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    How to do awesome illustrations EVERY time!

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    • chrisaakins
      chrisaakins @peteolczyk last edited by

      @peteolczyk Haha love the hash marks.

      Chris Akins
      www.chrisakinsart.com
      www.instagram.com/chrisakinsart/

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • Whitney Simms
        Whitney Simms SVS OG last edited by

        Not 50. But I pushed myself more than I normally would’ve. And when it’s on the line, I can totally see how this process will totally help! A2B29C4A-FB24-4C12-BD22-C8ADFE7AC04C.jpeg

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • jthomas
          jthomas last edited by

          So this is a big sticking point for me when creating any work that pushes past a sketch level design.. But I wonder how does this apply to comics? Comics are single still illustrations that convey moment to moment actions and I cant see myself even attempting to do 50 thumbnails for say a single panel.

          Any thoughts on this? @Jake-Parker @Lee-White ?

          I would think limiting them so you aren't spending weeks on a single panel

          To Thy Self be True

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • carlianne
            carlianne last edited by

            @Lee-White I'm wondering for a full 32 page children's book. Do you do 50 thumbnails for each page separately or as a whole?

            So for example, do you mock up what text is going on which page, and then thumbnail each page individually 50 times? Or do you thumbnail out the full book, and then do that fifty times? So the text might also move to a different page as you re-thumbnail?

            Check out my art and tutorials :)

            Instagram: www.instagram.com/carliannecreates/

            Youtube:
            https://youtube.com/c/CarlianneCreates

            Shop: www.carliannecreates.com

            Lee White 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • demotlj
              demotlj SVS OG last edited by

              In spite of my thinking that I didn’t have the creativity to come up with 50 thumbnails, I tried it today for a simple line and wash of butterflies on a bee balm plant. I thought I had a good image in my head but when I started doing thumbnails suddenly the possibilities piled up - number of plants, number of butterflies, angles, postures. It only took 1/2 hour to do 50 quick thumbnails but will definitely result in a better picture than the one I was going to do. I apologize to @Lee-White for doubting him!

              Laurie DeMott
              instagram.com/demotlj

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
              • Lee White
                Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG @carlianne last edited by

                @carlianne @jthomas I'll be addressing this in my next video. : )

                SVS Faculty Instructor
                www.leewhiteillustration.com

                MichaelaH 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • MichaelaH
                  MichaelaH @Lee White last edited by MichaelaH

                  @Lee-White Will You be posting on youtube regularly at some time (liek monthly or weekly) or more spontaneously?

                  https://www.instagram.com/michaelaheimlich/
                  https://www.heimlich-illustration.de/

                  Lee White 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Lee White
                    Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG @MichaelaH last edited by

                    @MichaelaH every two weeks

                    SVS Faculty Instructor
                    www.leewhiteillustration.com

                    lmrush 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 7
                    • lmrush
                      lmrush Pro SVS OG @Lee White last edited by

                      @Lee-White I wish it were every day!

                      Lisa Rush
                      www.lisarushgallery.com
                      www.facebook.com/ArtbyLisaRush/
                      www.instagram.com/lisarush11/

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • Heather Boyd
                        Heather Boyd last edited by

                        So I made past 50 by 5 🙂 Here are mine and yes @Lee-White I would do well in knowing how to pick the best 1 or even down to 3. I have it down to 10. I'd appreciate what interests others then I can maybe narrow it down.

                        Story is inspired by the red laser light I play with my cat and the red angel in Star Trek Discovery (Big ❤ Fan of).

                        Step 2 Dino Thumbnails 1-13.jpg

                        Step 2 Dino Thumbnails 14-25.jpg

                        Step 2 Dino Thumbnails 26-44.jpg

                        Step 2 Dino Thumbnails 45-55.jpg

                        Thanks 🙂 I appogise if these show up large. They were thumbnails I promise. lols

                        Instagram: www.instagram.com/heatherboyd.illustration/
                        Website: https://heatherboydillustration.ca
                        Shop: https://www.inprnt.com/search/products?q=HeatherBoydIllustration
                        Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/heatherboydillustration

                        Be blessed,

                        Lee White 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • Lee White
                          Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG @Heather Boyd last edited by Lee White

                          New video on Thumbnailing is up! Check it out here (hd version will be available shortly).

                          Subscribe if you haven't already! I need to catch Will and Jake!

                          https://youtu.be/jghVE4V5FfU

                          HOW TO DO 50 THUMBNAILS TITLECARD.jpg

                          SVS Faculty Instructor
                          www.leewhiteillustration.com

                          xin li 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 6
                          • xin li
                            xin li @Lee White last edited by

                            @Lee-White I am so happy to see this video out. I was talking about the 50 thumbnails concept to a friend who is not an illustrator, but working with interaction design and writing. He was very inspired and incorprated some of the ideas in his writing process. I think the gist of the 50 thumbails concpet applies to much more than making a good illustration. Now I have a source that I can send to people who want to know more about it.

                            Web: www.lixin.no
                            IG: www.instagram.com/lixin.illustration/

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Qi
                              Qi last edited by

                              I have a question for you – wondering what is the thought process behind doing color after values please @Lee-White? Because I’m having problems with selecting a simple and effective palette from color references that evoke the feelings from Step 1 – the references seem to use lots of colors but harmonious – and in your video too you selected only a few colors from an image. Perhaps how to use references for color selection will be in a future video! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise – your videos are always just-in-time!

                              Qi

                              Lee White 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • Lee White
                                Lee White SVS Team SVS Instructor Pro SVS OG @Qi last edited by

                                @Qi Thanks for the message. I sympathize with what you are saying about color selection. It's tricky. And it's one of the tougher areas of illustration to teach (in my opinion). The main advice I give to students is to pick a color to key the whole illustration off of. Such as "What is the MAIN color cast of this image?" Then all other colors are selected around that main color. Otherwise the palette starts to get out of control for me. But I typically prefer analogous color schemes and color that isn't too saturated. Someone else might prefer much brighter colors or whatever, so it's hard to have a solid rule there.

                                The other advice I give is find a bunch of images that you like and look at how they are using color. Then steal their color palette! Color is not copywriteable! You can use any of it from other artists. You can even sample their work if you are working digitally. Now isn't this a bad/unethical practice? Nope! The reason that it's ok is that your drawing and value are what really hold an image together. Even if you color pick from another artist, it won't look exactly like they did it because the values and drawing are so different.

                                SVS Faculty Instructor
                                www.leewhiteillustration.com

                                Qi 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                • Qi
                                  Qi @Lee White last edited by

                                  @Lee-White - what a great question "what's the MAIN color cast of this image?" that you've suggested to help keep things under control. Have attached the original image & the updated image - not intended for you to critique, just to show there does seem to be an improvement on overall color harmony from my view after trying the methods you advised – thank you! Stress levels lower too! And after sampling & stealing some other artists’ colors (this is fun to do too) - realized that my image has fundamental issues in the drawing & value areas that pretty colors can’t hide/fix.

                                  Original.jpg
                                  Updated.jpg

                                  Yes! – have been enjoying seeing your low contrast paintings – thought them intriguing, like someone whispering instead of shouting 😊

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
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