What are the benefits of learning illustration? Can you make money by using it?

How to learn illustration? Learn the skills of drawing illustrations! When it comes to illustration, I believe you will be familiar with it in front of the screen. Illustrations are almost everywhere in our lives and are widely used. At the same time, many people think that the illustration industry is very lucrative, so they want to learn illustrations. So how to start learning illustrations from scratch? First of all, we must first Let’s understand the classification of illustrations and which one is the most suitable for getting started. According to the broad classification of illustrations, we can divide them into two categories, vector illustrations and bitmap illustrations.

Vector illustrations:

Vector illustrations can also be subdivided into three types: flat vector illustrations, three-dimensional vector illustrations, and 2.5 vector illustrations.

Among them, flat vector illustrations are generally seen in Internet advertisements, while three-dimensional vector illustrations are mainly seen in logos and cartoon images. 2.5 vector illustrations have only become popular in the past two years. Commonly seen in Internet advertising.

The basic standard for learning illustration whether it is reliable or not: whether there is a trial class.

There are indeed many places to learn illustration now, and they are really a mixed bag. This makes many students confused. How should they choose? There is a saying that it is not possible to just say it. To practice fake tricks and judge how good a place of study is, you must at least check out the other person's strength first. The trial class is to see where the other person's strength is best, and at the same time see how the course quality is. If you don't even have the trial class If the teaching is not good, then the other classes will be useless. And if you choose to study, you should choose a big school, so you are guaranteed.

If you don’t know where to look, you can go to the online class I studied before. That’s where I studied. Every night at 8 o’clock, there will be a master painting teacher giving free live broadcasts on illustration boards. The painting course is online. The teacher’s lectures are easy to understand and humorous. He can also explain the painting techniques that trouble everyone in a simple and clear way. Watching the teacher’s video is much better than reading a book. One class can solve many of your problems. You can also learn about the development issues of the entire industry. Anyway, it is free and you can listen to it. The lectures are given in the evening and will not delay your work or study during the day. Students who want to listen can enter Weixin (homophone):

The first group in the front is: gon, and the second group in the back is: 699. Just combine the above two sets of numbers in order. Note: Original painting.

Since students like to learn board drawing illustrations, then give it a try and give yourself a chance. Only by trying can you know whether you are the material, instead of always wandering around in your inner world and wasting your talents. It is irresponsible to oneself.

Bitmap illustrations:

Vector illustrations can be further subdivided, and are mainly divided into three categories according to expression techniques:

The first category: Flat painting

The most common types of flat painting are children's illustrations and Japanese comic styles. The biggest feature is that the coloring is fresh and flat. The shape is mainly Japanese anime characters, with clear lines on the outline and hair boundary.

The second category: pseudo-thick coating

Semi-thick coating is also called pseudo-thick coating, which combines the color fusion method of thick coating and the coloring steps of flat coating. Therefore, the accuracy of the line drawing is not high, and the coloring process does not need to be as complicated as impasto. But it has more volume than a flat coat, but it's not as heavy as an impasto.

The third category: impasto realism

Use the stacking of colors to shape the texture of objects and characters. Not paying much attention to lines, the transition between colors is soft, even and natural, and the edges of shadows are blurred. It is mainly seen in original paintings of character scenes.

After understanding the major categories of illustrations, we can do targeted exercises according to the style we like, but whether it is Japanese illustrations, thick coating or CG original paintings, this is the path to promotion. .

The basic stages of learning the basics of modeling in the early stage of entry are: perspective-line draft-sketching-still life-human body-color

The later stage of learning the basics of design: design-composition-composition-creation

This is the main foundation for beginners to create paintings. Only after learning these basic stages can you support the creation of the entire picture. Can you really make money by studying illustration?

Illustration may be just a skill for many babies who learn to draw or illustrate, but it is really a cool thing to realize this skill through illustration, so I I have summarized this answer~ Without further ado, let’s get back to the actual topic~ 1. Become a contracted designer on an illustration website and upload your designed works to the corresponding platform. While checking in, you can also earn a certain amount of income, and even You can participate in some competitions held on corresponding platforms. Generally, you will receive monetary and physical rewards if you get ranked. 1. Graffiti Kingdom is a long-established illustration website. Many illustrators know that novice illustration can be used to check in during early practice. The approval and encouragement of others will encourage you to persist better, and the guidance of some experts will make you progress faster. There will be a series of illustration activities on this platform, and the prizes are usually bonuses and hand-painted screens. There will also be some part-time illustration outsourcing, which can be directly connected, as long as you have the ability. 2. Zakuu is a multi-design platform, illustrations are also part of it, but it is not just an illustration platform. This platform is suitable for friends who have good illustration skills. When your works are of high quality and continuously updated, you can quickly accumulate popularity and fans. If you create a personal IP, your father, a big funder, will take the initiative to come to your door. Making an illustrator's personal IP bigger and stronger is itself a traffic and monetization trend, which I have always encouraged and supported. The subsequent methods of realizing personal IP mainly include cooperative courses, cooperative commercial illustrations, and cooperative book illustrations.

Author: Lu Shiqi

Link:

Source: Zhihu

The copyright belongs to the author. For commercial reprinting, please contact the author for authorization. For non-commercial reprinting, please indicate the source.

3. Mi Painter 4. Half Dimension 5. Visual China 6. Illustration China 7. Qiantu.com 8. Huaban signed up to become an illustrator on the illustration website. You don’t need to publish on too many platforms simultaneously, just You only need to play in detail on 3-4 platforms, because everyone’s energy is limited. Under the premise that you cannot study every platform clearly, it will be better to focus on 2-3 platforms! 2. . Participate in illustration contests and win prizes. If you win prizes in illustration contests, you will receive corresponding cash income. At the same time, some competitions will also have corresponding prizes. In fact, the additional income of participating in the illustration competition is also the advertising effect. Even the fathers of many sponsors will look for some illustrators or illustration works that suit the style at the illustration competition site. Participating in illustration competitions and winning awards can not only improve your skills, but also increase your visibility and subsequent income. 10. Japan Illustration Contest The Japan Illustration Contest is an illustrator competition organized by the Japan Illustrators Association. It is also the top illustration competition in Japan. However, this illustration competition has very high requirements, and the work review and submission process is strict and strict. It only accepts pure creations "without commercial cooperation or publication". It is a very credible illustration competition. lt;imgsrc="

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"/gt; The picture above is a picture of the Holbein Award of the 2019 Japan Illustration Competition, won by Chinese contestant Hannah Li (China), the picture is from the Internet, ~11. World Illustration Award World Illustration The Award is a competition jointly organized by the Association of Illustrators (AOI) and the Directory of Illustration (DI). It is also the world's most prestigious annual judging competition and is open to all illustrators.

12. American 3x3 International Illustration Competition The American 3x3 International Illustration Competition is an illustration competition organized by "3x3" contemporary illustration magazine. "3x3" contemporary illustration magazine is also one of the most representative international illustration annual magazines in the world. In addition to receiving generous cash prizes, the illustration winners will also have their works published in the annual "3x3" contemporary illustration magazine and be disseminated worldwide. It is very useful for building your personal brand and improving your personal influence. 13. Bologna Illustration Exhibition The Bologna Illustration Exhibition is one of the highest-level illustration exhibitions in the world. It is also the most important cooperation and exchange platform for international illustrators. It is called the "Oscar of the illustration industry". Therefore, if you can be selected, it will be helpful for shaping your personal brand and improving your career. Personal influence is very beneficial. 14. Asian Illustration Annual Competition The Asian Illustration Annual Competition is an illustration competition hosted by the Asian Illustration Association. It is also the leading grand event in the illustration industry led by Asia and is widely acclaimed. It has great credibility and influence. Ilustratio International Illustration Competition HiliIlustratio International Illustration Competition is organized by the Hilibrand website. The competition has become one of the few heavyweight illustration competitions in the Asia-Pacific region and even around the world. It has strong credibility and influence and is an excellent channel to enhance personal brand and influence. . 16. British EVamp; A Illustration Award EVamp; A Illustration Award is an illustration competition founded by the Victoria and Albert Museum to specifically reward the best illustrations of the year, but it requires the illustrator Tourmaline to live in the UK, or the entries have been in Published/published in the UK this year. 17. Bradis International Illustration Biennale Grand Prize The Bradis International Illustration Biennale Grand Prize is the world’s earliest and largest non-commercial illustration award. However, the submitted works are required to be published works and the corresponding books are required. and nominated by relevant organizations in various countries. Therefore, this competition is very competitive, and it is also the most important exhibition and award in the field of illustration. The above-mentioned competitions are all very influential competitions and are suitable for illustrators with higher illustration skills. For some beginners or illustrators whose illustration skills have not yet reached the corresponding level, they can actually increase their influence through other ways. At the same time, you can also earn a certain amount of income to support your interests and skill improvements. 3. Create a high-quality personal IP. To be honest, I can think of the most lasting way for illustrators to monetize their skills is actually to build a personal brand. Because I am also a practitioner and beneficiary of personal brands, so I will continue to support the monetization of skills. Those who want to build a personal brand, because this is the most durable way to monetize. How to build a personal brand? In fact, the two mentioned above are one of the ways, because becoming a contracted author of the corresponding platform or winning the grand prize of the corresponding competition are actually effective endorsements and are also excellent ways to increase personal influence. So how to accumulate fans? In fact, for illustrators, whether they are beginners or illustrators with certain attainments, sharing is the best way to accumulate fans. Continuously share your illustration learning process to Xiaohongshu, Zhihu, Bilibili, Weibo, Douyin, Toutiao and other algorithm-recommended platforms. The system will automatically distribute your works or learning process to interested parties. When your content is of high quality and useful, it will naturally attract a group of people who share the same frequency to follow you. In addition to earning fees from the platform (some platforms are profitable for publishing content), when your illustrations are seen by interested people, there may be higher-quality cooperation, such as book illustrations and commercial illustrations. For sharing, my personal recommendation is to divide it into three parts, one is the work you have completed, the other is the record of the entire illustration completion process, and the last part is about sharing practical information in the process of learning illustration. There should be continuity and accumulation of content, don’t block it here and there, let others see the strong usefulness of your personal IP at a glance, and adhere to the principle of usefulness. Building a personal IP is a long-term process and cannot be achieved overnight. Don’t think that posting less than 10 pieces of content will make it popular. In fact, when you continue to post dozens or even hundreds of pieces of content, many things will fall into place. For example, we recently did Xiaohongshu and accumulated about 3K fans and 45,000 likes in one month. However, I was actually very lazy and only posted less than 20 pieces of content.

Summary of platforms: 18. Xiaohongshu 19. Zhihu 20. Bilibili 21. Weibo 22. Douyin 23. Today’s Toutiao 4. Illustration Group, Official Accounts, Weibo and other channels to invite manuscripts to learn search and resource integration capabilities Time can help you accomplish many things, but many people often do not have this ability. Search for corresponding keywords in illustration groups, public accounts, Weibo, Sogou and other channels. In fact, many unexpected things will appear. In fact, what I want to give you this time is not the specific channels, but the ability to search. You can try to search the corresponding keywords on the corresponding platform, and a lot of useful information will appear, as well as a lot of requests for illustrations. Search for the keyword: illustration on the corresponding platform. For example, if you directly search for the keyword: illustration on WeChat, you can search for the corresponding learning and submission platform. Corresponding platforms: 24. WeChat 25. Zhihu 26. Little Red Book 27. Penguin Group 28. Weibo 29. Sogou What needs to be reminded here is that there are many platforms, and it is a mixed bag. You need to have a certain screening ability to compare with each other’s resources. When connecting, you must pay attention to preventing fraud. I will write this clearly at the end of the article. 5. Find part-time illustration and design jobs on Witkey websites. There are many design needs on Witkey websites. In fact, it is also a good choice for illustrators. You can directly search for the corresponding keywords on the corresponding platform. Many babies may find it troublesome and need to do so many things. In fact, in my opinion, these are some things that a caring person must do, and they are all front-end things, which will have a great impact on the later-stage profits. influence. Corresponding platforms: 30. Zhu Bajie 31. Yipin Weike 32. Doumi Direct Recruitment 34. Zhaopin Recruitment 35. Lu Shiqiliu, Taobao or Xianyu accept orders, make emoticons and draw avatars, design trademarks on Taobao or Xianyu, Cultural and creative peripheral products (such as book illustrations, which many writers need). Uploading emoticon packs made with your own illustration technology on the "WeChat Emoticon Open Platform" can also increase your income through appreciation. Of course, pay attention to combining hot topics and being more skinny when making emoticon packs, so that the group usage and dissemination will be more powerful. 7. Material accumulation and learning methods Material accumulation and learning methods are also things that I must share in every piece of content. Why? Because I think it is very necessary to learn and improve skills in the early stage, because blacksmithing requires one's own wisdom. Corresponding materials and learning platforms: 36. Graffiti Kingdom 37. Zokuu 38. Petals 39. Duitang Community. Petal.com and Duitang Community are mainly used for material accumulation. You can follow some big Vs and enrich them by collecting high-quality materials compiled by them. It is very important to have your own material library and material accumulation. 40.Artstation The style of Artstation tends to be conceptual, European and American, and punk. Most of them are foreign painters. It is also a good place to accumulate materials. 41. Pinterest is suitable for novice and low-level illustrators to improve their skills. Many excellent designers will focus on the project theme and gradually deepen the project requirements, design issues, illustration expression techniques, etc. Other illustrators can see some senior and The whole process of creating a complete project by a high-quality illustrator is very helpful for improving personal illustration skills and design thinking. It is the world's largest social picture sharing website. Its main purpose is to search for pictures on specific topics. The related recommended pictures are more accurate and interesting. People who are not good at English can use Google Translate to assist in searching. The pictures are of higher quality and can be used to accumulate materials.

43. Station B 44. Zhihu 45. Xiaohong writes at the end: 1. To monetize your illustration skills is to monetize your own skills, but at the same time you need to sign a contract with Party A, which will help protect your personal rights and interests; 2. Sign a contract When doing so, be sure to read the terms of the contract carefully. Any unclear or unclear areas must be formulated in detail. It is best to find a lawyer friend who understands the corresponding regulations to help review it. Generally, the payment process must be stipulated in the contract, such as payment after the content is finalized. What percentage of the fee is required, what percentage of the fee will be paid after completing the number of works, and how long it will take to pay the full fee after all the works are completed; 3. During the cooperation process, pay attention to communicating more with Party A. More communication will help both parties coordinate their opinions, and will also By making your work more in line with Party A’s design needs, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. Pay attention to communicating more, communicating more, communicating more; 4. Talking about cooperation on any platform involves dealing with people, and naturally there will be various problems. For such things, be careful not to think about getting rich overnight, adhere to the principle of labor value, pay attention to the safety of personal property, and don't be deceived by the manuscript. After all, it is all hard work ~ 5. Share more, convey more value, and go more Interaction,

It may sting the weakness of some people who have the dream of "making a fortune in three months and earning over 10,000 yuan a month". If you have poor mental endurance, please detour in advance and click on the next answer. , but if you can continue reading, I still hope that my answer will be helpful to you. Regarding this issue, I believe that all readers here will have a profound reaction, and it is also what many people want to know... Let's analyze step by step from the source of the problem. First, where does an illustrator's income come from? Most people will answer, "Of course it's painting... Painting is my profession, I do it for love!" People who are more knowledgeable will answer, "It's just working in a company or outsourcing, or a combination of the two. "Okay, you all got the answer right. Most people would prefer to make commissions and contracts. However, on a certain platform on the Internet, drawing a headshot costs 200 per picture, Japanese illustrations cost 2000, comic line drawings cost 25 per frame, and US publicity directly exceeds 10,000. , is it really that simple? At the beginning of the year, because the company had just taken over a whole-package project for a foreign game, but there was a lot of work piled up at that time, and friends around us also had other projects on hand, so we made some of them easier The implemented work was published on the platform. In total, more than 60 people applied, but only 3 people met our requirements. The others either had inappropriate styles or slightly insufficient levels. There are two very real problems. 1. In the digital painting circle, especially those with outsourcing as the main income channel, there is obviously a situation where there is too much money and too little food. 2. Most companies, valuable outsourcers with high premiums will find ways to do it themselves. Digest it, or transfer it to people around you, and earn some of the recommended price difference. Those with low premiums can be posted on the platform. Naturally, corresponding people will apply. There are also some companies whose needs are not obvious, so they do not specifically set up illustrations. Teacher positions will also be posted on the platform, but they will not be particularly common.

In order to prove this, I also asked some of my friends in the industry. Company A (which mainly produces comics and currently has 3 comics being serialized) has a clear job plan in the company, Storyboard - Line Artist - Part 1 Colorist - In addition to post-processing of comics produced by my own company, I sometimes work on complete packages of some comics. Basically, I do all the projects that I can digest by myself. Employees occasionally work 996, and the average overtime hours in a month are 40-60 hours, at most The best thing is to publish the hooking work, because it is time-consuming, low-difficulty, and has a low premium. The general price is 15-25/square (excluding platform commission). If the level is OK, it can be done privately after a long period of cooperation, so there are less We cut out the middlemen to earn the price difference. Company B (mainly engaged in game development and R&D) only has a small number of art positions in the company. The distribution channels are obviously related to the games, original painting outsourcing, modeling outsourcing, and other things are done by ourselves, usually as a whole package. The form is released to a more reliable team or a specialized outsourcing company for production, and the production cycle is stipulated. As for after the whole package is distributed, it doesn't matter how many packages are in the hands of the artist who finally completed the draft. Anyway, there is an agreement, and the production Compensation will be negotiated if the goods cannot be completed, but generally there will be no situation where the goods cannot be completed on time. The warehousing company will plan Company C (physical goods) according to its own production cycle. I still remember that the previous answer mentioned that I have a friend who went there. A red wine company works as their illustrator. Because of this relationship, I also learned that their company usually designs illustrations on the outer packaging of wine. The workload will be relatively easy, and one artist can basically satisfy it, but etc. Many physical companies, such as those that make mouse pads, water cups, and snacks, may have needs for illustrations, but the demand is not obvious, so outsourcing the needs at this time is the best choice. So do you understand? The so-called outsourcing on the platform often has a low premium and takes a long time, or some companies with unclear needs have sudden temporary needs, so there will be outsourcing with a high premium, but this This kind of outsourcing has unstable factors and it is difficult to become your long-term meal ticket. So those who have just stepped out of the society with what they think are pretty good painting skills, want to wake up in the morning sunshine every day, make themselves a cup of cappuccino, put on headphones and play some soothing music. , elegantly turn on the computer to start the day's work, and plan his long-distance trip next month... This young man, please wake up... According to my long-term observation statistics, most of the abilities can reach the entry threshold and those who have just entered the industry Illustrators, their average income in the company is 4K-6K (first- and second-tier cities). If you don’t want to work in the company and want to be more free to take orders, most of the income is around 3K. It is not just a matter of low outsourcing unit price. , but the source of the work is unstable. You said that if you have a full-time job and combine it with outsourcing, then this is okay, but it is more laborious. So sometimes I see the advertisement on the small website "Become an original artist in three months, monthly income Don’t believe it. The person who planned this advertisement may not know what the original painting refers to, but when you see the advertisement, you mistakenly think that the original painting = American propaganda, high-end, go, go, go! Just take a look, bah... Is there really no future for illustration? Many people feel confused after reading the above content. Who am I? What am I doing? Do I still want to draw tonight? So is there really no future for painting? not necessarily. You can imagine that the painting circle is really like a pyramid. Inside the pyramid are people who have already entered the industry. On the outside, there are countless people who want to come in and long for a beautiful world inside. After all, escaping from society has become the mainstream now. I'm in a good state. I don't like my major in college. After studying for four years, I suddenly thought that I love painting and have extraordinary talent since I was a child. Then I gave it a try. Then I took a closer look and found that nine out of ten are the same as myself. ideas.

When you surpass the people of the same batch, you successfully enter the pyramid, and find that you are still at the bottom, surrounded by countless people who are in the same predicament as you. Food is not a problem for this group of people, but life is more difficult. When you are at the bottom, After 3-5 years, you will find that you are already familiar with the rules of the industry, your abilities have improved, and your network resources have become stable. Only then can you truly achieve financial independence and no need to worry about the first cup of milk tea in autumn. Now, there is no need to worry about daily life. As for the top of the pyramid, you will naturally understand this when you reach the middle level. In many cases, in addition to strength, it also requires your self-packaging, opportunities and other factors. Where are they generally used? Since we want to engage in this industry, we must first understand where our abilities should be used, which companies we can apply for, and who the outsourced Party A will be. Publishing illustrations

It covers a wide range of types. Illustrations are drawn according to the published content. There are corresponding children's publications, product publications, story publications, etc. Now, due to the development of self-media, various public accounts and other We-media platforms all have corresponding needs for illustrations for articles, and the demand will naturally increase. Some companies will set up special positions. The salary is generally around 4-8K, depending on the size of the company, the comprehensive income of the city where you are located, and your ability.

Because people are often attracted by visual things, the demand for images for products has further increased. There are too many similar products, such as mobile phone cases, product packaging, etc. The job establishment is the same as above. If it is outsourcing, there are various prices. For example, many mobile phone cases like to use Chinese trend illustrations, 500 to 2000, and some like to use simple cats, 100 to 300. It depends on the specific screen and the demand for advertising illustrations

The main ones include poster advertisements and webpage advertisements, and the specific categories are formulated according to the needs of customers. \Conduct visual presentation design for the front end of games or film and television works, convert text into visual graphics, and facilitate production by modeling colleagues. Generally serving game or film and television companies, there will be more specially established positions for original painters. Few companies will separate the original painting settings for outsourcing. First, the game art style needs to be unified. This requires the main artist to unify the design style and color system. , set by the original artist below. Secondly, there is a lot of repeated modifications and communication. If it is outsourced, it is difficult to communicate in real time, and the general work cycle of game projects will also be faster. Position: Original Artist (Character/Scene) Second Line In cities, people generally enter the 4K industry, and first-line 4K to 6K people. After working for a long time, there will usually be a salary increase in one or two years. Some companies have piece-rate wages and some do not. How many styles of illustrations are there?

How many styles of illustrations are there? There are many styles of illustrations, which can be roughly divided into flat style, MBE style, gradient style, vector illustration, 2.5D style, graffiti and line drawing style,

Forest style

style,

Healing style

style, watercolor style, dark style, picture book style,

Noise

Texture style, etc. Below is only a brief introduction to these styles of illustrations.

Here I would also like to recommend "Light Lesson" to everyone. There are many painting tutorials, painting materials, and professional painting courses on this website. Friends who learn painting can find many useful paintings on it. Learning resources!

The style characteristics of flat style illustrations are simple, light, and neat. Flat style illustrations are mainly composed of color blocks, with geometric shapes, smooth outer contours, diverse visual expressions, and approachable Harmony can also be rigorous. Therefore, flat style illustrations are widely used in various fields.

Gradient style: Gradient style Gradient illustration style was first introduced by foreign designers. This kind of illustration color will be more vivid.

MBE style: This style of illustration has gradually evolved in the flat trend. It is more rounded, cute, cute and simple, and its iconic character is MBE, a designer from Paris, France.

Vector illustration: Vector illustration is a kind of

vector drawing

. It uses straight lines and curves to describe graphics, giving people the impression of one color. Collision of trends.

2.5D style: 2.5D style illustrations have a particularly strong sense of three-dimensionality and space. Simply understood, they are two-dimensional images with 3D effects.

Forest style: Forest style illustrations have the characteristics of watercolor overlay, beauty, small clarity, and elegance. The attitude towards life represented by the forest style is advocating nature, comfort, and returning to nature; the attitude towards life is adaptable to the situation. ; Loves wandering; rejects

consumerism

; pursues a simple and direct attitude towards life.

Healing style: The overall healing illustration style gives people a warm feeling, the painting style is relatively soft and the atmosphere is strong.

Dark style: The overall illustration style is darker, with a sense of fighting against reality and deformation and distortion

The above styles are the more popular styles of illustrations now. I hope they can help everyone.