With the development of Generative A.I (which I never use) it has become essential for illustrators to demonstrate their work flow process so here is a rough breakdown of the stages and journey a complex illustration starts and ends with.
I normally always begin with a pencil sketch to capture the initial energy of a composition and work through the process from there whether traditional or digital.
Below are some examples of my procreate workflow process which was started on the Ipad.
This second example is a mixed media piece made for the jalak prize. I started with a pencil sketch and then painted a guache colour mock up ontop. Finally after experimenting with the anatomy and poses of the riders of the winged horse I commited to a final digital free hand overlay painting that unified the stages.
Below is an example from my work for Eco Terra Games. I reference photo was used for the forest which I only refered to by eye ( without any photo manupulation or colour picking ). Following this the dinosaur was painted from imagination.
