I'm sure every illustrator works differently, but here's how I go about the process. As an example, I'm using my Obama Claus
Christmas Illustration. First a bit of disclosure; the Barack Obama head used in this illustration is about year old and is something I made as part of another illustration, so that part will not be covered here. However the rest of the Santa Claus illustration creation is documented below.
Note: This is not a tutorial. There are hundreds, even thousands of websites out there that will show you the step-by-step details used to create effects in Photoshop and Illustrator. This is just an overview of the process I used for the Barack Obama Santa Claus. |
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| I start off most illustrations with very quick, one to two inch thumbnail sketches (figure 1). This is usually done in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet. The sole purpose is to just get the proportion down. |
I lighten up the thumbnail so that it is barely visible and print that out at about 6" in height. Using that as a base I create a fairly detailed drawing in pencil (figure 2) and scan it. |
With the pencil drawing scanned in, I can start adding color in Photoshop. To start off, blocks of color and rough highlighs are added to a layer below the pencil drawing (figure 3). |
Using paths to isolate body parts and pieces of the outfit, the illustration is further refined (figure 4). I use primarily a combination of different brushes along with the smudge tool to finalize the look. |
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| Barack Obama head from a previous illustration is attached to the Santa-suited body. The neck and some strategic shading are added to make it appear as if it belonged (figure 5). |
The Santa hat is simple enough that it can be done without sketching first. Paths are made for the white fur and red felt parts, then airbrushed in. An Obama 2012 logo is overlaid on the t-shirt and a shadow is added (figure 6). |
The background was made in Illustrator. Simple gradients placed in front of each other create a snowy field effect. Random white circles of various sizes are scattered around to create the snow (figure 7). |
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| The background is brought into Photoshop where adjustments to the color are made. Some of the snowflakes are moved in front of the Obama Claus (figure 8) to complete the illustration. |
Figure 9 shows one designs made from the illustration. Click on this link to see the rest. |
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