Tips for beginners
In this article we’ll talk about the development in illustrating: what you need for this and how to make progress.
I think that these tips won’t be useful for ui designers, product designers, specialists in printing or packaging, etc. it means that we’ll talk specifically about commercial graphics and the development in this field. Of course, there is a lot of information on the Internet, but I will describe my own opinion.
Passion for work
The first thing you need to have is a passion for this type of work.
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There are a lot of spheres which you can enter easier. Even if we are speaking about design. Many activities don’t require strong skills at the outset of your career.
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But illustration drawing is a very specific niche that demands quite serious skills from the very start. There are not so many people that draw like a pro by nature. That’s why you will have to spend a lot of time on your education and do it your all life through. So, it is unlikely here to start on easy street and strike it rich.
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And so as to go all the way in which there will be both good and black luck, you’ll need a passion for illustrations and understanding that this is your way.
Skills
The second thing – as in all spheres perhaps – is training.
Do you actually believe in all these “I’ll teach you how to draw online without registration within 2 days”? I don’t.
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Ideally, to start your development in illustration you need several things.
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👉 Basic skills in drawing.
If you don’t have them, you need to get them. When you come upon the idea in your head, you need to place it on paper. Often this is a problem for a beginner.
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Art schools teach drawing cubes, spheres, and cylinders. Actually, everything around us consists of them. So, learn sketching and composition. For example, this is taught by Peter Han in the course for dynamic sketching. Or maybe you can find some courses and schools in the framework of your language environment. In the Russian-speaking segment, I recommend Vitaliy Ivlev. Or you can find an offline studio in your city. As you wish.
👉 If you are not a native English speaker, then start learning. There are a lot of decent materials in this language specifically.
👉 Visual experience. Don’t be left to your own devices. Register on Dribbble, Behance, and Artstation. And subscribe to your favorite illustrators here on Instagram as well. View, like, save for later. Broaden your horizons. This will help understand what you like particularly. Realism, illustrations for magazines, graphics for games, illustration for children’s books, or something else?
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In my opinion, these are what you need at the beginning.
Tablet
Often basic skills in drawing which we were talking about, are trained with the help of traditional materials like paper, pencils or pens, etc.
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But the fact is that it is possible to study drawing in digital, especially since we have such amazing tools as iPad. But if you started with traditional materials like me, then it is reasonable to try drawing in digital. Where to begin?
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There are three aspects, and the first one is drawing on a tablet like iPad (or something similar). I think that a tablet with a screen is the easiest way of switching from traditional tools to the digital art. You don’t even have to change the techniques themselves. What if you get used to drawing with a soft pencil on tinted paper? Great! Do it here the same way. Every graphic editor has a pencil and the opportunity to choose paper’s color.
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The most important thing for you is to get used to new tools.
Digital Drawing
Now that you have tried your hand at drawing on a tablet, it makes sense to find out what tools we have there at the computer.⠀
If you wish to draw raster graphics, you need a graphic tablet (I have one by Wacom). But if you prefer vector graphics, you can get along with a mouse only. You can read what the differences between these types of graphics are.
Each program has a license. Most people use Adobe products (and so do I). They have a short trial period (7 days), if there are no special offers. But to try out vector graphics, you can download a free editor Inscape. It will suit fine. And to try out raster graphics you can take Clip Studio Paint – this is a cool program with a month of a trial period or free Sketchbook by Autodesk.
Learning 3D
You can’t imagine modern commercial illustration without it, even if you are not a 3D modeler. I’ll tell you why. For example, you got the task to make an illustration with characters in difficult perspective. Perhaps you are not skilled enough to draw this off-the-cuff immediately. And moreover you have to do it quickly! But it’s not a problem if you know 3D. You just sketch out the composition from 3D forms – and now you have the reference for your work!
It is absolutely okay. For example, once I had to draw a retro console in isometry. I modelled it quickly, and only then became thinking over the artistic component of the illustration, without thinking about how it would look in this angle. I could have created this console without 3D, the way I have made the car. But it is nice when you get several options under the belt. I have just chosen the convenient one.
3D is your friend! And this is not actually that hard. In instance, try out magicposer and Tinkercad – they are free and easy. It is quite sufficient to start with!
Summary
Let’s gather the main ideas of this post into one checklist.
To start your way in illustration, you need:
Passion for illustration and drawing in general, as this is not the simplest job and requires a lot of training, personal development, and patience.
Do you want to stand out from hundreds of other ones? Learn form construction. An interesting angle always shows to advantage and attracts attention. Remember that the main thing is the form, that’s why there is no point in learning light-and-shade and colors unless you see into the matter.
Learn anatomy not to have problems with drawing people. Specifications for illustrations almost always include people. Become the one for whom it’s not an issue.
Learn English as most professional information is exactly in English. Become the one, who doesn’t have language barriers.
Develop your eye for design. Glean your visual experience, follow other artists, and don’t stew in your own juice.
Shift to digital. Digital drawing is in demand in many spheres.
Often the main thing in the order is the speed. Learn 3d to dash the base and not to spend much time on the composition.
😊 I hope these tips were useful for you! Good luck and stay inspired!
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