GRAPHICS AND TYPE
- KEEP AN
INSPIRATION FOLDER
Anna Lisa Wardle’s (www.annaillustrations.
wordpress.com) work often encompasses fashion
illustration, which requires finding inspiration and
influence to create designs. She explains how to find this
in everyday life: “Inspiration for any creative individual is
everywhere. It’s in cultures, fashion and people. You just
have to indulge yourself. As an artist, I try and keep
many influences and dedicate as much time into staying
amazed by the arts as I can. This only makes me want
to work more. I have folders full of artists’ work on my
computer and plaster their work on walls surrounding
my desk as a constant inspiration. I have always loved
manga and oriental styles; they have always been my
main inspirations. However, I also find Renaissance
paintings, photography and fashion to be key influences
too. There are countless artists I love to spend hours
researching: Lois Van Baarle, Audrey Kawasaki, Amy
Sol and Soeymilky to name a few! My advice would be
not to give up on your work if you feel like you’ve hit a
wall with your image. It’s a horrible feeling, so searching
the web, magazines or various art books for new artists
always helps to spark my interest [again].”
ANNA WARDLE TALKS US THROUGH THE CREATION OF HER GEISHA CREATION,
7()#(ď$%6%,/03ď&2/-ď-/./#(2/-%ď6!,5%3ď4/ď&5,,˶#/,/52ď-!34%20)%#%- WORK WITH TONAL VALUES
01
MONOCHROME VALUES
“I normally start off in black and white.
This helps with contrasts in lighting, especially if
you tend to get distracted by colour. I make a dark
silhouette to set a great base to build on. I always
use a reference, as this is really important.”02
TONES AND LIGHTING
“Next, I [start to] build in my tones and
lighting roughly with a mixture of textured brushes,
trying to keep loose. Then bit by bit it all comes
together and you start to see the image forming.”03
COLOUR AND DETAIL
“A Color layer helps to add colour
without losing any of the painting foundations
already laid down by working in black-and-
white. I slowly work on top using a Normal
layer, adding more colour and details to make
the piece stand out as much as I can.”- USE REFERENCES FOR EVERYTHING
© André Souza© Anna Wardle © Anna WardleAndré Souza (www.samurai.cc) is the partner and
director for Samurai.cc, a creative content company. He
suggests that up-and-coming illustrators looking
for a way to better their work and break into the
industry simply take the time to look at the world
around them and find inspiration: “What I would like to
say to them is: always look. Always observe the worldaround you: the people, the nature and the animals, the
way they move, talk and act. You will always find
wonderful references in this. Listen to good music,
keep the habit of watching movies, reading books and
comics, play a lot of videogames – never
underestimate the power of pop culture. And draw, if
you like it, a lot. [In conclusion], be a good observer.”