Longyan Line Illustration-How to draw a linear illustration landscape from scratch? Let’s take a look at the master’s summary of design ideas!

What are the characteristics of warm and cool colors in linear illustrations?

The cold and warm colors of linear illustrations are generally characterized by elegant warm colors, and other tones are based on soft light, low-key, and consideration of details. Cool colors represent profound thoughts, while warm colors represent a brave spirit. How to draw a linear illustration landscape from scratch? Let’s take a look at the master’s summary of design ideas!

If you keep studying lines, you will find that in addition to expressing the iconic individuals we see in our daily lives, lines can also express larger and more complex landscapes. However, the latter will be somewhat difficult, especially if the lines are relatively thick, especially when it is difficult to better display details (such as expressing clouds or catkins floating in the air, etc.). At that time, I was a little stuck on this idea and made no progress.

Two days later, I suddenly had inspiration out of thin air and thought of the path of "simplification". Try to use a simplified approach, although it may seem rough, but it will enter a new level. I think we don’t just create landscaping, but convey the view. Therefore, the scenery uses a combination of lines and color blocks to unfold step by step.

Source of inspiration

So I came up with this group of works called The Great Thousand Mirrors. This group of works is created based on the method of thick lines + scenery. The key expression is "color". ” (Gradient combination).

Tips:

This operation focuses on the process of design thinking and does not involve the specific detailed operation of the software. If you are unfamiliar with software operation, you can move here to take a look at this A simple video to quickly get started with AI.

△Four ways to obtain shapes: spelling, subtraction, cutting, and drawing

Reference photos are not equal to copying photos

The drawing of exterior scenes requires very generalization . Since our plan here is to draw the scenery in a small round rectangular frame, the space is actually very limited. Therefore, the setting of lines will tend to be simple.

Simplification is a very important idea, and you can start studying it with photos. Of course, when I was creating, I didn’t just draw on one photo, but combined multiple photos for reference.

Refer to the layout, composition, and perspective in the photos and refine the most basic shapes.

If you are interested, you can watch the following video:

△Where does inspiration come from? Some tips on referring to photos

Building basic lines

If the details are not cumbersome, a simplified pattern can be expressed using a grid. Of course this depends on your habits.

STEP01

Open AI and create a new 1600*1600px document. Draw a rounded rectangle in this document, and then plan the layout within this rounded rectangle. First, use a few lines to outline the largest basic shape. The outer frame line uses 30px, while the inner line can be slightly reduced to 25px, and if it is thinner, it can be 20px.

The principle of setting the thickness of lines is to make them follow a certain rhythm, for example, they are all multiples of 5.

Patterns build up the whole picture like building blocks.

STEP02

Continue to fill the picture of the building complex on the left with the logic of building blocks. At this time, we must learn to think beyond the "technical" level. This has been repeatedly emphasized to students in my teaching experience: we are not learning how to draw this object. For example, here we are drawing a small town scenery. What we learn is the creative thinking behind it.

Here I quote an original quote by Feng Zikai from the book "Understanding Painting":

"Pictures are just like mathematics and sports. Life does not necessarily involve drawing apples, Bananas, vases, and teapots are just used to train people's eyes to make them correct and sensitive, true and beautiful."

It is used here by painting small towns and buildings. process to train your ability in line modeling. This ability is demonstrated by not only conforming to the shape of the building, but also making it look beautiful and natural.

STEP03

To continue, we will optimize our shape again. There are two aspects to pay attention to when optimizing the shape:

Whether the shape connection is closed

Whether the overall shape is uniform

These are two directions, macro and micro. Then adjust the addition and deletion shapes appropriately.

STEP04

Adding details is generally the last step of the framework work. At this time we have to switch to another angle: at first we regarded the role of lines as establishing outlines. At this time, we need to use lines as the role of describing details. For example, if we use an apple as an example below, you will be able to understand. The two functions of line: outlining and depicting can be reflected here.

So the details added here (windows, doors, waves, seabirds, etc.) all play the role of line depiction.

At this point our outline is complete. At this point you can expand their appearance.

In many LOGO designs, this step can actually come to an end, because most flat-style LOGOs only need an outline, and the color can be a random monochrome.

Color Frame

Establishing a color frame is actually to find an angle from which to observe color. Use the relationship between two colors to evolve into a color array. In the video below, you can learn more about color arrays.

△Color array: Color frame diagram for beginners

STEP01

Based on the above theory, I obtained this color array. Our color starts here. The main color was blue (inspired by our photos), and the secondary colors were pink and mint green.

STEP02

Of course, the role of the color array is not to allow us to use all colors, but to simplify and simplify based on the actual situation. Experiment with key colors to find the best combination.

Use the shape generator tool to color and distribute the main color.

STEP03

Continue to use the last color mint green. At this time, everyone should pay attention to the subtle changes in color. When a single color appears, everything looks perfect. Once added The second color situation starts to get complicated.

This is the same as our daily life. When we are alone, everything is fine, and interpersonal relationships will appear between two people. The complicated relationship that makes people both headache and happy brings more vitality and ups and downs.

We see that although we use secondary colors, we also bring more color changes to some color blocks, which can be easily achieved with the color array.

STEP04

The third color is red, which we can continue to use in graphics.

STEP05

The main colors are controlled at three types, and the remaining colors can be fine-tuned based on the existing colors, such as adjusting the brightness or saturation of the color to obtain more Subtle changes.

Note the use of white here.

Gradient of light and shadow

Because of the light, we have to see different colors. According to this truth, if you want to obtain a richer sense of light, gradient is also a very important coloring element.

STEP1

Before applying gradient, my suggestion is to do a good job of flat painting first. Flat painting is to establish the overall color balance, and then fine-tune it according to the light conditions.

And for gradients, we need to exercise restraint. We only need to select one of the colors, and then make fine adjustments within a relatively narrow range of this color. For example, here we use a gradient on red to make some subtle changes in red.

STEP2

Then add shadows to the building. The appearance of the shadows is arranged according to the principle of "beautiful and true". Many people here may ask what the principle of "beauty and truth" is. The following is also a description from Feng Zikai's "Understanding Painting":

Pictures have both appreciation and practical effects. Appreciation is beautiful, and practicality is real. Therefore, drawing practice must take into account the two conditions of "truth" and "beauty". Specifically: For example, when tracing a vase of flowers, you must carefully observe the shape, size, direction, and color of the flowers, leaves, and vase to avoid making mistakes. This is the "real" aspect. At the same time, it must be coordinated and arranged skillfully to make it appropriate. This is the time for "beauty".

After understanding this principle, you can test the balance of these two elements in the picture during practice.

There are three things to pay attention to when making shadows:

Find the light source

The configuration of the shadow color

It does not have to be completely realistic

These three points can be demonstrated to you in detail in the following video:

△Three-step technique for adding shadows in line illustrations

The completed effect is as follows:

Dot Highlights

In the last step of creation, here we add a small detail, which is also the finishing touch that suddenly came to mind, adding dot highlights to the picture.

STEP1

In plane composition, a point can be a dot or a small square. In this picture, we use small white squares to create the highlight part of the picture.

Adding dot-like highlights to the picture will make the picture more lively.

Final effect:

Postscript: The idea behind it

Writing this article, I compiled three videos, which may give beginners more information through the videos. Inspire. I have been torn between making videos or writing articles before. I originally thought that articles + videos would be the best way, and each should take what they need. But later during the operation, it was discovered that the two roads could not run in parallel. I can only intersperse more parts that I think are worth expanding into the article.

The video supplements the article, and the article supplements the video. Although everyone now says that they don’t have time to read text, and videos are more direct, I always feel that it is easier to query and record what I study with concentration in text. Neither videos nor articles can replace each other. How to learn hand-drawn illustration

01 The learning process of hand-drawn illustration is from shallow to deep. First, decide on a specific subject and creative direction, and then start trying abstract themes after you are proficient. The choice of composition will affect the presentation of the subject, so the composition should be chosen to match the subject and convey the content. Observe the angle of the picture through the principle of perspective. Secondly, the relationship between negative space and the bottom of the picture, visual guidance and momentum, and the relationship between points, lines, and surfaces must be mastered. Finally, the proportion of color matching must be controlled, and quality is greater than quantity during training.

Illustrations are commonly known as illustrations in China. Commercial illustrations popular in foreign markets today include publication illustrations, cartoon mascots, advertisements, comics, picture books, greeting cards, calendars, decorative paintings, packaging and other forms. Extended to virtual items and related visual applications on current network and mobile platforms. The hand-drawn illustration tutorial mainly includes the steps of material collection, sketching, clarifying line drafts, determining the tone, and software modeling. Illustration is a kind of visual communication art. Hand-drawn illustrations require high hand-drawing skills, and at the same time, they must be able to express the illustration perfectly. content and creativity.

Material collection

Select materials related to the theme through various methods. There are two ways to obtain materials: one is to browse various websites in your free time and collect some illustrations or posters of your favorite style. The other is to go to various design websites to find high-quality works related to the theme.

Sketching

Sketching is equivalent to expressing creativity in the form of painting. Through sketches, you can record your momentary inspiration. Especially when doing commercial illustrations, you can show the client what the illustration initially wants to convey in the form of a precise sketch, and then proceed to the next step of detail processing after passing it, thereby avoiding Repeated rework many times.

Clear the line draft

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes when drawing the line draft. It will be revised repeatedly when drawing. When depicting, pay attention to the perspective, color, internal structure, etc. of the object. When drawing perspective, you must understand the essence of perspective, such as horizon, eye level, one-point perspective, two-point perspective, three-point perspective, etc. Internal structure includes mastering lines, structure, dynamics, and the expressiveness of images. Good lines can improve the visual effect of illustrations, and different lines have different effects. It is also necessary to clarify the structural characteristics of different objects.

Determine the tone

Determining the tone is to determine the tone, which requires mastering the basic composition of color and color psychology. Different colors bring different visual feelings to people. Good color matching can stimulate people's cries and produce special emotional reactions.

Software modeling

You need to use software according to your own habits. The software you need to use is basically PS, SAI, AI, etc. Each software has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is better to use PS when dealing with noise points and textures, SAI for lines, and AI for drawing geometric figures.