Freelance Illustrator: Illustration Process — Part 5

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Figuring Out the Composition by Thumbnailing

When I was in college I heard Alfred Hitchcock say that he directed by showing the audience what they need to see. I cannot recall the exact quote, but that idea has guided all of my work from that moment on.

In the documentary they were talking about how Hitchcock would put the character behind doors and the entire audience would move their head as if they expected to be able to look around the door and see that character.

This is what I want my audience to experience while looking at my work. I want them to lose the sense of reality for those few minutes and become completely involved.

What does my audience need to see?

Some illustrators create numerous thumbnails and sketches before they begin drawing. I am not one of those illustrators. I spend most of my time figuring out what I’m going to draw inside my head.

I think that comes from not having wasteful access to paper growing up. As a kid, I was instructed to use up every square inch at my disposal, before I could ask my grandmother for a fresh sheet. 🤔 This may also explain why my handwriting is tiny. 🤗

There are many ways to show the same moment in a story.

My format could be landscape, portrait, square, circle, or any shape you can think of.

Where is my camera? I can show the scene as if I was looking at it from far away (wide angle shot), as if I was only a few feet from the character (middle shot), character’s expression (close-up shot), or as if I was the character (point-of-view shot). I could also look at the scene straight on, or from below, or from above, or at some extreme angle where the scene almost becomes abstract.

Colour palette? The scene could be black and white, grayscale, monochromatic, full colour, limited colour, accented colour,…

Lighting? It can be full of light, or in shadow, spotlighted, natural light,…

Content? What is the location? Who is in this scene with the character? Is showing environment, the background, important or should I focus on the character and just provide the suggestion of the background?

These are some of the elements I consider when creating my composition.

In school I learned that Composition is the arrangement of elements within a work of art. In Western Art, the Elements of Composition are: Balance, Contrast, Focus, Motion, Pattern, Proportion, Rhythm and Unity. If you wish to learn more, Google: “Elements and Principles of Design”.

With so many options, where do I begin?

What does the audience need to see? That single question helps me to focus on what story I wish my illustration to tell.

Working on Elatsoe’s ancient ocean scene these were the few options I settled on:

1. Collecting a bunch of elements to create a graphic representation of this magical moment.
2. Wide angle shot, showing the vastness of the ocean.
3. Middle shot, portrait — being close to the character, but also having some space to show the other creatures and location.
4. Down shot, showing how the character is experiencing this magical moment.

The Art Director vetoed option number 1. My vision required this really long poster where the sea creatures would funnel down from the largest to smallest towards Elatsoe and Kirby. Since the size would be special, it would cost more to reproduce and it would not look as good in standard sizes.

When illustrating, keep in mind how much money and effort it would take to reproduce your work, because illustration is all about reproduction.

If I illustrated option number 2, the story would have been about the ghost ocean, not our main character. When reading the book, this moment is about Elatsoe and her incredible experience. Therefore, the focus should be on her.

In the end, I was left with the last two options.

Since I could not figure out which option I liked best within my head, I drew a couple of Thumbnails.

Thumbnails are the first step to any illustration. They are tiny drawings that help me quickly figure out if what I have in my head translates to paper. They are called thumbnails because they should be about 1.5" x 2" in size: big enough to get as much information as you need in, while small enough so that you can draw them quickly. They should still make sense when you shrink them down to the size of your thumbnail — therefore, they are called thumbnails.

How many thumbnails should you create?

As many as you need to figure out what you are drawing. If you have time try different angles and create many thumbnails. However, if you don’t have the time, think about what you wish to say with your drawing and compose it in your head as you’re showering, washing dishes, vacuuming, or doing other daily tasks that do not require concentration.

Now to get back to the two thumbnails I created.

Since I still could not figure out which of these options I liked best, I asked my Instagram Followers to cast their vote.

Thankfully, 75% voted for option number 3. There were times, during past projects, when the vote was 50-50 and that did not help me much.

Another person who could have helped me to make this decision could have been the Art Director. Unfortunately, the Art Director is an imaginary boss invented for the series of these articles.

A little fact about me: I am a true Libra and when I am presented with what I think are two equally good options, I get stuck and I cannot make a decision. If I was in a store and I liked two t-shirts, but could only afford to buy one, I would walk out of that store without a t-shirt. If I had to make a decision, there are only two ways I can move forward when I’m stuck with indecision. If I was on my own, I would Eenie-menie-miny-moe my way out of it. The other option is to ask a trusted friend. Thankfully, as an artist I am not alone; I have a lovely following on my Social Media and other artist friends to get me unstuck.

A benefit to working on a digital medium is that after the decision is made, all I have to do is to take that thumbnail, size it to 9" x 12", and begin working on the next step.