How I Make my Illustrations

I get asked all the time at markets how I take my watercolour illustrations and convert them into my prints and stickers. So I thought I'd do a little step by step of my process so that it can both help you with your process or to understand what goes into each and every one of my illustrations.

Step One:

Create the illustration. Unsurprisingly, the very first step is the paint or draw an illustration. My preference is watercolour and black pen in my Stillman & Birn Beta Sketchbook. 

Step Two:

Scanning the illustration. I use the Epson Perfection V600 Photo for scanning all my illustrations. I find the quality to be fairly high for what I need and it's a great size for my small apartment.

Step Three:    

Digitally rendering the illustration. Using Adobe PhotoShop I adjust the colour balance, remove any dust particles or imperfections, and make sure that everything is looking as close to the original image as possible. I then use Adobe Illustrator to create the final print layout. Adding any other elements like lettering that I did using Procreate or other illustrations. 

Step Four:

Print your illustration and Enjoy! I use a variety of print services to get all my products into their final forms. Local print shops are a great place to start and where I've gotten my greeting cards done from the very beginning. Jukebox Print is where I currently get my stickers but I've also used Siraprint and others in the past. Its so fun and rewarding to see everything you've been working on come together in it's final form!

I hope this helped and/or gave you some insight into my illustration process!

Thanks for reading,

xx Rachel