Basic Illustration

  Tutorial hardness:

Rate this tutorial:

In this tutorial I will teach you how the make a very basic illustration from scratch. This is part two of one of my layout tutorials which can be found here; however you can use it on it's own as a tutorial.

To begin, create a new image sized 293 x 266. Then, taking () tool, make the colour of your first pallet #EEEEEE, and the colour of your second. This is so that you can then cross out your first pallet and make the second a gradient with both colours.

Now, taking the rounded rectangle shape draw out a head. Make the size of your head about 250 x 180. Then, highlighting the bottom layer, use the same tool except with a rectangle shape and no gradient (the second pallet showing the darkest colour). Draw out a neck shape.

Now we're going to draw on the same features. Stay on the same tool, except now change it to a circle. Highlight the top layer and change your second pallet colour to #FFADD5, draw on two cheeks. Use #404040 to draw on eyes and a mouth.

* THE STEPS FROM HERE ARE COMPLICATED, READ THEM CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND
Right click and convert all of your layers to raster layers. Then merge down all your facial features so they're one layer (this includes the cheeks, mouth and eyes). Use the selection tool to highlight one eye, then paste it back on as a new layer (CTRL+L). Put it behind the layer of all the facial features and set it to soft light. Use tool to resize it and make it slightely bigger than the eye so it acts almost like a frame; then duplicate the soft light layer so that it is darker. Repeat this on both eyes and the mouth.

Net we're going to duplicate the top soft light layer applying to each feature again, except this time we use tool to slightly rotate each of them, repeat this with both eyes and the mouth - duplicate all of these rotated duplicates one more time but set these duplicates to around 50% opacity. When you've done that merge all of your layers visible.

Now just to add our final titbits to our eyes. Using the same shape tool (with the circle shape), draw a small circle in the middle with the colour #7D7D7D, then draw a much larger white circle in the top right of both eyes. When you've done that, merge all of your layers together again (visible).

Final step! Staying on the same tool change it so that your bottom pallet is crossed out and not your top pallet. Make your top pallet #404040 and 0.50 at width. Then go crazy, draw different sized sqaures over the head, rotate them, flip them, whatever. At the end change your opacity to 70%. Do the same for the neck but with the pen tool and the mode of Point to Point. When you're done, merge all your layers visible and you're finished :]