Creating digital illustrations is a pretty easy way to start practicing your drawing skills. It’s fun, cost-effective, and you get instant feedback! There are many ways to begin creating your own illustrative pieces, but one of my favorite starting points is doing small, self-promotional drawings or “digital artworks.”
Here, you can create an illustration and then find websites, apps, or other media that need to have some type design element done – like having a cover designed for a book or magazine, or a logo created for their business. By offering your services as an artist who can do creative designs, you can make some extra money while developing your artistic talent.
There are several reasons why this strategy is great to start with. First, it’s very affordable– most people don’t require a professional quality piece, so there isn’t too big of a pressure source. Second, it’s totally mobile friendly -you can create your artwork anywhere you have internet access (which should be almost everywhere these days). And lastly, it’s nonstop- you get paid every time someone views your work which has a snowball effect when spread out over a few months.
This article will go more in depth about how to draw inspiration from various sources, what types of styles are needed for different projects, and some quick tips for getting started.
Cost of a digital illustration
A very popular way to create illustrations is using an app that has you use your computer as a tool to produce them. These apps usually start with a free level, then add more features as you progress through their subscription levels or by purchasing additional packages.
The apps have you design the image, apply textures and brushes, and even give you some editing tools. Some even allow you to connect it to other software or devices (like Photoshop) so that you can edit the texture or brush in another program. This feature is called ‘mobile production’ because you don’t need to take the artwork home and edit it there.
Many people begin designing digitally by creating vector graphics which are totally scalable. A vector graphic does not contain any pixels nor thicknesses, only edges that separate one part from the next.
Sample digital illustrations
A well-designed piece of illustration will always stick out. It will make your eye keep wandering around the image, exploring all the little details it contains. These small touches are what makes an illustrative style unique!
Most people start designing digitally by creating vector shapes or type elements. As you may have noticed in the examples above, those ideas can be adapted to any medium.
Typography is one of the most popular starting points for designers because you can easily edit and rework it. The same goes for picture styles – you could take a plain background and add in some interesting textures or patterns.
But what about something more elaborate? What if there was someone walking down a beach with waves crashing behind them? Or a still life with a bottle and plate next to each other?
These are much higher fidelity designs than anything mentioned before, but they’re not necessarily easy to achieve unless you’re experienced in drawing.
That’s why this article will talk about how to source high quality digital illustrations online. You won’t need very many to create great looking pieces so don’t worry too much about cost – just look at it as investing in your career!
Disclaimer: This article only covers buying individual images, not whole albums. I’ve linked several sites where you can buy single illustrations and get good service, but never Amazon. If you purchase from their Marketplace, make sure you review their terms to see that you’ll retain ownership of the art.
Equipment needed
Having a nice, steady hand is a key part to becoming an illustrator. If you are not comfortable with drawing using a pen, get some practice doing it! There are many ways to learn how to draw with your hands!
Many people start by teaching beginners how to do simple drawings like squares, circles, and lines. But what about when you want to make things more complex? That’s where digital art comes in!
Digital illustration means making illustrations that use computer software or apps to add colors and textures to pictures or designs. This can be done easily through regular apps such as Photoshop or Gimp, but there are also expensive paid programs that offer much higher quality features than their free alternatives. These types of applications have you pick a texture or brush from the toolbox, then you drag those resources into your picture.
Tips for digital illustration
Being able to design in different styles is an important skill to have as an artist. But, designing in other mediums can be tricky if you’re not used to it.
Designing in another style or media requires you to think differently. You need to consider how textures and materials affect your piece, what colors look good together, and which ones go well together.
When starting out as a designer, there are many ways to learn new techniques. One of those is experimenting with other styles – going way beyond just using illustrations as templates.
This article will talk about some easy ways to get familiar with designing in other formats. And yes, these strategies apply to people who are already designers!
What are some types of designs that use images?
There are several types of designs that feature still pictures or photographs as a main component. These include:
Photographic layouts – this includes photo books, photobooks, and picture albums
– this includes photo books, photobooks, and picture albums Picture stories – novels or short stories made up of lots of photos or image sequences
– novels or short stories made up of lots of photos or image sequences Infographics – chart and diagram type visuals that emphasize information over aesthetics
All of these require you to use Photoshop or a similar graphics software package to create them.
Color in digital illustration
Choosing your color palette is an integral part to defining the style of your artwork. There are many ways to pick your colors, but no matter what method you choose, make sure they align with the overall theme of your piece!
The easiest way to start is by choosing a primary color and then mixing those primaries together into new shades. For example, if your main color was red, then using only that color or adding green to it will create some very interesting shades.
Another way to gain internalized color concepts is looking up some beautiful illustrations and tracing their basic shapes and colors. You can also use computer software such as Photoshop to find your neutral colors, which are simple shades used for creating backgrounds and other areas of your design.
You should always consider how much text would be needed for your design before picking out your colors. If there is little or no text, then lighter colors like blues, greens, and purples may work better than darker ones.
On the contrary, designs with too much text require strong, bold colors to stand out. The number and intensity of colors required depends on the length of the texts and the typography used.
Understanding how to sell your work
Finding ways to get exposure for your illustration style is an endless process that can be done in many different ways. There are several ways to make money as an artist including selling digital art, designing products, creating logos, and more!
In this article, we will talk about some easy ways to start promoting your artwork by marketing yourself as an illustrator. These strategies will not only help you gain inspiration from other artists’ works but also give you direct access to all of the tools needed to create illustrations.
If you are looking to launch into it quickly then there are plenty of free resources available online. Many universities have student run blogs or social media pages that feature artistic creations and short notes explaining what tool or medium they used to produce their piece. By commenting on one of these posts you would get some quick points and tips.
By giving away your work while sharing your expertise, people will want to come back to read your comments and see what you had to say. If you are very passionate about your craft then starting a blog and sharing your experiences may be a good way to spread your creative wings.
Connect on social media
While creating digital art does not require you to have formal training, there are some basic skills that every artist needs to know. Starting your artistic career with the right introductions is key!
To be an accomplished artist, you must connect with other artists. Posting pictures of your work on social networking sites such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter is a great way to do this.
By interacting with others in the field and showing off what you’ve done, you will gain inspiration and comments which can help you push yourself more creatively.
There are many free resources available through educational institutions or creative communities for both experienced and beginner artists to use. By engaging with these, you will learn something new and improve your craft.
Use promotional materials
As we mentioned before, creating beautiful digital art does not require you to have a professional camera or computer! You do not need expensive software like Photoshop to create stunning visuals.
There are plenty of free tools available online that can help you get started with your artistic creations. Some of these apps offer features such as color customization or texture applications which can be used to add some extra depth to your images.
By experimenting with different styles and textures, you will find new ways to use this tool for yourself or others to make creative designs!
And if you want to take it up a notch, then there are also paid versions of some good design softwares out there. These can easily cost around $10-20 per app but they are definitely worth the investment if you are looking to push your creativity levels higher.
