5 Illustrator "Secrets" that make a Great Illustrator
This May I am graduating with my BFA in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design of FSU (Ferris State University). Going to an art college, you go to many classes to build up your technical skills. To many non-creatives, that is all art college is.
Art college is really a compilation of tips and tricks (AKA Secrets) given to you by professionals in the Creative field. And here is a list of my top 5 favorite Secrets!
Washes- Washes are a semi-transparent layer of colors over an existing piece of art. This helps you change the over-all temperature of the piece at almost any time you want! This trick has saved my butt many a times!
Toned Paper- Toned paper is exactly what it sounds like, paper that is toned. I usually use a middle grey toned paper and if you would like to pick some up, this is what I use right here. The idea is that when using a toned paper, you already have a middle tone so that way, all you have to do is put in the lightest lights and the darkest darks.
Make your own toned paper- This is where my thriftiness comes in handy! If I could not get my hands on toned paper I would make my own by taping some paper to the table (make sure to tape all four sides down or it will wrinkle!) then take some ink and mix it with water (the more water added, the lighter the tone) and spread it on the page! Oh, and it doesn't have to be even or the whole page, I had a teacher who made us drag a sponge brush across the page 2-3 times and that was it... it was also pink! (this is a great exercise to get your creative juices flowing.
Pictures- Every artist uses some kind of reference, whether it be a picture, a sketch or from life. The neat thing about the time we live in is that we always have access to a camera! Use it! If you have something consistent to look at while you are drawing, painting, sculpting or whatever then your drawing will be more consistent and you will have confidence with every stroke of the pencil! And art is all about confidence!!!
Photoshop- My biggest reference tool is photoshop! I used to hate the computer, but now that I know how to use it as a tool, it is my favorite one. I can combine my reference photos, draw on them, play with colors, compositions and text! The list is endless. Not to mention that all the scans of my artwork, I edit and put all legal information through photoshop. Great tool for creatives! If you are interested in getting photoshop for yourself, head on over here.
These are just a few "secrets" I learned throughout my Illustration career so far, I can not wait to learn more! Do you have any that might be helpful? Email me about it, I would love to hear from you!
Yay! Post FOUR of SEVEN is done! I am over half-way there! Again, this is so inspiring and is really keeping me on track. If you would like to join in the seven days of blog posts challenge, share your blog with me I would really enjoy what you are writing!!!
Thanks for reading!
Until tomorrow....
