Hipster Wizard Knitting a Pet Cat

Some of you might remember my garden witch illustration that I did in June last year. I'd planned on creating a series of illustrations of witchy folk with everyday hobbies. I wanted the hobbies to be things that people could relate to, but give it a magical twist. 

It's been a while but I'm restarting that project with a hipsteresque wizard with a passion for knitting. His knitting likes to keep him company and is currently curled into a cat. 

I created this illustration with a mixture of digital and traditional methods. I hand drew the lineart and added textures I'd made traditionally. I also have a collection of my own stock photos that I'm building up. I like to experiment with how these can add a more tactile feel to an illustration. 

I am planning more in this series, and may even redo my garden witch in the same style/method.  

Time saving Photoshop tips I wish I'd known earlier.

I've been using Photoshop for many many years, but I've never taken a proper course in it. When I started using it as a teenager it was a case of playing around with the buttons and seeing what works. I feel in Photoshop there's quite often a few different ways of doing something, but some ways are a lot quicker!

Here's a few Photoshop tips that I've picked up over the years.

Disclaimer, these tips may be quite obvious to some of you, but some of them were revelations to me! Also please note I use a Windows PC, so some tips may vary if you have a MAC. 

1.Select layers quickly/Moan to your friends

My first tip would be moan to your arty friends, as they may have a solution! My moan was regarding layers. If you're like me you probably use way too many layers and then can't find the one you're looking for. I would waste quite a bit of time scrolling through the long list of layers. Until my friend pointed out you just need to right click on the area with the move tool, it will then gives you a list of layers in that area. Select the layer you want and you're go to go!

Below is one of my latest illustrations of a ladybird using these Photoshop tips. 

2. Use groups & layer masks. 

Using groups and masks is sooo handy. You can create masked groups for different areas of your illustration to easily edit and keep your lines clean. Basically a mask shows the areas in white, and hides the areas in black. This means that whatever you do will stay within the mask you've created. I find this particular handy for adding different marks and textures.

3. Learn keyboard shortcuts

You don't need to know all the shortcuts under the sun, but these are the ones I recommend. 

To reorder layers:

• Ctrl Shift ]      Moves layer to top
• Ctrl Shift [      Moves layer to bottom
• Ctrl ]              Up 1 layer at a time
• Ctrl [              Down 1 layer at a time

Other handy shortcuts:

• Ctrl A            Selects current layer
• Ctrl Shift I     Changes selection to inverse
• Ctrl D            Deselect layer
• Ctrl Alt Z      Undo
• Shift Ctrl Z   Redo

 

4. Use Alt & Shift with the selection tools

I remember when I first got into Photoshop I created a lot of photo manips. I would get so frustrated trying to cut around a person using the lasso tool. Thinking back it reminds me of those buzz wire games, where if you touch the wire it buzzes and you have to start again from the beginning. If this is your technique let me save you some time. Simply hold down the shift key to add to your selection, and the alt to take away! 

5. Flat your colours

If you like to create your lineart and then colour it in, you should have a go at flatting. This is something I'm fairly new to, so I'm going to recommend this really useful video by K Michael Russell. The purpose of flatting is to block in your colours, you can then add all your details, shadows textures etc on top.  

I hope this was helpful, let me know what you're time saving tips are!

Seven ways to generate creative ideas.

Hey everyone, I really want to commit to my blog more and create useful content for other creatives out there. So my plan is every Monday I'll be posting advice for illustrators and artists. Some of the advice will be for my past self, some for other artists, and some for myself right now!

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So first up will be ways that you can generate ideas. These are all the things I use to create ideas when I'm stuck for what to draw or how to push a project forwards. There will be a summary of all these points at the end.

1. Write down your interests

Now if you don't have a project or a brief and you're trying to decide what on earth to draw for a self initiated project I suggest you write down your interests. For example my interests are:

• running

• yoga

• sci-fi

• fantasy

• board games

• rock/indie/folk music

You can then look at your interests in more detail, what specific things do you like about X or Y and why do you like them? For me the thing I like about running is the community. I created these parkrun maps as a self initiated project. I wanted to show how everyone of different abilities is included, and reflect the happy atmosphere that I've felt taking part.

2. Make a mind map

If you have a general topic but you need to come up with more ideas try mind mapping. This is something I used a lot throughout my art education. It really helped at the beginning of a project; in fact if you look through my old sketchbooks, you will most likely find a mind map on the first page.

Old mind map from a project about time.

Here is a mind map I made for a project I did at University about time (which is a subject that still fascinates me today). As you can see I've explored how we can capture and measure time in different ways; in photographs, through schedules, to our own stages of development in our bodies. I also included a quote that really spoke to me.

I apologise for any spelling mistakes and my bad handwriting, however I usually create mind maps just for myself. The thing I love about mind maps is once you get into them they are a really quick non judgemental way to get ideas down and you can add to them easily and link different points together.

3. Try word association

Similar to mind maps is word association. What other words and feelings come to you when you think about a certain topic. It's best to write all ideas/words down at this stage. That one silly idea you don't want to write down could spark a really amazing idea.

4. Carry a notebook

Carry a notebook around with you everywhere and write down the following:

• things that make you laugh

• questions that you keep asking yourself

• things you find beautiful

• overheard conversations

• interesting shapes

• colour combinations

5. Have an idea swap with your friends

Talk to your friends and have an idea swap. This is one of my favourites, I love hearing about other peoples projects. Sometimes I get so excited by other people's ideas that I can't wait for them to complete their projects! It's also really helpful to see your idea from another point of view and perspective. Make some notes about what you've talked about and think about what ideas you were both really passionate about.

6. Take a break

If after all that your still feeling blocked, have a break! Go for a walk, take a shower, do some housework. These seem to be the times when our brains keep ticking over ideas in the background. Remember to have the notebook close at hand though for that eureka moment.

7. Just start drawing!

If all else fails just start drawing. Sometimes the act of creating can spark other ideas. Maybe the shape of your drawing (or the negative space) reminds you of something else that could add another layer of meaning. Getting stuck into the creative side also allows you to physically move things around, what would elements look like the opposite way round/at a different scale/different colour. Sometimes it can be hard to put an idea into words, and the best way to create ideas is to experiment, and as my old art tutor used to tell us “play!”

Ink experiments in sketchbook of the handmaid's red dress, looks like blood.

Finished illustration. The shape of the dress resembles blood which fits in with the text "no razors, of course." 

I hope this list helps the next time you're stuck for ideas:

• Write down your interests

• Make a mind map

• Try word association

• Carry a notebook

• Have an idea swap with your friends

• Take a break

• Just start drawing!