Travel Illustration: Recreate Your Favorite Place

Meet Alex Green, illustrator of almost three decades and your teacher for this course. He shares his artistic journey and shows some of his work from over the years. Hear about the artists who have influenced his illustrations and techniques.

Dive into editorial travel illustration by hearing Alex’s creative process when capturing the atmosphere of places in his artwork. Then, get an overview of the materials needed for your illustration. Get inspired by collecting references of the place you want to illustrate from different angles. Alex encourages you to draw not only from reference, but from imagination by adding imaginary landmarks or embellishing current ones.

Begin drafting your sketch on paper as Alex guides you through his methodology. Learn how to digitize your analog sketch on Photoshop and explore its digital tools to enhance your work. Discover how to choose a color palette that conveys the mood you want to illustrate. Experiment with digital brushes and practice line work techniques. Then, see how to use editing tools to create different layers of soft and hard light.

Wrap up your design by learning how to balance color and retouch the finer details. Create a lithographic layer by applying ink textures with a lino printing roller and acrylic paint to add an extra dimension. Finally, see how to save your work in various formats to share in different platforms like social media or your portfolio.