The Many Faces of Illustration
Illustration is an incredibly versatile art form that can express a wide range of ideas, feelings, and concepts.
There are so many different types of illustration out there, each one bringing its own unique style and flavour to the table. From realistic portraiture to whimsical cartoons and abstract designs, illustrators use their skills to bring stories and ideas to life.
Types of Illustration
When most people think of illustration, they think of something that is hand-drawn and colourful. But, there are so many different types of illustration out there. Here are just A few of the different styles that you might see:
Watercolour illustrations are delicate and ethereal but, make sure you have a good paper stock so you can add many layers to your art.
This medium creates beautiful and unique feathering effects and can be used with salt, cling film, wool, and lots more materials to create texture and interest in your work.
Gouache illustrations are more opaque and have a bit more depth to them. It can also be used like watercolour to create various stylised illustrations.
This is the most forgiving and versatile medium, in my opinion, as it is like using acrylic and watercolour, mixes and layers well.
Line illustrations (lineart, linework, blackwork etc) can be simple or more complex but equally can be very powerful.
This type of illustration is a great entry point as it teaches you control over your materials that can be transferred to other types of artwork.
Digital illustrations are created using software and can be very detailed and realistic. And yes, artists and other creatives, this does include digital work generated by an AI from an artist's input - even if it doesn't hold the same communication, mention and storytelling that a human artist can convey.
It is also the final stage for traditional art to create mood and atmosphere before it is ready for sale as prints.
Of course, these are just 4 types of illustration, there are many more. The four I have shared here though are the main ones that I use myself - I started with line.
Which illustration type do you create?
Have a lovely day!
Charmaine x
