A guide to the streamlined illustration creation process
3 simple steps to help you improve your creation workflow and be more precise in every art you make.
How best to embody an idea in an illustration? Is it better to start with quick sketches or a carefully developed concept? I want to share my standard process of creating illustrations from start to finish. In this case, we are specifically talking about the creation of illustrations, without delving into the entire process of interacting with the client. This approach is applicable not only to conceptual illustrations but also to any commercial project.
The key steps:
- Define
- Design & Refine
- Finalize
Define
You have to understand what you actually are going to work with. Clearly define one main idea behind your project, or do a discovery call with a customer to get as much information as possible. As I wrote in one of my previous articles: never commit to unknown. And be sure to make it fun to actually illustrate this idea (the process should be fun! otherwise it’s just boring).
In my case, there’s the conceptual brief for the illustration: To create a blog post illustration about the AI that helps people with email writing.
After you defined the main idea and goal, you may want to brainstorm. I usually do it both for client projects and personal ones. There are several ways to do that but I love using mind mapping. The idea is to have as many “associations” to the main word/statement as possible. Once I have enough ideas I usually choose the most suitable one to sketch it out further.
But before I dive into sketching, there’s one more important step to do.
Research.
If you want to draw it, you should know as much as possible about it.
Google it, read about it, and collect a moodboard as you go — it can be color palettes, style references, photos, notes with some important info about the topic, and any other info that will help you with your project.
If you want to draw it, you should know as much as possible about it.
Design & Refine
Now that you are armed with all the necessary knowledge and reference images about the project, it’s time to pick up the pencil (or stylus in my case).
We need to validate the idea, so I always start with quick and rough sketches to define the composition of the main forms in the future illustration. Composition is the hierarchy of your elements, and this step should not be skipped. Often, I also draw at least 2–3 quick sketches for the selected concept to test and “play around” with the idea. The very first sketch is often not the strongest one.
Next, I choose the strongest sketch to refine it and bring it to the form on which I will base the entire illustration.
The next stage will involve selecting a color palette and creating a colored sketch. Many creatives skip this stage and play with colors in the final illustration, but I prefer to make these “most crucial decisions” before starting the final illustration — it’s more like relaxation for me when all decisions are already made, and it’s just about drawing. So, perhaps you already have examples of color palettes that you like (from the previous stage). I usually create up to 3 color sketches (with complex projects, it can be up to 6–7) to choose the most suitable for the project. How to choose it? Actually, I think it’s more of a personal preference for you as an illustrator or some guidelines from a client.
Of course, don’t forget about the psychology of color — each color evokes certain emotions and cannot be used “randomly.” But that’s a topic for a separate blog post.
Finalize
Once all decisions are made, I proceed to the final illustration according to the pre-defined formatting and technical requirements from the client. This is my favorite stage, and I simply enjoy it.
The entire work is built from general to specific, so after completing work on the main forms, I focus on textures and fine details. Textures are a particular source of pleasure for me; I always experiment with them to create interesting effects. Not all illustration styles incorporate textures, but I prefer to add them in 90% of cases — it’s part of my style.
I always check the color contrast in the final illustration to ensure that they harmonize and do not compete with each other. If colors are close in tone, I make slight adjustments to one of them.
And when everything is ready, the very last step is preparing the illustration for the client preview! You can use mockups, create designs yourself, or simply package the finished illustrations along with notes into slides. The better you present your idea, the more chances of getting that coveted “approved” from the client.
Often, the process of creating an illustration is the same for all the projects I work on. Sometimes, I may skip certain stages, for example, not drawing color sketches when I know exactly what palette I’ll be using, especially if it’s specified by the project or brand. But that comes with experience, and I would recommend periodically evaluating your processes and exploring new approaches to standard things.
Hey, I’m Irene ✨ — Creative Director, Illustrator & Graphic Designer 🖌
You can find me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Dribbble, or see more of my illustrations on my website.
👩🎨 My digital products are available on Gumroad
If you have any project inquiries or just want to say hi, hit me up via email
Or book a free illustration consultation call with me to discuss your business goals and see whether we’d be a good fit.
