Develop Your Illustration Style: Draw a Cat

Many illustrators struggle with developing their style in the beginning and pushing themselves away from being so literal. In this class we will use a cat as our subject matter and explore techniques for creating a stylized illustration. First we'll look at contemporary working artists' illustrations of cats and break down the stylistic elements. Then we'll chart out the different ways all of the elements of a cat and brainstorm how they can be stylized. Next we'll sketch from a photograph of a cat, then remove the reference photos and create a plan to make several more stylized sketches. Once we have a sketch we like, we will select a color palette and medium to finalize the illustration. 

Class Outline

• Style Study: Review of cat illustrations by working illustrators. Break down of stylistic elements.
• Sketching: Sketch from photographic reference, sketch from original sketch with a plan for stylization.
• Illustrating: Select media and explore methods of selecting color palettes. Create stylized illustration using sketch as a template.