Below is somewhat of a step by step on how I went about making this piece. I say somewhat because there were steps I forgot to take screenshots of. Maybe I shouldn't be giving out my secrets, huh? I may be putting myself out of work.
Below is the hand drawn line art. I use a 05 micron with some touch up done with a 03. I find it gives good clean line weight.
Flat colors are added via Photoshop. I knew I would be drawing the stuff outside the windows with my tablet so there was no need to ink it.
I turn off the colors layer and add a gradient layer knocking out the light with my tablet.
Finished shadows and some of the outside started.
Here are some of the photos I took at the Delanco and Riverside train stations for my research for the last
That's Silly! I posted
here on the blog. Like most illustrators I try to find research online but in this case I just couldn't find what I was looking for so I took a little drive and took some photos. Although I didn't this time around, I also find it very helpful to make some quick sketches while on location. Even with digital photography there are just some details you're going to miss without studying through sketching.
Research is so important. I can't emphasize this enough to my students. It can make any illustration 100% more believable then if you're just making it up.
Look back at the illustration on the
last post and you can see where the ideas came from.
The tile pattern.
The bench's iron work.
The map.
Delanco is a small all American town that sits on a peninsula surrounded by the Delaware River and the Rancocas Creek. I lived on the second floor of a remodeled old general store dating back to 1852 for 8 years. It was the first I was truly on my own. The train station was just three blocks away which would take me into Camden, NJ for my connection to the Patco line into Philadelphia. I love Delanco and I miss it quite a bit. It really is a great place to live. A lot of the suburban illustrations I make get their inspiration from my short time in Delanco.
I knew this scene was going to be published in February so I wanted to give it the feel of a cold snowy morning with the sun just rising. The funny part is that when I started working on this piece it was in the middle of August at 101 degrees.
Also, I am illustrator for the Make it! Cook it! spread each month in High Five (along with the talented
Liz Dubois who illustrates the Cook It! Ingredients). I'll post some shots of the recent spreads soon.
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I love interaction between people and composition. wow! thank you!
Thank you, Sansu!