OxCreative

Top 10 Tips To Improve Your Illustration

1 – Use good quality products

Whilst it’s true that a good artist should never blame his tools, it’s unlikely you will create something with a stick drawing in the mud as well as you would with good quality paper and good quality pens, pencils and markers. With this is mind, it is important to get what suits you best as there are lots of quality products available. I use Windsor & Newton Cartridge Sketch Pads for day to day draft/pencil work, Letraset Marker Pad’s for marker pen work and if I am working on a good pencil piece I use Bristol Board.
For pencils, I like to use Faber-Castell Grip Pencils as the triangular shape is more comfortable over prolonged periods. For tech work I recommend Pentel GraphGear 1000’s which are nice robust tech pencils with retractable nibs to prevent damage when they are not in use. When inking an illustration I use Hunt #102 nibs and windsor & newton ink. I also use muji and letraset fineliners.

2 – Keep it clean

If you are planning on digitizing your work, or if it is pencil work that you plan on inking/coloring later, make sure you keep it clean. Whilst you can work with rough pencils/linework, it’s much easier to work off clean lines and will save you more time in the long-run. It might be a good idea to invest in a good quality lightbox to allow you to tidy up illustration work before digitizing/inking/coloring. For a cheap alternative use a non-photo (non-repro) blue pencil for rough sketches and go over them in standard pencil, then tweak your scanner settings so the non-photo doesn’t show up in the scan.

3 – Practice, practice and practice some more

Practice makes perfect – try to set aside 30 mins everyday. practice drawing freehand circles, 5 point stars (without lifting your pen/pencil of the paper), 10×10 dotted grids and spirals with an even decay/spacing rate. This will help coordination and control when you are illustrating.

4 – Get inspired

Nowadays, most people have a mobile or cell phone and most of these phones have a camera – so there is no reason to have a lack of references or inspiration. Go out and photograph everything. Organise your photos in folders on your PC/Mac so that your reference images can be easily found when you need them.

5 – Improve your surroundings

It is important to make your surroundings as comfortable as possible for when you are illustrating, especially if you are going to be there for long hours. A good sized desk and a comfortable chair are necessities. Whilst not everyone has space or can afford a professional drawing/draftsman desk, if it is possible then get one. It is also important to ensure you have good lighting and a adjustable drawing lamp can be bought for as little as £10-15 ($16-$24).

6 – Join a community

deviantart.com is a popular art/design/photography community and by becoming a member you will be encouraged to post your work for others to comment/crit allowing you to develop as a designer. Also checkout conceptart.org, cgsociety.org,

7 – The world outside

This may sound odd, but your illustration work will benefit lots if you do other things! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy… or creatively drained and frustrated at least! Make sure you spend time with your friends – go out and enjoy life as being cooped up at a desk all day is not good for the mind or body.

8 – Keep healthy

healthy body – healthy mind. If you have ever suffered from creative block you’ll know what a nightmare it can be, especially if illustration is part of your livelihood or studies. Stress, lack of sleep and over-working can all lead to creative block so it is important to take time to do something else. Exercising is great for releasing stress, naturally exhausting your body and can help stimulate blood flow to the brain improving alertness, brain functioning and concentration. It is also important to drink at least 2 litres of water per day to keep your body hydrated as dehydration affects mental performance significantly.

9 – Save your thoughts

For alot of artists, there best ideas come at the most unexpected and strangest of times. Keep a pocket-sized notepad and pencil with you at all times so you can sketch a thumbnail when you get an idea for an illustration.

10 – Climb out of the comfort zone

most artists have something they want to improve on or feel is weaker than other areas. Whether it is technique, anatomy, perspective, shading and lighting or proportions, it is easy to avoid  your area of weakness and find easy ways around including it within your work. It is critical that you push yourself and actively go out of your way to improve your weaknesses to make you a better illustrator.