I don’t about you, but I love it when other artists give a little glimpse into the behind the scenes. Like how they got from the starting line to the finished piece. I know everyone does it differently and takes different paths and shortcuts and detours to get to that finish line. So I thought I would share my process with you. This is how I usually tackle illustrations. My painting process is a little bit different, and I will share that with you in the coming week.

The way I usually start an illustration depends on what it is for. Lately I have been illustrating based on a word or phrase. Illustration Friday is just one place I go to get a word from. I also have a list I am currently trying to complete. Sometimes I read an article or hear about an interesting concept that I want to illustrate.

So to keep this simplified I am going to focus on my Illustration Friday illustrations.

First Step: I usually I get the word in my inbox or visit the website. Then I head over to dictionary.com and get the definition, this tends to spark some ideas in my head or at least gives me a direction to head in. I then go to work on something else for a little while and sit with those thoughts in the back of my head. Taking a walk also tends to help get the creative juices flowing. Sometimes I have an aha moment and can get straight to work on the actual piece and it just comes together, but this doesn’t happen too often.

Second Step: I write down every word I can think of that relates that word, or ideas that pop into my head and just whatever else comes out even if it is a random doodle. It all gets me a little closer to that big idea. This is what the page in my sketchbook looks like for this weeks word.

Third Step: By this step I have some ideas in my head and will start to sketch them out, very rough sketches, I often do this while sitting in front of the TV as I find the distraction lets my mind open up a little more. These are some of the sketches for this weeks Illustration Friday…

Fourth Step: This step takes me some time and usually a day or so has passed since step one. I try to pace myself because I get to rushed and tend to not be as happy with the outcome when I rush through the first three steps. At this point I am getting to the point where I have a few good ideas and have focused in on one. This step is where I work out the kinks and really get a grip on the piece as a whole. I will do a tight sketch of the illustration and test out color ideas in my sketch book, and move on to the big fifth step.

Fifth and Final Step: Painting and color and the fun part. This step is just wrapping it all up. I finally get to paint and will get all the pieces together if it is a piece I am putting together on the computer. For me it just depends on what the final illustration calls for. This is when I decide if I complete it as an illustration that exists on a piece of paper or if the original is hand created pieces that are digitally put together to make the final piece. This weeks illustration I completed on paper and so there is an original. I almost always tweak the colors a little in Photoshop like I did on this one, sometimes I make another version too. Mostly these are just testing out settings and other options in Photoshop. I did that with this weeks. Here is the final and also the one with some other changes.

Thanks for taking a little stroll with me through my illustration process. I hope this is helpful to anyone who is looking for ideas or different ways of approaching their artwork. This a process that works for me, and everyone approaches their art differently and it is all about finding what works best for you.

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