IllustrationClass.com

How did this start?
I was asked to teach a digital illustration class at the local college visual arts program once a week here in Salem, Oregon. I had never taught before so this was a whole new experience for me. I quickly realized the way my students learned best was when I demonstrated a process. I literally showed them how to go about doing a creative task and commented on it. This led me into developing numerous step by steps I could show them each week.

Over the course of my first year I built up a nice little archive of teaching resources. I also posted them on the ‘HOW Design Forum’ to let other creatives benefit from them and due to that being received so well I decided to give them a proper home here at ‘Illustrationclass.com’.

How do you view the tutorials?
I’ll admit these aren’t fancy high-tech tutorials these are bare bone simple images (.jpeg or .gif images) with exhaustive notes to explain each step of the process. (.rtf text file) Here are a few suggestions for viewing these tutorials.

- Viewing on a MAC: Select all the images and drag/drop them onto a program like
‘Preview’ or ‘Adobe Bridge’. This will allow you to easily toggle from one image to the
next and they’ll load in sequential order too. Then print out the notes so you can readthem as you view each step.

- Viewing on a PC: Select all the images and drag/drop them onto a program like
‘Microsoft Paint’, ‘Irfanview’, ‘Adobe Bridge’, ‘Photoshop’ or even your browser.
(Not sure if it’ll open them up sequentially though?) Then print out the notes using
‘Notepad’ so you can read them as you view each step.

Like I said this may not be high-tech but I think you’ll find the information contained in them valuable and hopefully helpful to your own work.

Tutorial Content – What’s in them?
Each tutorial download contains universally accessible material which can be easily viewed on either a MAC or PC. To fully benefit from them you’ll want to read the notes as you view the images.

Each tutorial download contains the following.
– Step by step images in sequential order
– Exhaustive notes explaining each image/step (Español Translations as of 11.22.06)
– Some tutorials contain source files, sample images, and templates
– Links to helpful resources

These resources are shared openly with the creative community. If you have questions regarding usage or permission to use these resources please read the ‘Copyright’ section of this site. If you have suggestions or comments about these resources please read the ‘Contact’ section of this site.

The Tools I Use.
Many have asked what tools I use to create my artwork. Below is a list of my tools of choice. For more information about the tools, visit our store.

My creative arsenal.
– My Brain. Still running version 1.0
– A Pencil. I use a PaperMate™ PhD Ultra mechanical pencil.
– Staedtler battery powered eraser. (Non-essential but fun)
– Neenah UV Ultra II Translucent (Vellum) 17lb.
– A MAC Dual-Core Intel Xeon and a MacBook Laptop. (I’m a diehard MAC ADDICT)
– Software: Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and Flash.
– iPod and iTunes.
– BOSE Noise Cancelling Headphones.
– Quad Venti Vanilla Wet Cappuccino, Sugar-Free, Low-Fat.
– NetFlix.
– Audible.com (See my art blog for favorite authors)
– TIVO.

I trust you can discern the serious from not-so-serious tools listed above. If you’d like to get more specific information about the serious tools and even order them for your own creative pursuits then visit the “Supplies” section of this site listed in the left hand menu. A small percentage of anything you buy will go towards helping me keep this site content FREE.

Comment Posting
All comments are moderated before going live and will not appear immediately. All comments will be posted within a few hours of time after submitting. If you post early in any given day (PST) the comments will be approved virtually immediately. Later in the day (PST) it may take a few hours or longer etc. I value your feedback and of course any encouragement about the content on the site so please comment frequently.

Spanish Translations
Each tutorial download includes Español translated notes. (As of 11.22.06) Since I cannot speak Spanish, a professional Spanish designer and illustrator has agreed to take my notes for each tutorial and provide the Español translation.

I’d like to personally thank Mauricio Cosío for helping make this web resource more accessible to everyone. He is a very talented artist in his own right as well so please take a few minutes and visit his web site.

Mauricio Cosío – Kaboom Studio.

Why Do I do this?
My original motivation for creating tutorials was to teach my own students. I thought others could benefit and since I enjoy sharing my creativity with others I decided to launch this web site and it’s been a whole lot of fun seeing how people have responded to it.

I am now in the habit of capturing most of my creative projects as I work and I plan on sharing a lot of them on this site moving forward. I am fortunate to be able to work on a very diverse range of projects which allows me to create tutorials that appeal to both designers and illustrators alike and I think that is important.

My bottom line motivating factor however is one of gratitude. I am truly grateful for how God has blessed me and my family so this is one way I can thank Him by helping others who are pursuing the same type of work. This may seem somewhat strange to some, but I view it as a ministry of sorts. It’s a labor of love and I just have fun doing it.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to read this.

Fans of Illustrationclass.com
The global influence of IllustrationClass.com is reflected in the fact that creative types in over 35 different countries world wide have accessed and downloaded our content over 5 million times since it’s launch.

Below is a particle list showing those organizations who have used my tutorials in their programs.

- Arizona State University
- Art Institute of Portland
- Art Institute of Seattle
- Biola University
- Boise State University
- Cedarville University
- CEDIM Design University, Mexico
- Chemeketa Community College
- Computer Arts Magazine UK
- Concordia University
- Cornish School of the Arts
- Electronic Information Engineering Vocational Institute, China
- Illinois Institute of Art
- Kansas State University
- Kapolei High School, Hawaii
- Nanyang Technical University, Singapore
- Pacific Lutheran University (PLU)
- PNW College of Art
- Portland Community College
- Portland State University
- Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
- School of Advertising Art (SAA)
- SmashingMagazine.com
- The Creative Group
- University of Central Oklahoma
- University of New Mexico
- VectorTuts.com

All downloadable tutorial content is Copyright © 2010 Glitschka Studios.