Art is an expression, and it shows in many ways, with hand-drawn illustrations being one of them. An illustration acts as a decoration, interpretation, and visual explanation of a process, or a concept for work.
Since technology is becoming an easier way for us to make and edit art, there’s a rise in making online illustrations. Are you simply curious, or do you suffer from artist block? Learning how to make computer drawings, even if you don’t have the experience, can help!
Yes, we mean it and here’s a guide that will help you understand how to draw illustrations on your computer:
Digitize Your Sketch
If your illustrations are in pencil, you can always scan your sketches to turn it into a computer drawing.
To have a clear copy of your sketch onto your computer, draw it over with a pen to provide contrast. You can use Photoshop to help you clean the contrast and lines of your drawing to make your sketch cleaner.
Create Illustrations With Vectors
Adobe Illustration has a wide range of tools for creating and manipulating vector objects. You can use the pen tool which can connect points or anchors that make lines or paths.
You can make an endless variety of shapes and lines which can be geometric, curvy, or arched. An advantage to vectors is that you can make simple characters and add flat colors that don’t need advanced rendering options.
With enough knowledge on how to use vector, you can make things like the famous space illustration or illustrations like in monument valley.
There are also other alternative programs like Inkscape, CorelDraw, and Gimp.
Try Basic Geometric Shapes
You can make custom patterns with geometric shapes for greeting cards or instruction manual drawings. This is important for people who use illustrations for work.
You can start by picturing animals but imagine two tiny circles as the eyes or a rectangle as their bodies. Try searching for online illustrations and copying the drawing with basic shapes. You can then draw other lines to flesh out the illustration later.
Drawing Tablets
If you want a way to draw as you do traditionally, you can always try using drawing tablets since they allow you to draw as you would on paper.
A drawing tablet can detect how your stylus interacts with the tablet like the pressure and tilt. You’ll have a better experience with a drawing program like PaintToolSai, Photoshop, or Sketchbook.
Now You Know How to Draw Illustrations on Your Computer
Try out these ways that make your computer drawings easier to make. Have fun learning and experimenting with what and how you create. Learning how to draw illustrations on your computer can open new avenues for your hobby or business too!
Drawing digitally and traditionally have their pros and cons, but you can experience both and enjoy what you make.
But why stop with illustrations? If you want to learn other graphical tricks and guides, we invite you to check out our other posts right here!