Accompany an illustrator-how to become an illustrator?

How to be an illustrator? Resign from state-owned enterprises and give yourself a reason to study illustration.

My major in university is science and engineering. I resigned after working in a state-owned enterprise for two years. How did I learn illustration one year after I resigned?

It's been a whole year since I started to learn illustration at this time last year. Like most people, when I first started to learn illustration, I also received many obstacles, such as: you started too late now ... making illustrations requires a lot of skills, but you didn't ... all these are true, but they still didn't stop me from starting.

The reason is love, of course. If you can do what you love, you are really lucky.

Especially now illustrations have been widely used in all walks of life, including startup pages, banners, special topics, refresh pages, details pages, icons, pop-up boxes, background pictures, holiday splash screens, expression packs, packaging, vi design, book illustrations, and many illustrations. Even now, illustrations in ui design have become a plus item. It is so important to know how to illustrate. Even if it's just a hobby, you will find the whole life better.

Two? Others say that you can't learn illustration well with zero foundation! I said, yes, it's simple and not difficult.

This year, many people asked me, can I really learn illustration well without taking classes and laying a foundation? Are you really zero-based? My study experience tells me that it is possible! No one is born to be an illustrator. Excellent illustrators learn a little, so can we. And many illustrators are very good at sharing, and I have benefited a lot from it. Although there is still a big gap between my paintings and theirs, I am glad that I have made rapid progress in sorting out my works this year.

Third, there is no way to teach yourself illustrations. Actually, you're just digging a hole for yourself.

At the beginning, when I taught myself illustration, I knew that I was reading with a book or pulling a bunch of video tutorials from the Internet, but I always felt that I was stuck in my study. My study was always in a mess and my mind was in a mess. On the road of self-study, the more you go forward and work harder, the more you have an impulse to give up. My heart really broke down.

Later, I consulted my college classmate Wang. After graduating from college, she made illustrations. She said you didn't even reach the level of half a bottle and less than one bottle. How dare you play self-study You're confused about the most basic concepts. You are not teaching yourself. You are deceiving yourself. Then Wang put me in a large learning resource (skirt) with original pictures and illustrations, in which all kinds of video tutorials are systematic, and teachers share relevant knowledge every day, so I listen to them every day, not to mention really studying illustrations, and my inner doubts are swept away.

Many friends have been asking me how to find a large-scale learning resource (skirt) for original painting illustrations. Let me share it with you. The first set of numbers is: 239, the second set is: 869, and the last set is: 377. Personally, I think I can have a good learning foundation to accompany me on the road of learning.

Fourth, I learned the process of illustration, I can copy it, believe in myself, and the future can be expected.

(1) If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools.

My usual tools include a computer, PS software and wacom hand-drawn board. My computer is a macbookpro 15 inch notebook. At present, all my illustrations are drawn by PS, which is the most comprehensive software compared with SAI, AI and SKETCH. Hand-drawn board needs some feel, many friends say it is not very good, just practice it a few times. Maybe it's because I just don't have a hand-drawn foundation. The first time I used the hand-drawn board, I felt very good. I thought a few strokes on the board could be presented by PS. It's so interesting. I fell in love with the hand-drawn board, so I didn't transition from paper to hand-drawn board when I came into contact with illustrations, but started to use hand-drawn board directly, and repeatedly checked the missing parts according to the problems I encountered.

(2) Copy-if you can't copy it, copy it first.

Because there is no art foundation, hand-drawing is the most difficult for me. At first, I really couldn't draw it I found some beautiful illustrations from the internet and picked some simple pictures, such as some plants, a small animal and a villain.

(3) semi-copying-imitation is boring, and imitation requires skill.

I copied about three or four. In fact, I have mastered several expressions of board drawing, and I will find that compared with the original, the copied ones are still good. Next, I found it useless to just plagiarize, because even the best plagiarism is the result of others. You are just imitating, and all you can learn is the expression of the original, that is, some software technologies. If you really want to draw by yourself, there is no idea in your mind and you don't know how to write in your hands.

At this time, I began to try semi-copying, that is, adding some of my own ideas on the basis of the original work, which is equivalent to adding some of my own hand-painted ideas to the mastered techniques. By collecting materials (first drawing a draft on paper, then taking photos with my mobile phone and sending it to PS for painting), or changing the composition of the original picture, I replaced or modified what I thought was useful into the original picture. In short, it is to modify the original works according to your own ideas. These are all works of that stage. It is difficult for me to do this step well without an art foundation. At that time, I thought it was difficult to draw anything, so I practiced in my notebook, but I still felt that the progress was too slow behind closed doors.

From the learning foundation mentioned by Wang, I found a set of sketch courses to make up for the artistic skills that everyone has always mentioned. At first, I couldn't draw straight lines, so I began to practice drawing straight lines, shaping geometric figures, tuning, shaping the relationship between light and shade, and so on. By learning sketch, I began to have a systematic understanding of the expression and modeling of light and shadow.

Learn sketch-geometry, still life, landscape, human structure and sketch. I will apply what I have learned to my board painting as much as possible, and gradually feel less laborious and hand-drawn will be better.

(4) originality-learn from others and form your own.

The next step is originality. In fact, originality is not completely conceived out of thin air and then drawn, but based on many materials. My method is to collect pictures and photos of what I want to draw online, find out what I like, and then collect the elements involved in the picture in my mind from different fields and combine them into a picture according to my own ideas. This confirms a sentence: innovation is a new combination of old elements.

In addition, at this stage, I also began to learn more board painting techniques. I often ask teachers in the learning base for many video tutorials, and then draw with them, because illustrations have many styles, such as realism, plane, texture and so on. For me, I like the plain and fresh style, so I will analyze how these illustrations are represented, what brushes are used, how the graininess is made, what materials are superimposed, and why the colors are beautiful. Then I began to summarize these techniques and become my own things, but I can't copy them, but use them invisibly to form my own style.

Don't always want to take shortcuts in learning, but there can be down-to-earth methods.

Learning needs a process and hardship. Don't always think about getting there in one step. This is unrealistic. We should be down-to-earth, pay attention to ways and means, show wisdom in our efforts, and make efforts in wisdom.

(1) About software

There was an episode in the study of PS software, because I studied illustration before, and of course I didn't know what a hand-drawn board was at that time. At that time, I studied photography. Because I like photography better, photography will inevitably be done later, so I began to learn PS retouching or making posters. Well, the episode is over and the real dry goods are here.

I learned PS by reading a book called PS Non-trace. This book is very thick. I just resigned in June last year,165438+1October. I watched it for almost a month, but I really studied very carefully at that time. After graduation, I seldom read reference books so hard, and I also made various marks. I admire myself now. After reading this book, I really felt that I was proficient in PS, haha. In fact, if you just paint, you don't need to master it. What you use is nothing more than those tools.

(2) About the website

The websites I use the most every day are Station Cool and Petals, which have many excellent works that can be used to copy and practice. There are also some design competitions on the China of Station Cool and UI. Interested parties can take part in it. I have participated in poster design competitions and some pattern design competitions, which are all good experiences, mainly because I can learn what ideas and expressions other excellent designers will use under the same topic.

It is also helpful to make good use of petal net. Usually, you can collect all your favorite illustrations or materials into the petal net, and you can go directly to see them when you use them, like a fortune of your own. I also have a special collection of my inspiration library, which is full of some creative materials I have browsed, and basically there will be a point that I can hardly think of. Then, when I am not inspired, I will go through it and often get something.

(3) About books

I used to work in a state-owned enterprise. State-owned enterprises really feel like frogs boiled in warm water. Now think about that time, either going to work or doing nothing after work. On weekends, I think about how to relax, where to go shopping, Taobao and buy all kinds of clothes. The wardrobe is full, but I still have no clothes to wear when the season changes. ......

I have changed a lot since I resigned last year. What buy buy bought was not clothes, but various books, such as design, illustration, photography, learning methods, copywriting, operation, quality of life and so on. Personally, I think it's very helpful to learn some books that the teacher showed me in the resource library.

Principles of color matching design

Practical sketch course

Elaboration of illustration design skills in illustration classroom.

How to be an illustrator

84 creative skills of illustrators.

(4) About creation

Creation is actually an effective presentation after a lot of accumulation. I think the accumulation here is to watch more, practice more and record more.

Look at more optimistic works that stimulate the desire to create.

To practice more is to practice more hand-drawing skills and improve the creative speed.

Remember more is to remember more instant inspiration and increase creativity.

I summarized all the above by myself, I don't know if it's right, but I suddenly found that my summary is quite good, at least very neat, like serious nonsense, haha.

If you watch too much, don't say it. It has written in detail where to go. If you practice more, you won't say it. Just practicing. I am not afraid of too much. I'm also practicing.

I remember I want to say something more, because I found that many inspirations are instantaneous. I don't know if you feel this way. For example, when I was cooking, I suddenly thought of drawing a picture, and then I thought, I must write this idea down when I was cooking, but when I was cooking, I suddenly asked myself, what did I just say I was going to write? So no matter what I'm doing or going out, I usually put a small notebook in my bag and write it down as soon as I have an idea, because you may lose it the next second and it will take a long time to meet it. Of course, if you have a special function that you can't forget, you can ignore this.

These are some of my main learning methods, I hope I can help you. Remember, watch more, practice more and record more! Share my personal route.

A long time ago, I went to the China Illustrator Union Forum and published my own works in it. Later, someone contacted me to draw illustrations. So slowly embarked on the illustrator's point of no return _

Later, I serialized my own cartoons on Tianya, and gradually gained a certain popularity. Now I can finally work from home.

If you want to be an illustrator, whether you are a professional or part-time, you must have basic artistic skills and imagination is preferred. Many people think that imagination is innate, but I think imagination can be trained. Read more, learn more and copy more. Constantly hone your painting skills, publish your works on major websites, communicate with your predecessors, and Bole will find you slowly ~!

In addition, it is very important that you have enough patience with this job, because it takes a lot of patience to sit still and draw, and it also takes a lot of patience to urge the manuscript fee. Painting is actually to understand what the eyes can see with their hands and available tools in a scientific way of light and shadow. First of all, we should know that painting is to realize the three-dimensional visual object in front of us in a two-dimensional picture, so the accuracy, light and shadow and proportion of modeling are very important. This is the first training we should do to exercise the accuracy of our eyes and hands, which is the same as learning music accurately and learning dance to split!

Many people start from copying, and copying should be done with the idea of solving problems. I recommend an APP for learning painting: light class, which has many painting learning resources. You can combine them. If the human body can't do it, then you should copy the human body specially, think and analyze it, and know why the original picture has this stroke every time, and how you can realize this stroke to maximize your likeness to the original picture, thus exercising you.

Sketch, key sketch. Sketch is the most important part of modeling training. The training content includes light and shadow sketch and structure sketch, which is the technical basis for forming spatial consciousness and presenting three-dimensional impression of objects on a two-dimensional plane. Therefore, you must pass the exam.

Sketching is recommended for color study, because photos are the photographer's choice, and you get third-hand information through cameras and monitors. The light and color in the real world are more intuitive and change with your observation direction and angle, which is convenient for analysis and comparison and more accurate for learning. The performance of the material needs to be compared with the comprehensive performance of the real material such as color, light and reflection, so as to train the material rectangle.

Typing is very soft. If it helps everyone, remember to leave a compliment! I am an artist. Personally, I think that if you want to be an illustrator, you should not only be beautiful, but also have creative inspiration sometimes. Inserting some meaningful or meaningful elements into illustrations is also a very important skill, which needs to be cultivated. Individuals still need to find a professional training institution and find a professional teacher to explain it to you in detail. Otherwise, it is generally difficult for you to understand the essence of a painting. I'm from Qitian, Wuhan, and I think Qitian is very good. I recommend you to have a website in my "User Information =>" Personal Profile ". This is my art database. You can find the materials or tutorials you want. You can also leave a message for me directly on the message board there.

First of all, we should have a good art foundation. Then we should get in touch with creation. But the process of practice and learning is endless.

Go to the place I told you above and look at the relevant materials and tutorials.

Illustrator Wu graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Guangzhou Normal University.

Wu, a graduate of Guangzhou Fine Arts School, is a cutting-edge writer and illustrator after 1990s. His first picture book, Tree King, was selected as "100 World Excellent Picture Books" in 20 19 by the British website dPICTUS.

Dawu's Birds and Statues won the Newcomer Award at the 20 19 Pineapple Circle International Illustration Exhibition, telling a story about "love and companionship". At first, the magnificent statue sheltered the birds who were crowded out everywhere, but when the statue was gradually forgotten and broken, the birds comforted the statue in turn. In the long wandering, they all turned into an unexpected self in the end.

How to be an illustrator? 1, understand the basic skills of illustration. Structure refers to the anatomical structure of the painted things, and the illustrator must understand the internal structure of animals or objects. Muscles, bones, skin, hair, trunk, roots, branches and leaves are all components of the structure.

Secondly, you should be familiar with the software you want to use. You can find many tutorials about this software on the Internet. You can draw shapes by using grids, or break each object into simpler shapes, such as squares or triangles, in order to get a way to simplify sketches.

3, imitation, you can first find some simple illustrations to copy, to achieve your own satisfactory results, you can find some relatively difficult illustrations you like to practice.

4. Read more illustrations at ordinary times, learn more painting skills from others and exercise yourself.

Next, you can find some jobs about illustration, not for salary, but for learning and growing at work.

Extended data:

As an art form, illustration has become an important visual communication form in modern design. With its intuitive image, true sense of life and beautiful appeal, it occupies a specific position in modern design and is widely used in many fields of modern design.

2. The illustrator's main job includes drawing illustrations and covers for books, magazines, newspapers, manuals, novels, textbooks and other publications, as well as drawing greeting cards, posters, advertisements, ink-jet paintings and humorous paintings. Divided into electronic illustration and pure hand-drawing.

There is a great demand for game and film illustrators. Similar to the game industry, each film and television work will also have a lot of mirror drawing and scene design work, which undoubtedly has a great demand for illustrators in the game and film industry.

References:

-Illustrator