10 Keys to Make Better Illustrations by Shaivalini Kumar

By Shaivalini Kumar.Always Start with a Sketch.Even though a lot of our work happens digitally, It's important to establish a basic structure of what you wish to create! Physically sketching out the illustration is always a good practice..Ideate.While ideating, create mood-boards, mind maps and write down everything that seems enticing. Narrow down on what you wish to create gradually and you'll get your core idea..Get Inspiration.Gathering inspiration is an important part of the process. Inspiration can also come from the smallest of things be it a conversation, a person, a place or a thought..Build a Story.A trick can be used while illustrating characters is writing a short story around them, that entails details about the character's personality traits. It makes the process of illustrating the character much more engaging..Be Informed.Reading about areas outside of design is important for gathering content and making your illustration relatable to a larger number of people..Experiment.Sometimes spontaneous decision to experiment with colours, textures, shapes and forms, can lead to unpredictable outcome, which can be interesting and unique..Trial Runs.It's okay to start from scratch, even multiple times. You may often end- up starting all over - but that contributes to making the final illustration much more refined and closer to what your core idea..Read about Top 30 Indian Illustrators to Follow! .Render and Detail.Once you establish your base illustration, adding hints of details that are complementary to the forms will bring more life to what you have drawn..Get Feedback.It's always good to see what people feel about your creation and process, by getting feedback on your work you may be able to identify points that you might have missed out..Practice.A lot! As you know, practice can make you perfect!