Having a plan helps.

There are so many ways to create and complete illustrations. I get so overwhelmed with all of the different ways to do things and then I get frustrated which means I have to walk away. Walking away is great but it doesn't help me accomplish anything so instead of walking away this time I’m working on a plan. There are tons of ways of drawing and finishing my illustrations but right now this is the method I want to work on. I’m still working my way through it but I’m hoping it comes up with some pretty good results. (Also, sometimes it’s best to walk away but this time I’m trying to work through the frustration).

Ok, so here are the basic steps:

1. Thumbnails- roughly sketch out all of the scenes of the book to get an idea of layout, composition, characters and their environments.
2. Roughs- create more refined sketches with more detail.
3. Scan- put the images into the computer for even more refining.
4. Inking- lighten the sketch and then go over the lines to define the shapes.
5. Color… (work in progress)

The coloring part is a beast all on its own and is too involved for me to post about it here.

I know there are tons of different ways to do all of this but this is the method that I want to explore for the time being. I’m trying to keep it as simple as possible while still trying to get the best results. It’s all a work-in-progress but I think having a plan helps keep things organized and helps eliminate trying so many different methods at once. I’m hoping that once I get this part mastered I’ll be able to get more in-depth with each step.

I think I’m going to try this for a while and see how it goes. I’ll post some images of my process so you can see how I’m doing. Wish me luck!