STYLIZATION | Note #6

I’ve spent the last few years literally caught up in details. Adding more lines, more objects, more clutter to consider my illustration completed. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it’s therapeutic to draw every book in a library. But does it really serve the purpose of communication?

I mean a good illustration is an illustration that moves people, that speaks to people.

No one cares if every jar in this picture is drawn perfectly. If every reflection is accurate. No one will notice it. Maybe if she/he is an artist and stares at it for more than one minute. Maybe.

This is still one of my favorite illustrations. I put a lot of work into it! But I think it’s more of a good illustration from a technical point of view. The color palette is balanced and I made good use of inks and watercolors. But should I have done it differently? Perhaps emphasizing the pose more? Or removing some of the objects in the background that take the attention away?

I think we subconsciously add lot of things to show that we can draw them. In this “show everything” era, we constantly want to prove that we are good enough. That we have improved. That we deserve likes and savings. This can take us away from the ultimate purpose of illustration making: to convey a clear message and emotion.

The more we add the more we actually take away from the effectiveness of our work.

So this is what I did this month: drawing things with simple shapes. Since using pencils leads me to add a ton of detail, I avoided them and started with chunkier tools like markers or neocolors. It’s almost impossible to add tiny lines with these tools!

I started with these insects. Bugs usually have simple designs, geometric shapes and bright colors. I thought they would be perfect for the Arrtx acrylic marker demo.

What you won't see in this video is that I did several tests first to simplify the shapes even more. If a body was made up of 3 different circles, I would merge them into one wobbly shape. It was fun but also difficult to let go.

I think letting go is the motto of this thoughts brainstorming :D

Then I decided to venture into something I never draw: cars. Another subject that already has simple geometric shapes, so it was easy to handle from a stylization point of view. Again, I used markers, acrylic markers and neocolors. No pencils!

In March I want to focus more on stylizing people and finding a more comfortable and sustainable way to draw people and clothes. It's an ambitious goal for just one month, but it's important to work towards something, right? :)

See you in March! ♥

-Madalina