Article 7: Mixing Up Illustration: Combining Analog And Digital Techniques

    In this article, David Mottram, is talking about the steps he takes to gets his finished illustration. He states that he doesn't take the same steps every time, but he always starts with a hand drawn sketch and takes it as far as he can go with it. David tries to go past his comfort zone and challenge himself with every new job. He feels it is important to keep a sketchbook or journal and quotes Milton Glaser, who said, "Drawing is visual thinking." David feels it is very important to research other artists that you admire and analyze why you are attracted to their art. He admires Mary Blair and Alice Provensen, because he loves the color palette they use. Researching texture and color helps create a better design. He also feels when you get an idea one of the first things you need to do is take a closer look. He gave the example of an elephant and magnifying the elephants skin to see it close up. This is important to create a design with the correct texture and color. One of Davids tips is to use gritty paper when scanning because it has more tooth marks and will show the texture better. He feels it is important to use everything you can such as pastels, paint, paper towels, and charcoal. Scan everything to use now or on a later project. Defining brushes in Photoshop is also important because each brush should be separate and named to create a brush palette for the project you are working on and future projects. Creating a color palette is the next step before actually working on the illustration. Last, David makes shapes to paint and paints in many layers for each shape.
    This article is a perfect view of how a illustrator and designer goes about creating an illustration. My sister is going to York College for Fine Art and wants to become an illustrator, and she is always doing thumbnails and sketches before she actually works on her design. She is always researching different artists and is right now working on a project in which they have to use different textures and colors for an abstract landscape painting. I know it takes many hours and a lot of work and in her case some tears before she has a beautiful finished project.