Happy Friday! In a previous post I showed some of the steps I take to create a typographic illustration. Now I will show you some of the steps I take to color a piece!
I generally do a quick thumbnail off to the side (or make a photocopy) to make sure the colors I use work in harmony. If you are working digitally, you can easily change the colors in photoshop, but with traditional work, it helps to work out your colors ahead of time.
I decided to use circus-inspired bold colors to match the bold fonts.
Once you have decided on your colors, start blocking them in. I always make sure to have another piece of paper under my drawing to help absorb some of the marker that bleeds through.
I use a variety of pen and marker types for my illustrations. Copic and PrismaColors are favorites of mine, but I also use Sharpies. Many of the colors you see in my finished illustration are a combination of several colors. Another useful tool in my typography illustrations is a chalk marker, which I use for the highlights on letterforms.
The finished illustration!
Page Redford 