applying effects.

LESSON № 6. ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS. PART 1:

• New illustrator - chips 2018.
• Glitch, long shadows and other graphic techniques.
• Tablet work.
• Drawing. Create a brush

DZ:

LESSON № 7. ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS. PART 2:

• Puppet deformity.
• Perspective grid.
• Parsing and drawing different types of illustrations.
• Create a stamp on the media.

DZ: Use one of the techniques for creating graphics from the lesson, and apply it in your project or on a free topic.

LESSON № 8. AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS. SAVE A PROJECT. ADVIСE:

• Color settings and color schemes.
• Scripts and plugins.
• Integration with other programs. File preparation, saving and export.
• Labor market and advice

FINAL TASK: Creation of a logo, icon and the whole menu based on the chosen theme.

The link to download this material is available only to registered users of the site. Registration on the site is free and does not take much time. If you already have an account, you can log in.

The material is provided for informational purposes only!

Hello! My name is Hatice Bayramoglu, I am a 3D artist and illustrator from Turkey. In this tutorial I'll show you how to draw and color a character - an illustration for a children's book. As the lesson progresses, I will explain my choice of certain tools and my thoughts on the illustration. My tutorial shows how I create an illustration from an initial sketch to a full-fledged drawing. I believe that after reading this lesson you will find something useful for yourself. I will be using Photoshop and a Wacom tablet to create the artwork.

This drawing will be entirely created in Photoshop CS2.

Step 1: Sketch
Start by creating a new document in Photoshop. Its dimensions should be around 800x778 pixels. I started by making a quick sketch that reflects my main idea. Here is a sketch of the main environment around the main character.

So, as you can see, this sketch shows the main character - a little girl standing next to an apple tree with an apple in her hands. She smiles because she is happy, and perhaps a little sad.

Step 2: Adjusting the Brushes in Photoshop
Here is the one and only brush I use to color my character. For painting, I will use standard brushes.

Before you start painting, you need to set up the brush. Start by choosing a tool Brush(Brush), then use the standard brush, which is presented below.

(click on image to enlarge)

Step 3: Color Palette
You must decide on the colors you will use before you start painting. Here are my colors used in the work:

Step 4: Layers (layers)
Create New layer(New Layer) and name it Sketch (Sketch). You can create this sketch in Photoshop or on paper. Once you've created your sketch layer, edit it Blend mode(Blending Mode) to Multiplication(Multiply) and always keep it on top of all layers so you can see what you're painting over.
Now look at my layers palette. Here are separate layers for each sketch object. Coloring each detail on a new layer makes it easy to make adjustments as you draw. It's much easier to correct mistakes if the main elements of your illustration are on separate layers. This step is really important!

Step 5: Work on the background color
Here let me show you how I paint the background. Choosing a tool fill(Paint Bucket) (G). After you fill the background, it should look like this. Make sure the layers are arranged as shown in the image below.

Step 6: Coloring the Basic Shapes
Before I start coloring, let me show you the order of the layers again. I changed it because the sketch layer should be above all layers and also set to Multiplication(Multiply). At this point, we can start coloring the sketch and we can define the main shapes. Using the tool Brush(Brush) (B), start painting the main character and the tree on separate layers. Make sure that Rigidity(Hardness) of the brush is set to 100%. A brush with soft edges can result in a slightly blurry result.

And in this step, I would like to change the size of my file, because I want to add finer details. So I open Image(image)- Image size(Image Size) and increase the file size to 1500x1495.

Step 7: Adding Details
Now I can start adding details. In this step, I started by painting the main character's face. Make sure you are working on the correct layer before painting.

And here I made a copy of the tree layer and added some details to it. I also hid the first tree layer.

Here's a screenshot for details. I started adding even more details to my drawing, such as grass and little flowers. At this stage, I created a layer called Flowers (Flowers).

I add even more colors and fine detailed lines to the wood.

Now look at the details I just created. I continue to add details and, if necessary, create new layers.

Step 8: Special attention to the main character
Now, since I'm happy with the detailing of the scenery and wood, I'll add details to the girl's clothes. At this stage, I noticed that my character looks very simple and not very attractive, so I thought I should take the time to make some changes. I tried to give a slightly different look to the heroine and continued to add more details. Pay attention to the order of the layers again. As you can see, in this step I have a few more new layers. All layers have their own names.

Now I start adding small details to the heroine by adding more yellows and greens. By the way, do not forget that in this step you do not have to detail everything. At this stage, I work on the main details and lighting until I get a nice contrast. Sometimes I change some colors. I have almost finished painting her clothes and body. I also moved the sketch layer to one side a little so that you can see what the heroine looks like without a base with a sketch.

Step 9: Adding Highlights and Contrast
I used the tool clarifier(Dodge) (O) to lighten areas. This is what the work looks like after all the adjustments made by the tools clarifier(Dodge) (O) and Dimmer(Burn). I continue to add even more details on the tree using brushes of various sizes and colors. Once enough details were added, I began to smooth them out using a soft-edged brush. I also use tools clarifier(Dodge) (O) and Dimmer(Burn) to give shadows to the branches.

I also add a few strokes with the tool Finger(Smudge). I use it because I want to add soft blurry areas to the clouds and background. At this stage, I noticed that my clouds are not very detailed. So I created a new layer to paint the details to the cloud using two tools: Finger(Smudge) and Brush(Brush).

Step 10: Adding More Details
At this stage, I noticed that I need to add more flowers to my drawing. So I create a new layer and, as you can see, draw some nice and simple flowers. I keep adding more details. I add some strokes with the tool clarifier(Dodge) (O) I'm doing this because I want to add some lightly lit patches of grass.

Now that I've completed the grass and background, I can start adding more detail to the girl's hair and face. Select brush mode Lightening Basics(Color Dodge) and add some strokes to her face.

Now pay attention to the details that I added using only the brush in mode Lightening Basics(Color Dodge).

Step 11: Color Correction
The work on the drawing is almost finished except for the color correction. To start Drain(Merge) all layers. Now in Image(image)- Corrections(Adjustments)- Brightness/Contrast(Brightness/Contrast) Change the color a bit. I want to give the illustration a more sunny effect.

Set the options I have set. This is what the illustration looks like - more sunny and joyful.

Finished illustration
And here is the finished illustration, I hope you found this lesson interesting. Thanks for reading.

In recent days, I have had some kind of unprecedented creative and working upsurge. Finally, I like my own work, made for both customers and stocks. Therefore, it is drawn and typeset easily, pleasantly, which pleases.
I want to slightly reveal the secret of the workflow. For a long time the idea has been lingering to record a video of how objects for stocks are drawn, but so far my hands have not reached something, so I will show it only in pictures and words.

Stage 1. Choose a topic
Where does work start? From the choice of topic. To be honest, I'm not particularly wise about trends, choosing niches (maybe that's why I have modest numbers in my wallet), I draw what I want. I chose a style for myself, calling it “multi-realism”, that is, realistic enough to convey volume, shadows, but at the same time leave cartoonish fury and gloss. Currently I'm working in the "objects" genre, but later I plan to include people and small plots here.

I never get the question “What to draw”, rather “What to draw first”. I am impressed by absolutely everything: food in cafes, shop windows, beautiful photographs of people, works of other authors. Fortunately, I do not have to sit at the monitor, drag different flowers back and forth in the hope that something worthy will come out. I completely abandoned the creation of backgrounds, textures, business cards and other things that are quite popular among other stockers. It just didn’t work, I didn’t enjoy the process when I made them, and accordingly they didn’t sell at all.
Sitting down at the computer, I always already have an idea of ​​​​what I want to see as a result, but I'm getting ahead of myself a little.

So, the choice of topic. Always and everywhere I carry a diary with me, which, by the way, also not weakly sets in a creative way. And as soon as an idea comes to my mind, I add it to the Mind Map. I will not go into details of what it is, this information is easily googled, I will only clarify that the method is really cool. Allows you to structure ideas without squeezing them into frames, allowing the development of one thought indefinitely.
This is what my cards usually look like.
Ideas are written down in a cobweb, then they are thought over, analyzed. Something is postponed, and something gets life in the second stage.

Stage 2. Sketches
Everything here is extremely simple and clear, if I choose a topic, then I throw in exactly which objects can relate to it. And then I look for pictures of the necessary items and copy them into my moleskin. It is necessary to draw, stocks do not allow using other people's photos as direct references (redrawing other people's photos), but if you pick up several pictures, take something from one, something from the other, and eventually get your own drawing, then everything is fine, copyright right is not affected.
I draw, to be honest, so-so, the hand is not set to create straight lines, but this is not particularly necessary, for which I love the vector.
The sketches here have the role of approximate schematic sketches, from which I will take the general form. Later, Illustrator's tools will save you from crooked lines, allowing you to draw even circles and rectangles.

Stage 3. How do others do it?
For myself, I approved the basic principle of working with stocks: my pictures should be no worse in quality than those presented on the first pages among the popular ones. If the work falls short, I will procrastinate it until I am satisfied with the result. Naturally, here we are talking about works on the same topic and in the same technique as mine.

Yesterday I decided to draw on the theme of Fast Food. For this search query, I found cute sausages in dough, potatoes, cola. I chose what I would buy myself if I had such an order, and just what pleased the eye. I directly throw the found pictures on the sheet where I am going to work. I take nothing from them, neither color, nor form, nor style. I only need a general impression, everything else will come from my sketches and selected palettes.

Stage 4. Registration of the main forms.
Next comes the work on the computer. I have a graphics tablet, but I rarely use it, I like to boast that all my work was done with a mouse, which, by the way, is true. Main tool: pen. Those who understand the vector will understand what the point is. In short, the pen allows you to draw curved lines of any shape using points and vectors.
With a pen (for objects that require evenness: mugs, plates, boxes - ellipses, rectangles), I trace the main details, paint them in chaotic colors, just to determine the shape.
As a result, such unattractive illustrations are obtained, but the general idea is already clear, further only complication.


This 5. Color matching.
Color selection is one of the most important moments that I categorically do not trust myself and do not select colors myself. There are many services that allow you to collect beautiful palettes, but this is not quite the same. The main assistant in the selection of colors was the service: shutterstock.labs. An interesting thing, I recommend digging, even just for the sake of general development. The site allows you to select photos on topics of interest, taking into account the preferred palette. For example, I know that for drawing Fast Food I will most likely need yellow, red, orange, brown and their shades. I form the corresponding search query and the program gives me ready-made photos with the same hot dogs, potatoes and other things, and even in bright, beautiful colors, which I will later use in my work thanks to the eyedropper tool.

Stage 6. Development of the subject.
The draft part of the process is over, let's start creating. For the rendered details, I select colors from the found photos, after which I add new details: shadows, highlights, light, texture. As a result, I get a set of individual items that can now be combined.


Stage 7. Compilation of compositions.
The objects are drawn, it's time to think about how to present them. Even during my short work as a stoker, I managed to figure out that compositions are sold better than just objects on a white background (although I also upload it in this form, sometimes they buy it). Therefore, now I simply combine our entire collection into different pictures, with backgrounds, without backgrounds, with inscriptions, without them. The more you can make from one collection of pictures, the better. I especially like it when some items can be taken from past works. For example, I added ice cream from the Summer collection to the Fast Food set. Therefore, I try to draw in the same style so that everything can be combined.


This is what my work on pictures looks like. I found that such stages left their mark on my design activity, I began to make products of a different style and much better quality, which also pleases.