The Illustration Process: From Post-it to Print

The steps I take as an illustrator to go from vague idea to a fully formed artwork.

In this article:

1. Finding my idea

2. The initial scribbles

3. Creating refined sketches

4. Choosing a colour palette

5. Creating the illustration

6. Editing the illustration

7. Reflecting

This is the start of any project, big or small. When creating personal work, sometimes I have a burning idea of something that I want to illustrate, and other times I might be completely clueless about where to start. To get ideas for my work, I often start by going somewhere that I think might spark an idea, for example a museum or a park,  or by looking through my old photographs.

Your source of inspiration could be anything: a film you’ve watched, a walk you’ve been on recently, a piece of music. Alternatively, you could see if there’s a gap in my portfolio that you want to fill and create an imaginary brief to follow along with.

Keeping an list of fun project ideas in a notebook or on your can be really helpful, as if you suddenly have some free time you’ll have somewhere to start right away!

When creating work for a client, they will provide you with a brief to work from, and all your ideas will need to stem from this. You can think of different ways to approach the brief by writing notes, and moving on to…

I’ll always start my illustrations with some small initial drawings. These quick scribbles help turn ideas into something visual. By doing small (often very bad) drawings, I can think about what actions and poses I want my characters to be doing, what the setting or scenery of the illustration is, and possible compositions.

Doing thumbnail sketches, in boxes the same shape as your final image needs to be, can be a really helpful way to see how your drawing can work within the space. Try not to get bogged down by detail at this stage, and focus on the general feeling of the illustration. 

Once I’ve scribbled away and got more of a solid idea of how I’d like my illustration to look, I’ll create a more refined sketch. In this sketch, I want all the key elements of my illustration to be in the correct size/shape/place.

This sketch should contain all the information and details that you need for your final illustration, so that when it comes to creating your final piece, you’re just thinking about creating a great piece of artwork, and not conceptual things like how your character is standing.

If I’m working with a client, I’ll probably send them 2 of these sketches to choose from at this point. They might suggest some tweaks and changes at this point, in which case you might do another sketch or 2!

You could choose to do a complete colour sketch, where you fill in your sketch with the colours that you want to use. I prefer to create a colour palette, testing out different combinations of pencils, paints and pens to see what looks fun and harmonious together.

Now this step will really depend on the way you enjoy making work. Whatever your medium, you may find it helpful to use your sketch as a direct guide for your final illustration.

If creating work by hand, you could do this using a lightbox, creating your final artwork on a new sheet of paper on top of your sketch (the light shining through from the lightbox allows you to trace your sketch).

If you’re working digitally, for example on Procreate, you could create your artwork on a new layer above your sketch.

I create most of my work by hand and sometimes will work on multiple sheets of paper, digitally collaging illustrated elements together in photoshop. This allows me to be more flexible with my final artwork and make changes if needed. It also means I am not so concerned about making mistakes, as it won’t ruin the entire illustration, and this allows me to have a more energetic feel to my illustration.

Replicating the energy of the sketch into the final artwork is something that many illustrators struggle with – I find having my lightbox on a dimmer setting, so I can’t perfectly see the sketch, is helpful as it means I’m not perfectly tracing the image, and therefore the marks I make have more energy.

When creating your illustration, it’s good to lay down the large areas of colour first before getting stuck into the detail. I tend to do my linework as the final step of an illustration, but again, this depends how you enjoy making work! Trial and error and trying lots of techniques is the best way to find what method of artwork creation you enjoy most. Practice makes progress!

Once you’ve made your artwork, some final tweaks here and there can make it feel complete. Even if you enjoy working by hand, it’s very important to have a digital version of your illustrations. You can do this by scanning in your artwork, or taking a really high quality photo.

I always recommend scanning as you can control the quality of the image better. Once scanned, you can use a programme like Photoshop or Affinity and tweak the brightness, colours and even the composition of your artwork. If you’re working digitally, you may need less editing at this stage, but playing around with the colour and lighting on a completed illustration can sometimes take it to a new level.  

So you’ve completed your illustration – yay! Now you can share it on social media, put it on your portfolio, get it printed or send it to the client you’re working with. Or just keep it for yourself! Once a little time has passed since making your illustration, it can be helpful to spend some time reflecting on it. What elements do you like and are successful? What did you learn doing this illustration that you could take into future pieces? Is there any parts you don’t like so much and would change if you could do the illustration again?