Tools for Illustrators
(Images above - Mockups created in Canva and Photoshop).
Even if you are an established illustrator, or are learning and honing your craft, what you may be thinking is what tools are useful to make life a little easier, or help you on your journey. The amount of information out there can be overwhelming - so let’s look at some resources that I have in particular found very useful (none of these are sponsored - just my honest opinion and what works for me).
1. Procreate
My preferred drawing app of choice. I can’t rate it highly enough. For sure there are some limitations (namely problems with fuzziness and resolution when moving things around a lot, a limit on layers and it not being suitable for very large scale works). However overall it’s an amazing piece of software, costs a one-off payment of around £10 and is very intuitive. It’s also great for pattern design when you utilise the snapping and magnetics features. NB - it’s worth mentioning that I used Procreate to produce my wallpaper patterns which are large scale (so vectors not always necessary) as well as A1 prints. There are some work arounds so it’s definitely worth considering as a professional piece of kit. Also, they have a big announcement coming on September 8th - will it be vectors I wonder!
This is the one I use, along wth the Apple pencil and I have 256 GB model which gives me plenty of storage and consequently layers. They don’t come cheap but are so versatile, and entirely portable (which is a big factor of consideration if you travel or like to work outside of the home).
3. Photoshop
This is my Adobe programme of choice (illustrator terrifies me! But it’s on my list of things to learn) I use it for all photo editing, creating mock-ups, moving around Procreate files if I want to preserve some resolution (yes it’s a raster programme but it’s better than Procreate for this) and also editing and creating pattern tiles. Again it is pricey but I believe you can pay a subscription just for Photoshop rather than the entire Adobe Creative Suite. Alternatively marry a teacher and take advantage of the Education discount! (This isn’t the reason I married him but it sure does help).
4. Canva
I know Adobe Express is making a big impact at the moment, and I do love Adobe apps, but I’ve been using Canva for years and just find it so useful. I have the pro subscription and use this for building brand guidelines, uploading fonts I have made and creating moodboards, documents such as wholesale catalogues and even portfolios. They also have a decent selection of mock-ups which are so easy to use.
5. Squarespace
My website provider of choice. Again it’s not the cheapest platform but the templates are so slick and professional with an amazing selection of fonts. I’m not overly tech savvy but I found customising my template super easy. I’ve never had issues with the commerce features and being able to upload digital files, subscriptions and now even publish online courses, means it ticks all the boxes.
6. Skillshare
I’ve talked about this platform before but I just love it - and have learnt a huge amount by using it over the last few months. Especially for pattern design (see this blog post for a list of courses I recommend). I’m currently hoping to learn how to use Adobe Fresco and also Illustrator on the iPad and there are loads of available course for these. I’ve also recently been using it for learning lettering. They usually offer a one month trial and after that it’s an annual subscription, but well worth the money in my opinion.
7. Domestika
Another learning platform with a huge range of creative courses for illustration and pattern design. Instead of an annual subscription like Skillshare, courses are one-off payments (or you can sign up for a Plus account which incurs a monthly fee. However this includes many courses plus credits to put towards courses that aren’t part of the subscription). One word of advice is that not all courses are in English, and feature subtitles. I for one find it tricky to follow along with practical exercises if I need to keep looking at the subtitles but that’s just a personal preference.
Some of the courses I’m loving include Elizabeth Olwen’s new patterns for Home Decor, Build your Creative Brand by Lisa Hassel and Tati Abaurre’s Designing Patterns for Kids.
I’ve also spoken about this before but illustrator Melanie Johnson’s creative community is just an amazing resource, and also offers a directory of illustrators which you can apply to. There is a Discord community you can join, free resources, but also workshops and masterclasses. I’ve personally bought the recordings to two of these : Licensing masterclass with Zoe Wodarz and Melanie’s pricing workshop (so valuable if you’re unsure what to charge or how to go about getting paid by clients etc). Melanie also offers individual coaching sessions for an incredibly affordable price.
10. The Association of Illustrators
The AOI is basically like a union for illustrators, protecting their rights and championing the industry. Membership can be paid for monthly or annually, with options to have a folio online which can be seen by potential commissioners etc. They have amazing resources as part of the membership such as contract templates and pricing calculators, and you can also book portfolio and business reviews for a very reasonable fee. They host online events and there are many in-person meet-ups for illustrators advertised on the site.
I hope that helps some of you navigate the many resources available to us as illustrators - there are of course many many more but for me these are some of the best, so do check them out!