Hello! So I thought I would share how I create a digital illustration, and the steps that I personally take to make a finished piece.
I always start with a gestural sketch to find my figures, the pose, and the general dynamics of the picture. I use a colored sketch so that as I work through different layers and finalize the placement of lines, I don't have to worry about missing a section.
The next sketch layer is also a colored layer and more defined than the previous, but it's still not the final line set. I've started adding details, such as clothing, nails, hair, etc.
Adding the flat base colors is next. This is where the characters start to really come to life. Sometimes I choose one or two simple colors and work with the values from them, but I wanted more life with this picture.
The final lines are colored a dark blue, which adds some character to the illustration instead of using the traditional plain black lines.
Next is the fun part.
Figuring out your shadows and highlights.
I actually didn't end up going with this placement, because it felt too awkward, but it works for what I'm trying to explain.
You want to figure out where your light source is coming from first and foremost--in this case, it's the upper right corner. Sometimes I'll do a little white sun where I want the light source at to help figure out placement.
I always start with shadows, because then I can decide how deep or shallow they will be. In this case, I'm creating heavy contrast between light and dark. Deep darks and sharp lights.
Usually, I do one dark shade and one light tint to figure out exactly how the values are going to be placed and go from there, adding darker or lighter areas as needed.
Like I said before, I ended up redoing the highlight values because they felt awkward and not correct.
Which leads me to this point in the illustration! I've redone the first set of highlights to areas like the skin and hair, and instead added darker values to the clothes to give the illusion of lighter values. Highlights on clothing can be hard, so feel free to cheat a little with them!
I also added a dark blue wash over the entire piece to give it a darker, nighttime feel.
I'll continue fine tuning the illustration with more highlights and shadows, so I'm not gonna spoil the final piece for you!
But yeah! This is how I do my digital illustrations! Each one has a slightly different technique, which I'll post as they happen, but this is pretty much the basis of all my pieces.
Till next time!
~Kat
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