Illustration

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  • A Guide to Launching a Print Business
    Teacher Illustration

    A Guide to Launching a Print Business

    Tips for how to turn your passion into a business Selling prints is an excellent way to get to know your followers and explore new markets (added bonus: it also brings in extra income!). Why not give it a go? Pay attention to how your followers respond–their feedback will guide you on how to move forward. If you are an illustrator, my advice is that you experiment with different print companies and printing techniques. This way, you can evaluate which options work best for you. If you’re having any doubts about selling your illustrations, here is a quick guide that will hopefully answer any questions you have. 1. Spend money to make money If you have decided to start selling your illustrations as prints, you should be aware that it is unlikely that you will make a profit straightaway. First, you will need to spend money in order to build up your stock. Spend an amount that you can later increase. Bit by bit, you will get a clearer idea of how things work and what you need to do next. 2. Price range I recommend offering a range of products so that you have a range of prices (include more accessible items such as stickers or postcards). This way, you will be able to see which products work best so that later you can reproduce more of them. The more affordable items will sell quicker. My large format prints that are printed on high-quality paper take longer to sell because of the cost. I tend to produce stock when I have an upcoming opportunity to sell in person (such as at the Feria Domestika). Producing stock for an upcoming event will guarantee that you will at least earn back your production costs.

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  • The Importance of Sketching Every Day
    Illustration

    The Importance of Sketching Every Day

    Marco Mazzoni on how to develop your illustration style through sketching Marco Mazzoni (@marcomazzoniart) is an Italian artist, originally from Tortona in Piedmont, who creates intricate still lifes and portraits inspired by flora, fauna, and folklore (and which often feature female herbalists from centuries past). He began drawing at the age of five, sketching on every piece of paper he could find while waiting for his father to finish work at the paper mill. Color pencils have always been his favorite medium of expression, initially because they were so affordable, and later because of the range of possibilities they offered.

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  • How to Create a Gradient With India Ink
    Illustration

    How to Create a Gradient With India Ink

    Check out Hilda Palafox’s step-by-step guide for creating a color gradient using India ink India ink has been used for centuries in illustration and calligraphy all over the world. According to Mexican artist Hilda Palafox (@poni), creating a color gradient is a basic and very useful exercise to practice when learning to master the brush and ink. Here, Hilda explains how to master this illustration technique and create a monochromatic color spectrum with ten hues, from gray to black.

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  • Draw Yourself: Illustrator Emma Hanquist Draws Her Career
    Illustration

    Draw Yourself: Illustrator Emma Hanquist Draws Her Career

    How did Emma Hanquist start drawing? Did you know she lives on an island with her family? Discover more about her in this edition of Draw Yourself Emma Hanquist has been working as a freelance illustrator for over ten years, during which time she has worked with clients such as Airbnb and Spotify and filled magazines, like Modern Psykologi, Scandinavian Traveler, and Natur & Kultur, with her illustrations. The Swedish illustrator, armed with a pencil, opens a window to a few of the key moments of her life and the way she understands her profession. From the day she began to illustrate to how she'll look when she's old, Hanquist shows her ability to create wonderful imagery in this Draw Yourself.

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  • Watercolor Tutorial: Basic Exercises to Inspire Your Painting
    Teacher Illustration

    Watercolor Tutorial: Basic Exercises to Inspire Your Painting

    Learn the watercolor basics: transparency and opacity, gradients, water use, pulse and precision with Cristina Cilloniz Despite being one of the most popular visual arts, getting the most out of watercolor requires a lot of technical skill. As we can't use the colour white to create light, we must introduce the colors gently and work with transparency, or we will never achieve the effects we're looking for in our illustrations. In this tutorial, botanical illustrator and artist Cristina Cilloniz (@cristina_cilloniz) shares her different techniques for letting go and taking advantage of watercolor's gentle layers. Get your materials ready and let's go. Watch the tutorial in the video below:

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  • The Illustrations That Represent Marcos Chin
    Illustration

    The Illustrations That Represent Marcos Chin

    Get to know iconic illustrator Marcos Chin through the pieces that define his art Marcos has worked for everyone from Google to Ford, Rolling Stone Magazine to The New York Times. But, he didn't grow up in such grand circumstances. Civil war forced his family to leave Mozambique, where he was born, in the mid-1970s. From a humble background, Marcos has been working since he was ten. "I've been paying most of my significant purchases on my own since I was a kid," he told The Illustration Department. "Back to school clothing, books and supplies, my undergraduate education, rent and now my mortgage." Don't miss the opportunity to knoe more about Marcos on his . Here is a collection of the works that took him from there to where he is now. The first big job: Lavalife After working for magazines for a while, his big commission came from an online dating agency, Lavalife: "Where singles click." The company blew up and gave him the platform so he could too. "This campaign lasted for about nine years and it afforded me a life that I never knew could be possible for an illustrator."

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  • Useful Tips for Drawing Comics
    PLUS Teacher Illustration

    Useful Tips for Drawing Comics

    Salva Espín shares some tips to deal with particular aspects when drawing comics Starting a few decades ago, comics have started to gain more strength and relevance in the creative world. This special language mixes the art of storytelling with graphics, allowing spectacular and exciting narratives. If you like drawing and are a lover of stories, you will discover an exciting outlet for expression in comics. Salva Espín (@salvaespin) is a prolific illustrator who has worked for Marvel Comics since 2007 and is one of the few Spanish-speaking cartoonists who has given life to more than twenty comic books of characters such as Deadpool, Wolverine, or Hulk. Below, Salva reveals some of his secrets to dealing with certain aspects in your comics like a professional:

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  • Cinema to Watercolor: The Work of Alex Hillkurtz
    Illustration

    Cinema to Watercolor: The Work of Alex Hillkurtz

    Learn how this visual artist’s love of cinema inspired his painting Alex Hillkurtz (@alexhillkurtzart) is a storyboard artist and watercolor painter specialized in architectural motifs. Originally from England, he grew up in California, where he has worked on storyboards for films like Argo, Almost Famous, and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Alex says painting and drawing help us to live at a more relaxed pace by making us aware of our space and what surrounds us. Don’t miss his live chat on Domestika Live. Watch him create a sketch and see his process in action. Let’s learn more about how he developed his artistic style.

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  • Domestika Diaries: Joel Santana
    Illustration

    Domestika Diaries: Joel Santana

    Joel Santana, an illustrator specialized in character design, has a daily routine that helps him start the morning with more creative energy Staying active and creative, especially during times when you can't leave the house, can be difficult if you fall into certain routines. But thankfully there are always ways to reignite that creative spark and to get back on track. In this Domestika Diary, the concept artist and children's book illustrator Joel Santana (@themaddhattr) shares his routine and the daily rituals that help him start his morning off on the right foot so that he can stay focused throughout the day. Learn more in the video below:

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  • 10 Steps to Make a Self-Portrait Collage
    Teacher Illustration

    10 Steps to Make a Self-Portrait Collage

    Follow the steps below to create a unique collage with the materials you have at home I recently shared techniques and ideas to create collages at home with your family in a Domestika live chat. After the live chat, I received several beautiful portraits of the Domestika community. I decided to document the process of portrait collage as a photo tutorial to share with everyone. Read on as I explain how to create a portrait and give it a personal touch step-by-step: 1) Gather all materials We are going to use various types of paper, scissors, glue, and a mirror. We will not need pencils or markers. Best to keep them off the table. Now we need to look at ourselves in the mirror with affection. Remember that a self-portrait not only depicts us physically but also reveals something about us: what we feel, what we desire, what excites us and represents us.

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  • Designers Against Coronavirus
    Illustration

    Designers Against Coronavirus

    Learn more about the project that is engaging with people through images all over the world During these difficult times, the response of the international creative community of all industries has been amazing. Many illustrators and designers have created images to inform, express solidarity, and spread a sense of hope. CaroselloLab, the Italian agency specialized in brand building and designing, wants to make sure all this work does not fade away. Over the past few weeks, they have built Designers Against Coronavirus, DAC, a platform gathering this artwork and making it available to the public.

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  • 5 Procreate Timelapses to Inspire Your Illustration and Lettering Projects
    Illustration

    5 Procreate Timelapses to Inspire Your Illustration and Lettering Projects

    Observe, enjoy and learn with these time-lapses on illustration and digital lettering A timelapse is a video that compresses many hours or days into just a few seconds or minutes. It is ideal for sharing creative processes related to illustration, design or lettering. Aware of this fact, Procreate added a function that allows you to record your work process, save it as a video file and easily share it on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram. At Domestika we love observing and learning from the best professionals and these timelapses have become the perfect way to discover their way of working. On the Domestika YouTube channel, you will find a playlist with exclusive timelapses made by a range of artists. Here, we recommend just five by some of the professionals who teach courses on our platform: Creating Characters From Scratch, with Microbians (@microbians) Gabriel Suchowolski, better known as Microbians, is a creative and art director specializing in character design. In this speed painting, he shows how to create an attractive character composition in Procreate, from the skeleton and the first sketch to the work of light and shadow, application of color and gradients, and the variation of lines.

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  • Three Watercolor Timelapses to Boost Your Creativity
    Illustration

    Three Watercolor Timelapses to Boost Your Creativity

    Discover different watercolor techniques in these speed painting videos Watercolor is one of the oldest illustration mediums. Almost everyone who has ever been interested in drawing and painting has practiced it. By diluting pigments in water, it is possible to create stains of enormous depth and beauty, which have been part of our cultural heritage for millennia. We share these three timelapses that will allow you to discover the work process of great creatives, or simply relax and enjoy the care and affection that they put into their strokes. Timelapse: Illustrating with Watercolor and Procreate, by Naranjalidad

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  • The Greatest Albums Covers By The Man Who Defined The Jazz Look
    Illustration

    The Greatest Albums Covers By The Man Who Defined The Jazz Look

    David Stone Martin is the album cover artist who defined how jazz looked for the greats for Astaire, Coltrane, Fitzgerald, and dozens of other jazz greats He’s the only artist who worked with Fred Astaire, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and many more jazz greats without ever recording as much as a ditty. You might now know David Stone Martin’s name, but he made it onto the cover of Time Magazine eight times. Nowadays, record collectors scour stores searching for his work, not to listen to it, but to see it. Martin is perhaps the most iconic designer of jazz record sleeves of all time. His signature hand-sketched graphics, with just one or two bright colors, epitomized the sharp energy and spontaneity of the world of jazz.

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  • Photoshop Tutorial: How to Flatten Your Character
    Teacher Illustration

    Photoshop Tutorial: How to Flatten Your Character

    Learn the steps and techniques to color your illustrations on Adobe Photoshop, with Joel Santana Where do we start coloring our new character, once we've decided on how it will look? How do we choose the right color palette to communicate its personality? How can we apply all this to its digital illustration? Character design specialist Joel Santana (@themaddhattr) shows us how to color our creations with Photoshop, using the flattening technique, in the following video tutorial:

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  • Types of Watercolor Brushes and How to Use Them
    Illustration

    Types of Watercolor Brushes and How to Use Them

    Naranjalidad shows us the types of paintbrushes we should be using to paint in watercolor, how to use them for each type of stroke, and how to make sure they last longer Types of watercolor brushes Before starting to paint with watercolor, it’s important to prepare your basic palette of brushes. This will be your main work tool, so it’s important to know what types of brushes we can use for each case. For Naranjalidad, (@naranjalidad) illustrator and Domestika teacher, there are three types of brushes crucial to any artist: Round tip The top the list because they are indispensable. They are the most versatile brushes that are good to fill in large surfaces, but also to add details and fine lines. They come in different sizes but a medium-sized one will cover all your needs.

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  • 10 Wonderful Webcomics You Need To Read
    Illustration

    10 Wonderful Webcomics You Need To Read

    These online comics, which were created by illustrators from around the world, will both inspire and entertain you Webcomics are usually comics that were first published online and that are available to read on the internet. In many cases, once they’ve become successful, they are often published in magazines, newspapers or in books compiling a selection of the author’s work. These self-published comics are wonderful examples of their creators’ hard work, dedication, and creativity. We asked the Domestika community to name some of their favorite webcomics and then compiled a list of the top 10. Below, you will find a range of narrative and illustration styles: from dark humor to drama and suspense. Discover them all! Comics series Boyfriend of the Dead, by Ushio This comic follows a young, independent woman fighting for survival during a zombie apocalypse and her story of unexpected love. She faces the challenges of modern love with her boyfriend–a zombie. The first issue was published in 2017, and since then, there have been 247 more.

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  • Domestika Projects: Watercolor Portrait Notebook
    Teacher Illustration

    Domestika Projects: Watercolor Portrait Notebook

    Discover the creative process behind Carlos Rodríguez Casado’s watercolor portraits Here, I (Carlos!) am sharing my project from my second Domestika course, in which I show you tricks for making a notebook for portraits using simple watercolor techniques. Filling those first few pages of a new notebook can seem a daunting task: as those blank pages stare up at you, you feel nervous that you might ruin them with what you’re about to draw or paint. To combat this fear, you should use the first few pages as a catalog of techniques that you are going to use and different effects. You are going to work with watercolor pencils, watercolor paints, and a refillable brush pen (Pentel) filled with paint diluted with water. Save a section of this catalog for testing out what happens when you mix different techniques.

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  • Download Free Coloring Pages #StayAtHome
    Teacher Illustration

    Download Free Coloring Pages #StayAtHome

    Have fun with five Andonella's illustrations to color digitally or by hand Andonella (@andonella) is a self-taught Mexican illustrator and cartoonist. Her colorful style and unique sense of humor have made their mark within the contemporary illustration scene today. Her work is full of portraits inspired by real people and the scenes that arise from her imagination, characterized by plenty of irreverence and graphic humor.

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  • Tips for Starting out in Character Design
    Illustration

    Tips for Starting out in Character Design

    Joel Santana talks us through his career as a character designer and shares advice for starting out Character designer, visual artist and illustrator Joel Santana creates magical worlds inhabited by curious beings. Based in Florida, Santana grew up in New York where he was fully immersed in the city’s energetic art scene and “grittiness”. By his early teen years, he had already begun to paint landscapes and still life with oil paints, inspired by the likes of Bob Ross, Disney animation and, one of his all-time favorites: Norman Rockwell. It was during these early years that he got to grips with traditional techniques and developed an understanding of color that he would later apply to his character designs.

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  • Illustration Tutorial: Applying Sumi-e Techniques to Watercolor Painting
    Teacher Illustration

    Illustration Tutorial: Applying Sumi-e Techniques to Watercolor Painting

    Learn the basic elements for using the Japanese illustration technique with illustrator Flor Kaneshiro Although traditionally done with Indian ink, the Sumi-e drawing technique includes a series of strokes that can be applied using other materials, such as watercolor. Its delicate and soft strokes (which should be carefully controlled if you're just starting out in the technique) make it suitable for anyone who wants to widen their watercolor skill set. In the video below, illustrator Flor Kaneshiro (@florkaneshiro) goes over the most important considerations for anyone starting out their journey in Sumi-e, taking into account pressure, speed, direction, and rhythm of the brushstrokes.

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  • Photoshop Tutorial: 6 Great Brushes for Digital Painting
    Illustration

    Photoshop Tutorial: 6 Great Brushes for Digital Painting

    Discover illustrator Joel Santana's favorite Photoshop brushes for character design Using Adobe Photoshop for digital illustration is one of the most common applications of this software, which allows artists, creatives and designers of all levels to build characters, scenarios and objects out of their imagination. The use of custom brushes can also give extra character to our drawings and illustrations. In the following video tutorial, character designer Joel Santana (@themaddhattr) shares his favorite Adobe Photoshop brushes for digital painting. Santana uses them for creative tasks ranging from sketching to color application, and they give a good example of the wide variety of textures offered by Photoshop custom brushes. Find out below:

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  • Tips For Transforming Your Illustrations into Pins, by Charlotte
    Illustration

    Tips For Transforming Your Illustrations into Pins, by Charlotte

    The talented Mexican illustrator shares, step by step, how she transforms her beautiful drawings into pins Karla Hernández, better known as Charlötte (@charlotte.khm), is a graphic designer and illustrator who has a passion for color, fauna, flora, climate, and all other aspects of nature. Influenced by Asian folklore and the artists Koralie and Conrad Roset, she has found a visual style that draws on figures from nature and women. Charlötte has focused on bringing together these different areas of interest into her designs, with certain elements becoming key features in her work. She uses a palette of soft and shiny colors, finding inspiration in shapes and details from her day-to-day life. Her pins stand out among her creations. Here Charlötte walks us through her process for transforming her beautiful drawings into pins.

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  • Challenge: Draw a Character in 5 Minutes Using Photoshop
    Illustration

    Challenge: Draw a Character in 5 Minutes Using Photoshop

    Joel Santana, the character designer and illustrator, faces the Domestika Challenge Joel Santana's career (@themaddhattr) extends from illustrations for advertising campaigns, to packaging and toy design. He has developed projects for well-known brands such as Walt Disney World Orlando and Champs Sports. But now he faces a challenge he has never faced before... In this Domestika Challenge, the illustrator only has five minutes to draw a character from scratch using a graphic tablet and Photoshop. Will he succeed? Find out in the next video:

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  • Malika Favre: Feminine Vector Illustration
    Illustration

    Malika Favre: Feminine Vector Illustration

    We spoke with the French illustrator Malika Favre about her creative process She is one of the most successful illustrators in the world at the moment and her style is 100% recognizable. She has designed almost a dozen front covers for the New Yorker and has worked with big brands and publications across the planet. Her work is purely vectoral and, between negative spaces, the optical illusions and plays on perspective tend to hide themselves in the female form, which has become a staple of her illustrations. We spoke with her about her work and her creative process.

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  • Domestika Creatives: Lauren Tamaki
    Illustration

    Domestika Creatives: Lauren Tamaki

    Illustrator, designer, and art director Lauren Tamaki has mastered how to adapt her unique style to a range of mediums: from editorial illustration to animation and portraits You’ve probably spotted her work when you’ve opened The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, or come across her commissions for Apple, Google, Nickelodeon or the agency Pentagram. Lauren Tamaki’s unique and vibrant style and passion for acrylics have made her one of the most interesting US illustrators of recent years. Tamaki recently welcomed us into her New York studio to talk about her passion for fashion design, her celebrity portraits, drawing from a feminist perspective, and her greatest feat: drawing Bill Cosby’s trial. Discover more in the following video:

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