How an illustration is created. Digital painting: three ways to create illustrations on the computer

You have been preparing for the publication of your own book for a long time: the material has been selected, edited, tested on loved ones; you have already found publishing house, which you will contact... It would seem that a little more, and you will have a book in your hands with your initials on the cover.

But be careful - and don't forget about one more thing, more than important aspect book publication. It's about about its illustration. Already from the translation of the word “illustration” it becomes clear why the visual design of a book is important - it is nothing more than a “visual image” of its content.

The selection of illustrations (both for the design of the cover and the text of the work) must be approached most responsibly, because, as a rule, a potential reader evaluates a book based on its design. Therefore, the illustrations, first of all, must accurately reflect the essence of the book, and at the same time hold the eye. A “dim” cover can “kill” even the most brilliant work, because... a potential reader is unlikely to even turn it over, let alone read the text itself.

The best option (but also the most expensive) is to entrust the text illustration to professional artist. The main thing that is required from the author is to determine the desired style of illustrations: graphics, anime, caricature, fairytale illustrations and so on. Depending on the style, our publishing house determines an artist for the future book, who gets acquainted with the work, and ultimately the illustrations are perceived as one with the text and help the reader to navigate the contents of the book before reading.

If you plan to look for an artist yourself, and later simply provide the publisher with ready-made illustrations, pay attention to the following.

Essentially, the artist is the co-author of the book. An idea and the images in which the author embodies it may need visual support - and with sufficient skill of the artist, an illustration can not only provide this visual support, but also distract from possible minor flaws author's style. For example, in historical novels or in fantasy: the author may not be sufficiently skilled in the art of describing everyday life, and then the reader will “fall out” of the era or not believe what is happening in the book - since the events unfold “unknown where and unknown when.” In this case, the artist’s skill can “revive” and complement the picture that appears in the reader’s head - and the shortcomings literary style will not be perceived so categorically.

When you have decided on the artist, be careful in choosing the content of the illustrations. A large double-page illustration depicting an insignificant event will only cause the reader a feeling of bewilderment, since he will not immediately be able to correlate the picture and the plot of the work.

Illustration poetry collections requires a special approach. Be sure to take into account that a small volume of works requires greater concentration from the reader than when reading prose - and therefore too bright illustrations They may simply “pull the blanket” over themselves: your book will attract attention, but only with pictures (and after viewing them, will they begin to read the poems themselves?).

If you don’t know any artists, and you don’t even know who to contact, use the services of freelancers. Today, when we are no longer limited by territorial boundaries, nothing prevents you, when preparing a book in Vladivostok, from using illustrations created by an artist from Crimea.

Well: "Illustration Basics from Highlights" . Illustrator material from scratch from famous company! Suitable for beginners. The reviews are only positive, sometimes even chic! The material receives the exclusive material tag! The material can be quickly deleted, we recommend saving/downloading immediately. Sent the material Webwith comment:

Hi all! Material on learning to be an illustrator FROM ZERO. The authors are professionals in their field and have collected many excellent reviews over several years. The course is very detailed and is suitable for all categories of people and any level of training. This work pays quite well. I advise you to study and apply the skills in practice. Don’t forget about practice; practice before offering services. Good luck to everyone and have a good end to the summer!

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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 Adobe programs illustrator, the basics of illustration, but also create your own portfolio, which will allow you to take commercial orders immediately after completing the courses!

Course program:

LESSON No. 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM:

• Differences between Adobe illustrator and other vector editors.
• Introduction to the concept of vector (raster and vector).
• Creating a document. Document settings.
• Setting up the program (dimension, interface).
• Getting to know the interface.
• Construction with a pen, Bezier technique.
• Nodes of a vector curve.

DZ: Creating a complex vector object.

LESSON No. 2. VECTOR AND ITS PROPERTIES:

• Interaction of several objects.
• Working with layers.
• Grouping. Ungrouping.
• Insulation. Insulation levels.
• Color and stroke.
• Working with gradients and gradient meshes.

DZ: Character Creation

LESSON No. 3. MANIPULATIONS WITH OBJECTS:

• Construction of curves.
• In-depth work with nodes.
• Combining objects. Types, methods.
• Operations with objects.
• Creating patterns.
• Shape builder.

DZ: Creation of a vector graphics complex.

LESSON No. 4. WORKING WITH TEXT:

• Types of text.
• Basics of typography - leading, kerning, tracking.
• Methods for creating fonts.
• Creation of a poster. Dive into printing
• Triangulation.

DZ: Rendering a font in several ways. Creating a poster

LESSON No. 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.
• Trace.
• Screening.
• Mask of vector objects.

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

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

• New illustrator - features of 2018.
• Glitch, long shadows and other graphic techniques.
• Working with a tablet.
• Drawing. Creating a Brush

DZ:

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

• Puppet deformation.
• Perspective grid.
• Parsing and rendering different types illustrations.
• Creating 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 No. 8. AUTOMATION OF THE PROCESS. SAVING THE 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 a whole menu based on the selected theme.

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

The material is provided for informational purposes only!

Illustrations in a book are an important emotional factor influencing the reader. fiction, which has an aesthetic and semantic impact. Illustrations contribute to a better perception of texts of any level of complexity, helping to make a choice in favor of a specific publication!

In this article we will introduce you to the main points of illustration and tell you about ways to do it. All you have to do is choose suitable way designing your book with illustrations.

The size, format and location of each illustration in the book has its own purpose. You need to become familiar with how illustrations are typically laid out and drawing techniques so that you can communicate with illustrators on the same language.

Highlight following types illustrations:

• Frontispiece. Such an illustration for a book is printed on a separate thick sheet of paper and glued to the left side of the first book block, spread title page before the first page of text material. Typically, this sheet displays main idea, the action of the story. In some cases, a portrait of the writer or the main character of the plot of the work is placed here.
• Screensaver. Used to decorate the beginning of a chapter or section, and reproduces thematic transcript the contents of the entire heading part of the publication, this is a kind of graphic introduction. The screensaver prepares the reader for the development of the plot and the emotional perception of the work. Besides thematic pictures, at the beginning of sections they often use an ornamental, symbolic, subject-decorative thematic composition called a ruler.
• Strip. A drawing that takes up the entire page of a book.
• Half-strip. A picture that is located anywhere on the page: top, bottom, right or left.
• At the centerfold. The image that occupies the spread of the publication.
• Defense. Thematic image framed with text.
• Drawings in the margins. Small images distributed along the edge of the text strip.
• Background. Often used in color gift editions. The text is placed on top of the image.
• Ending or vignette. A picture or graphic element is placed at the end of the text. It is performed in the same plot-thematic execution with the screensaver.

The following are the basic drawing techniques:

• pencil or charcoal;
• watercolor or oil;
• line drawing in the style of books from the glorious times of the USSR;
• computer graphics, including 3D;
• photo collage - an illustration made up of several photographs;
• photorealistic drawing.

Check out the illustrations made in different techniques, and choose the appropriate option for yourself.

Coal Watercolor Pencil Photorealistic painting Line art Photo collage

Attractive publication cover, aesthetic and memorable appearance, thematically correctly selected illustrations are a guarantee of the future success of the book. And here it is important for the author to decide which illustration method to choose.

Method 1: Order illustrations from an illustrator

Hiring a professional illustrator or graphic designer is one of the best options providing your written creation with high-quality images in full accordance with the presentation. All illustrations for the book are done in unified technology drawing, supported uniform style, agreed with the author.

Hiring an illustrator to work is not the cheapest method, but it is the most advantageous in terms of quality and accurate representation of the author’s intention.

Method 2: Select ready-made illustrations for an existing plot

This method is well suited for poems or stories where all the illustrations are not connected by a common theme.

On the Internet you can find many ready-made images on the theme of the work. But you must use them to design your book only with the permission of the artist or photographer, since in this case there are copyrights to the image. Failure to comply with this requirement can lead to unpredictable consequences: litigation, monetary fines.

Therefore, it is better to turn to the services of photo banking sites, where all photographs, reproductions, drawings are provided for a small fee, and sometimes for free. Wide choose, high-quality images allow you to design literary work without violating the copyrights of others. Our publishing house uses the services of the photo bank www.lori.ru, where you can quickly find a suitable image using keywords.

Method 3: Find an artist among your relatives or friends

If you ask, you will be surprised how many people you know can draw. Even if not very professional, but very sweet and sincere. These people will welcome the opportunity to illustrate your book for free, or for a small fee or return favor. Let them draw on paper. And then the publishing house will professionally scan the illustrations and insert them into the book layout.

Services of illustrators of the publishing house TRIUMPH

Our specialists create illustrations in any technique. By ordering the publication of a work from our publishing house, the author gets the opportunity to work directly with the illustrator, which allows him not only to discuss the technique of performing the work, the number of drawings, but also to agree on the cost. Payment is also made directly to the artist.

My Virtual School has been conducting courses and trainings on working in Adobe Illustrator . Back in 2012, I recorded a short video course “Adobe Illustrator in 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 to not only create high-quality portfolios - they actually started making money on microstocks!

Several works of training participants

To view the entire image, click on its thumbnail

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

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

Learning to draw simple icons, ornaments and textures that are starting to be sold on microstocks, people are getting a taste for it. 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.

For your work to be noticed, it must be different in some way, have its own "zest".

There are 2 ways for this:

The first way: persistently search for new non-standard forms and visualization styles in order to stand out from the crowd of illustrators.

The second way: find a niche with relatively little competition and become one of the best in it.

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

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

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

In addition to the “adult” themes in the author’s portfolio, I saw many 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 author's skill.

I searched for Andrey's work on several stock sites and discovered that
what do they have good rating- it’s no coincidence that they appear on the first page of Google when searching for children’s cartoon characters.

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

Andrey sold his first illustration on microstock 9 years ago, when he only had a few in his portfolio basic work. Moreover, the work is far from “killer”. Andrei himself says today that back then he could do little. However, since then his illustrations have been sold almost every day and bring the author a stable income, which is in no way affected by fluctuations in the ruble-dollar exchange rate!

I also learned that Andrey himself had long been thinking about teaching others, he even recorded several videos for YouTube, but he never got around to doing anything more... In a word, he readily agreed to become one of the teachers of our Virtual School .

Meet:
Andrey Panchenko
Illustrator,
microstoker.

“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 companies, such as OJSC 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 custom illustrations.”

Andrey's portfolio:

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

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

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

Well, 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 clean slate funny mischievous characters appear before your eyes - puss 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 in his work Andrey deliberately does not use Graphics tablet- he draws all the illustrations with a regular mouse! Moreover, he doesn't 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.

Over the past few weeks I've been trying out using grayscale filters, curious about the results and what they can do. Also, much to my surprise, I discovered the Width Tool in Illustrator CS5. Having these two tools, I decided to put them to good use and create an illustration in the style of Roy Lichtenstein.

There are quite a lot of tutorials that tell you how to create such an image, but I decided to go through this one myself. I was not interested in other lessons, because... my occupation was only entertainment. Therefore, if I suddenly copied someone's technique, then I really didn't know. In addition, it would be quite nice to post a lesson on creating illustrations in a similar style on this site.

Roy Fox Lichtenstein (October 27, 1923 - September 29, 1997) - American artist, representative of pop art. The artist's success was brought to him by his works on the themes of comics and magazine graphics. Wikipedia

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