10 Inspiring Types of Illustration you should know about

Every designer knows that great illustrations can make or break your design. If you are a great artist or a graphic designer, then you might go with my words that creative illustrations are what every client is looking for. 

Visuals deeply impact human minds and inspire them to make a purchase. If you showcase the illustrations in your 2d design effectively, then you can easily present the ideas interestingly. 

Being in the field of designing for the last many years, I can say that by adding an appealing library of illustrations in your checklist, you can easily refine the graphics area. Now, before we talk about the different types of illustrations, let’s get a deeper insight into the term illustration. 

What is Illustration?

You can define illustration as a painting, drawing, or artwork that reflects the creator's creative idea. It describes, clarifies, brightens, visually represents, or decorates an idea, concept, or fact. 

Usually, designers use illustrations to surprise, delight, explain and tell the business actions like sales and leads. Millions of free stock illustrations available online can be huge. So it helps to determine what type of illustration you want before you start a project. 

Many times, when people try to find a video, article, or extra source, they put light on the subject. Viewers got lost, or they did not get enough information, or they had to look at several places to be able to check findings. Sometimes, we do not get what we want for our project. 

But, if you use the right illustration in the right way, you can grab the audience's attention by helping them understand complex concepts easily. 

Before we move forward to understand different types of illustrations, kindly have a quick look at this infographic to know about the benefits of using illustrations.

What are the types of Illustration?

Illustrations are broadly classified into two different categories, including traditional illustration and modern illustration. 

Types of Traditional Illustration

1. Woodcutting Illustration

This illustration reached popularity in the Middle Ages and was used after the printing press was invented. This approach is still used today by artists and illustrations who want a natural or rough feel. Woodcut illustrations also have a lot of importance in feudal Japan. 

This technique is characterized by the thick lines and the variance obtained between different print parts.

2. Pencil Illustration

This method needs no explanation. It is commonly employed by designers, illustrators, and even by people trying to explain or convey a concept. A pencil is required for various effects, shades, lines, and effects.

Artists may use additional pencils of a single colour, a graphite lead, or a variation of different colors to achieve their desired effect.

3. Charcoal Illustration

Charcoal illustrations are often not as accurate as pen and pencil illustrations but are a preferred choice for illustrating short stories and fast sketches. Charcoal goes with the artist producing a range of textures, representing materials and shadows, people, objects, and the natural world. 

Artists often use fingers and stuff to blend the soft material, smudge, and create smooth and soft shadows. However, you may want to clear the mess with your fingers or use blending tools and fixatives to prevent useless spots.

4. Lithography Illustration

Lithography and traditional illustration styles and techniques compare each other very well. Before, people used wax fat or oil to create a smooth surface of a limestone plate. However, currently, offset lithography is widely used to create illustrations. 

You will be amazed to know that nowadays, many high-volume books and magazines are mostly printed with offset lithography, especially when illustrated in colour.

5. Watercolor Illustration

In watercolour illustrations, the primary thing is to use colouring and to create different liquidity by adding water to the colour. The overall feeling of watercolour illustrations is a soft light with lots of depth. 

The primary aim of a watercolour illustration is to create effects and shades by adding water to create different transparencies of the colour. Artists can create extraordinary watercolour illustrations using a fine and creative combination of bright and lighter shades.

Read more about use-appearance panel in adobe illustrator.

6. Acrylic Illustration

The illustration is ideal for beginners. It is almost easier to work with them and with watercolours or oils. However, the designer can attain similar effects to oils and watercolours. 

Various artists use acrylic paint on surfaces such as cloth or canvas to create an illustration. Acrylic paints are available in different ends and become water-resistant once they dry up.

7. Pen and Ink Illustration

This illustration type is noted for its clarity, detailing, and ability to create contrasts between the elements. 

Even though pen and ink illustration is self-coloured, it is still possible to create detailed work by applying a single colour with different tints on a plain surface. Inks are widely available and affordable materials that are easy to carry and work expressively.

Types of Modern Illustration 

With the growth of technology and the increasing importance of illustration in some different fields, illustration techniques have gained a whole new arrangement of possibilities and styles. The methods used to create modern illustrations are somewhat similar to those applied to create traditional illustrations. 

There is now tremendous software that can be used to attain different illustration styles, including Photoshop, Illustrator, Inkscape, etc. If you are a traditional designer looking to appear in modern or digital methods or are just looking for greater understanding, this should be sufficient to get you started.

1. Freehand Digital Illustrations

Freehand digital illustration is made the same way designers use pen and ink to make a traditional illustration. The only difference is that the full processor minimum is digital and generally done using a single touchpad or pen tool. 

The main power here includes access to many different colour brush presets and tools that can be used to boost the process productively. Designers make digital art using a trackpad or tablet pen to show their interest in creating a concrete shape. The mistakes are easily made, and changes or edits can be made. 

Blending or shading is generally much more casual in digital illustration, and different effects can be reached. It is commonly used for storyboarding, recreational art, illustrating books in animation in different design procedures, etc. 

However, it needs to be considered that the digital illustration will be in raster mode; this means that you can zoom or enlarge the design to a certain size, or else it will appear blurred.

2. Vector Illustration

These illustrations look digital with bold, flat colours and defined lines. They are simple and relevant to a wide variety of projects. In the group, we put vector graphics and illustrations. How the images are built allows scaling them up and down to any size without losing quality. 

Designers create vector illustrations to ensure that every point is shown on a reference frame to establish the direction of the path. Vector illustrations can be saved as PDF, EPS, or SVG extensions. Due to minor flow or range, vector illustrations can be used as web illustrations, logos, etc. 

Vectors are normally ideal for print media and are less frequently used for travelling artworks, detailing, or sketch-related work, which can be combined with typography and text. Most digital designers use more than some traditional art in their work, even if simply for brainstorming or as basic guidelines for their digital work.

Get started with the Best of the Illustrations

Well! There are thousands of types of illustrations that can be used to make the design more effective. Going through the various illustrations added above will allow you to bring the most out of your designs. 

Hopefully, now you can have actionable insights into how creatively artistic ideas are represented through drawings and painting. Still want to learn more about illustrations or create a 2D animation video, don't hesitate to contact us. 

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