Digital Illustration Styles
by Andrew Hoare · November 2020
What is this article about?
The Illustrators are a graphic design and illustration company in Australia. In this article we will explore some of the popular digital illustration styles and help identify an illustration style for your next project.
From the first caveman drawings, illustration has played an important part in telling stories and in sharing ideas. There are a number of types of illustration, including pen, pencil and charcoal illustration. We are going to focus on digital illustration, which can be used in advertising, video games, books, social media and more.
Digital illustration styles
Freehand digital illustrations allow for smooth lines, light, shadow and complex backgrounds. Digital illustrations are typically hand drawn using a Wacom tablet and Adobe Photoshop. For vector illustrations, Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard. Here are the illustration styles that we will be discussing:
ANIME /
CARICATURE /
CARTOON /
CHILDRENS /
COMICS /
COMMERCIAL /
CONCEPT /
FANTASY /
FASHION /
FINE ART /
LINE ART /
REALISM /
RETRO
Anime
Anime (short for animation), is a style of artwork originating in Japan. An anime artist will use colourful images, diverse art styles, wild hair and exaggerated visual effects. An anime comic book is called manga. Anime is based on video games and manga. Here are some examples:
Caricatures
A caricature is created by an illustrator, often referred to as a cartoonist or caricature artist. The features of the subject are normally simplified or exaggerated and feature a large, oversized head. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.
Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines.
Cartoon
Someone who creates cartoons is normally referred to as an illustrator and can often be confused with a cartoonist who primarily draw caricatures. Cartoons are simple drawings and are popular styles for children's books and picture books. There are hundreds of different non-realistic cartoon styles. Here are some examples:
Picture Books
Children's books are a great way to bring ideas to life with pictures. Some children's books consist of nothing but pictures. The visual images help children learn and understand the words of the story. Picture books are an important part of learning how to read, developing language and vocabulary skills.
The Illustrators are a graphic design and illustration company in Australia, specialising in children’s book illustration. See our latest children's book illustration styles here.
Comics
A comic book is made up of individual scenes (panels) of comic art. Panels are designed with a brief narrative and the dialogue is normally contained in speech balloons. Comics can be funny, dark or even weird. Many show captions so readers know what a character is saying or thinking. Here are some examples:
Commercial Art
Commercial art is used for advertising products, services and ideas. The primary goal is to drive sales and awareness. Artists design commercial art for logos, packaging, billboards and magazines. An illustrator will design the images for mass-production to help sell products and raise visibility.
Illustration has some advantages over photography: an artist can create a person or character who never existed, bring a dead person back to life or invent a fictional character. Illustration can simplify and explain confusing or complicated subjects. Here are some examples:
Artist: J. Budryte
Artist: Therese Larsson
Artist: The Illustrators
Artist: The Illustrators
Concept Art
Concept artists create original characters for advertising, video games and movies. They build worlds that are used to inspire the development of broadcast media and promotional material. Concept artists create preliminary artwork, graphic design and marketing material. Here are some examples:
Fantasy
Fantasy art is primarily used in fantasy books, book covers, games and movies. Fantasy art can portray gods, dragons, demons and magic. Fatasy artwork is often realistic and painterly. Here are some examples:
Fashion
Fashion illustration is drawing clothes and accessories for commercial use in the fashion industry. It is mainly used by fashion designers to preview and visualize their ideas. Fashion illustration is also used for advertising and in fashion magazines as part of an editorial feature. Here are some examples:
Fine art
Fine art is primarily created to express yourself rather than for commercial or practical purposes. Fine art involves creative expression and it may not have broad appeal or traditional beauty. It might convey an idea or an emotion. Here are some examples:
Artist: Rich McLean
Artist: Rich McLean
Artist: The Illustrators
Artist: The Illustrators
Line art
Line art is typically a black and white drawing with little or no solid areas, colour or background. Line art can be used by itself or in combination with other coloured images. You can find examples of line art in comic books and literature. Here are some examples:
Realism
Realism is realistic artwork that accurately depicts characters, perspectives and detail. Professional illustrators often paint realistic portraits on canvas. This is the most complex style of illustration and can take weeks or months to complete. See more of our realistic portraits here.
Retro
Retro is an art style that is derived from the recent past, sometimes referred to as vintage art from the 1940s and 1950s. A retro style has an old fashioned look and feel. Here are some examples :
