Illustration techniques for designers

There are various techniques or styles of making an illustration. Each of these techniques has its distinctive process and media specially used to create the illustration. Therefore, the graphic artist must become well acquainted with a particular technique before adopting and using it for the production of a graphic design product. Examples of some of the techniques in the illustration are:

1. Pen and wash: This illustration technique consists of drawing the outlines of the illustration in pencil. Ink is used to go over the penciled outlines. When it dries, a small amount of the ink is diluted with water to a lighter shade. The brush is used to apply the paint to the darker areas of the drawing. The painted areas are washed out to create various shades to highlight the shapes of the illustration. The outlines are made stronger by using pen lines. It is used for catalogs, town and market scenes, fashion design magazines, book covers, etc.

2. Pen and Ink – This is the use of pen and ink to draw the outlines of the drawing and use any of the shading methods to highlight the shapes in the drawing. It is used for illustrations in books, newspapers and magazines.

3. Flat Color Painting: In this technique, colors are painted flat with no gradation of tone. The edges of the sections of the painted drawings are sharp and defined, making a difference in the different parts of the drawing. It is used for illustrations in storybooks, traffic signs, greeting cards, etc.

4. Realistic Painting: This is the drawing of objects to show great detail as they appear in nature. It is used for advertising, fashion magazines and book illustrations.

5. Silhouette – is the creation of the contours of a pencil drawing and the uniform filling of the inner part with paint or black ink. Silhouette drawings do not show details, only the outlines that define the objects are shown. They are used for traffic signs, package symbols, illustrations in fashion magazines, etc.

6. Caricature- It is the creation of humorous or satirical figures with exaggerated forms. This illustration technique is used to illustrate children’s books, newspapers, magazines, etc.

7. Photography- This is the taking of pictures of real objects and scenes by using a camera. Gives the exact likeness of objects and scenes. The photographs are used for posters, magazines, newspapers, etc.