Most of my illustration work these includes using my iPad at some point in the process. While working on one of my recent paintings, I thought it would be cool to document the stages along the way. The painting, titled “A Pirate’s Life”, is a storybook illustration of a scurvy pirate who has come ashore in search of his long buried treasure. This illustration began as a pencil sketch drawn using Sketchbook Pro on the iPad.
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- Pencil sketch in Sketchbook Pro.
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- Roughing in the color.
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- Deepening the shadows to add drama.
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- Adding the distant ship and rain.
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- Adding the foreground foliage.
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- Glazing the piece to build the tone.
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- Finalizing the illustration with details.
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- Pencil sketch in Sketchbook Pro.
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- Inking the pencil sketch in illustrator.
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- Final Vector Illustration.
I really love the creative freedom that my iPad has given me. I have always loved to draw and like any proper artist, I carried a sketchbook with me wherever I might go. Nowadays, I carry my iPad everywhere and its easier than ever for me to sketch out an idea and then turn it into a polished illustration. I’ve had a lot of people ask me what apps I use to do this and what is my working method, so I decided to document my steps (complete with photos) through a recent illustration project I was working on.
The illustration assignment was for a “Space Cadet” character rocketing through the sky. I began by using a 
