IllustrationClass.com

I enjoy creating patterns. When I started developing the patterns for my book “Drip.Dot.Swirl” I became immersed in this art form for over two years solid. Every where I looked I would see inspiration for a new pattern.

When I was approached by the publishers of the “Adobe CS4 WOW!” book and asked to contribute to it I decided to create a new pattern to use as the background for my final artwork.

This tutorial documents this patterns creation and will show the fundamentals when it comes to creating a tiled pattern that you can seamlessly repeat. It’s fun, easy, and creatively addictive.

For more information regarding patterns, be sure to download our other tutorial on pattern illustration here.

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Pattern, Repeat, Tiles, Book, Japan

File Size: 16.6 MB

This tutorial isn’t your traditional step by step process. There is no systematic path to achieve the effects since the creative process is exploratory in nature you’ll have to deconstruct the included files so you can see how I achieved the visual effects in the final art.

I’ll go over some key points within this tutorial, but most of the valuable content and information that will help you do it yourself will be gleaned from turning on/off layers and clicking through the settings of the PSD resource file provided in the download. I’ve also provided the source texture images so you can use them on your own projects as well.

Be sure to also download the helpful PDF and “10″ FREE sample textures you can find in our “PDF Handouts” section under “Collecting and Using Textures in Your Artwork.”

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Textures, Photoshop, Brush, Organic

File Size: 37.6 MB

This creative exercise isn’t anything new, it’s actually a test often done in creativity courses. It forces you to look at the mundane “Two Circles” and see what you can visually make from them. There is no right or wrong approach to this, cut loose and push yourself.

Keywords: Circles, Exercise, Doodle

File Size: 244 KB

Illustration for the sake of communication and explanation isn’t the most glamorous form of creative work, but it’s one of the most needed forms of illustration within any industry today. When done well it’s rarely noticed, pedestrian if you will.

But how many times have you tried to follow poorly executed diagram illustrations only to become frustrated because you couldn’t figure out what it was showing you. This is usually the only time you notice diagram illustration, when it fails to diagram a process well.

This tutorial will help you create well crafted diagram illustrations that communicate with clarity and serve their designated purpose well.

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Diagram, Instructions, Pedestrian

File Size: 4.8 MB

I’ve always enjoyed hand lettering. Creating unique custom letter-forms is actually very relaxing for me. I can’t say that about a lot of my illustration work which can often be some what stressful but when it comes to sketching out and creating custom typography it’s fun.

This tutorial documents the creation of the “Fa La La La Lifetime” Christmas promotional graphic I created for the Lifetime Channel.

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Lettering, Branding, Lifetime

File Size: 9.4 MB

One of the oldest forms of artwork is pattern design. You’ll find it within every culture globally from Middle Eastern rugs, lattice work in Asia, to border treatments on ancient manuscripts dating back thousands of years. One could say man has always had a penchant for ornament.

Last year I launched my own creative excursion into this art form when my new book “Drip.Dot.Swirl” hit the shelves. In all I’ve designed about 200 patterns since then and I’m still fascinated and intrigued by the whole creative process behind them. They are artistically addictive to say the least.

This tutorial goes into how one can go about creating their own pattern artwork from scratch sans any plugins, or software to pull off the repeating tile pattern. Eventually software will make this process easier but if you learn how to do it manually you’ll have far more control when it gets automated later.

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Pattern, Repeat, Tiles, Book

File Size: 16.8 MB

In a digital age analog methods are still valid and one could easily argue essential to a well defined creative process. I say that because this tutorial is more than a mere “click here and pull down this menu” type of process. It requires a level of drawing skills, there really is no way around that. But don’t let that intimidate you, anyone can improve their drawing skills and in return it’ll improve your design regardless if you ever want to become a full-blown illustrator or not.

I’ll show you how to derive a vector based portrait from a source photograph using simple common sense methods and helpful plugins that make building your art a whole lot easier. All you’ll need is Photoshop, Illustrator, Scanner, Pencil and Paper. So sharpen your pencil and your mind and lets dive in.

This tutorial was originally created for MacUser Magazine UK. It includes a self-contained PDF of the tutorial for easy offline access. If you enjoy this tutorial be sure to check out the Billy Mays tutorial that goes more in depth on this same type of project.

Read my blog post associated with this tutorial.

(Tutorial Includes Notes in both ‘English’ and ‘Español’.)

Keywords: Stylized, Portrait, Macuser

File Size: 23 MB

This helpful PDF produced by “The Creative Group” contains “20″ cost-effective ways to keep you creatively focused and inspired in an uncertain economy.

Several of Illustrationclass.com creative exercises are included in the PDF under “Drawing People Together”, along with other fun practical content to help you push yourself creatively.

Keywords: Creative, Exercise, PDF, Group

File Size: 3.1 MB

Since I posted my last video tutorial, I’ve been asked to do another video that showcases the same methodology as the previous one on a more complex illustration. So with this new video I’ll once again use an Ai plugin called “Xtream Path” by CValley Software to build my artwork.

This video tutorial will take you through the creation of an illustrative design project I worked on involving a dairy farm logo. I suppose I should point out that my video tutorials aren’t so much geared towards using the software, but more focused on a systematic creative process and methodology mixed with commentary that explains what I’m doing along with sharing my own random thoughts and funny stories.

I feel obligated to say this because some might be looking for software driven tutorials to learn applications and a tool driven process and for that specific type of tutorial I’d recommend Lynda.com instead. But if you don’t mind a casual, not too serious approach to learning by observing, than I think you’ll find this video useful.

This download contains a notes file (English Only) with more information about CValley Softwares plugin for Ai. Both videos are the same project I just broke it into two parts to make downloading and watching of the videos easier.

Watch the video tutorial online here:
- Herding Vectors Part 1
- Herding Vectors Part 2

(Video Tutorial is produced in ‘English’ only.)

Keywords: Cow, Logo, Vectors, Build, Methods, CValley, Xtream Path, Video

File Size: 4 KB

Just like physical exercise, creative exercise will help you develop and strengthen your illustrative and design ability over time. If you make a habit of doing small simple daily exercises you’ll see a remarkable improvement in your work as you progress through your creative career.

Knowing your lighting sources when illustrating is a must. This simple exercise provides a blank canvas “the faces” and you have to draw in how the shading would look on each face based off the light source defined for each. The more you can train your mind and eye to think through lighting and the resulting shading the easier it gets to handle it on your own projects regardless of the theme or style.

Keywords: Shading, Exercise, Drawing, Creative

File Size: 320KB