Composition For Illustrators: Expressing Ideas With Story, Structure and Style

Composition is SO important to learn as illustrators, but for many of us, it is also SO confusing and hard to put into action in our own work! I made this class to help illustrators learn how composition works, and specifically, how you can USE this understanding to make more outstanding compositions in YOUR OWN work!
 

What You Will Learn

• HOW COMPOSITION WORKS for illustrators working in a flatter, graphic style
• Why some principles are COMPLETELY USELESS!
• Which principles are the most ACTIONABLE
• How to use 2 SIMPLE GRIDS to give your compositions more structure
• Just 6 COMPOSITION TYPES to use as starting points
   

And of course, you’ll get to put it all together in a JUICY PROJECT — a series of 6 ILLUSTRATED POSTAGE STAMPS based on the theme and country of your choice! It’s a very challenging project but there’s absolutely NO way to learn composition except by trying it with your hands in a very specific way.

There really is no class like this one — which aims to teach composition in the most ACTIONABLE way possible. My goal is to show you how the principles work in a more universal sense, but also to guide you

in how to use them in your own personal way.
 

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MORE CLASS DETAILS

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What is the Class Project?

• Create a series of 6 illustrated postage stamps
• The stamps are based on the country and theme of your choice
• You will use the Six Types of Compositions taught in the class to tell the story of your country/theme in 6 different ways
• Follow along with me or use your own style/techniques/tools
• This is an INTENSIVE project. Prepare to go deep with this one!
   

What does the Class Include?

• PRIMER - Key insights about Aspirational, Actionable and Structural principles of composition.
• SIX COMPOSITION TYPES - An introduction to 6 popular compositional approaches that can help you come up with more ideas and tell stories in more creative ways.
• EXERCISES - Each lesson concludes with an opportunity to "TRY THIS" — putting what you learned in the lesson to the test.
• PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL - Learn the basic techniques and brushes I use to create my stamps in the project demo.
• MOCKUP TUTORIALS - Learn how to use the provided Stamp Mockup files in Photoshop and Procreate
• The PROJECT - (see above section)

What Resources are Included as Free Downloads?

• Harmonic Armatures grid (PNG and EPS)
• Rule of Thirds grid (PNG and EPS)
• Stamp Mockup files (PSD and Procreate)
• Thumbnailing Template (PSD and Procreate)
• Refined Sketch Template (PSD and Procreate)
• Final Art Template (PSD and Procreate)

Why Take This Class?

• You want to make sense of the principles of art and design
• You want to learn how to use composition to tell better stories and have stronger ideas in your art
• You want to learn how composition relates specifically to illustration
• You want to learn quick starting points for ideas and compositions
• You want to learn how work in a flatter, graphic style of illustration (rather than 3D or realistic)

Who is This Class For?

• Beginning illustrators looking to learn the basics of composition
• Anyone looking to learn about composition for flat/graphic style illustration

Prerequisites

To get the most out of this class you should have the following experience/skills:

• Some experience with illustration, either as a student or professionally
• Basic skills in illustration software, such as Procreate, Photoshop, Fresco, Adobe Illustrator, Clip Studio, etc.

Materials/Resources

To complete the class project, you will need the following materials/resources:

• Sketchbook/pencil or digital equivalent.
• An illustration app on your computer or tablet, such as Photoshop, Procreate or Fresco.

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CLASS CREDITS

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Class Editing

Huge thanks to my video editor, Mark Allan Falk, for his hard work and patience (and fantastic skills) throughout this project.

Script Reviewers

Thank you so much to the following kind souls who reviewed my very long early manuscript for this class.

• Nicola Balkind
• Endriu Gilbert
• Lucy Lambriex
• Siobhan Twomey
• Jutta Schneider

Example Illustrations (Copyright Information)

I have used many illustrations from many illustrators and artists to help students visualize the various principles that I am teaching in this class. There are so many amazing illustrations here that it was not possible to secure permission for every single one of them before publishing this class. However, I believe my specific usage here falls under Fair Use under international copyright law, as follows:

1. The works have been included in the class for educational purposes, to exemplify the principles being taught.
2. The works are clearly contextualized as such examples and not used to as illustrations in their own right. In this sense the use is Transformative, according to The International Copyright Alliance.
3. The works are always displayed alongside the artist/author name.
4. The work is shown in a favourable light

Artists are listed below under the respective lesson titles in which they appear. If you are one of the named artists and would like to see your work as used (but are not a Skillshare member), please let me know, and I will give you access to the video. If you would like to request removal of your image(s) from my class slides, please contact me at hello@tomfroese.com, and I will do so immediately.

All images are copyright of their respective authors/creators.

WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

• Yasuo-Range
• Zebu
• Daniel Salmieri
• Pam Wishbow

DON'T COMPETE WITH YOUR CAMERA

• Laura Jean Allen
• Anderson Design Group
• Grace Helmer
• Sophie Gogishvili
• Fagostudio
• Cruschiform
• Thomas Campi
• Chris Van Allsberg
• Karlotta Freier
• Herbert Green / Rachel Cocker
• Ryo Takemasa
• Laura Simonati
• Roman Muradov
• Scotty Gillespie
• Giacomo Bagnara
• Martcellia Liunic
• Eight Hour Day
• The Printed Peanut
• Klas Fahlen
• Sara Boccaccini Meadows
• Peter Donnelly
• Miroslav Sasek* (Typo in Slide)

ASPIRATIONAL PRINCIPLES

• Irene Rinaldi
• S. Neil Fujita
• Henri Matisse
• Paul Rand
• Max Kisman
• Craig Frazier
• Keith Negley
• Ophelia Pang
• A.M. Cassandre
• Francesco Ciccolella
• Samuel Earp
• Ed Cheverton
• Lab Partners

ACTIONABLE PRINCIPLES

• Adrian Johnson
• Virginie Morgand
• Richard Vergez
• Laura Liedo
• Stephanie Wunderlich
• Antti Kalevi
• Maria Picasso I Piquer
• Dorothy Siemens
• Geoff McFetridge
• Martin Azambuja
• Lisa Congdon
• Andrew Holder
• Noemie Cedille
• Mauro Bubbico
• Paul Thurlby
• Charlotte Trounce
• Shutterstock
• William Benson
• Kohei Shioi
• Miroslav Sasek
• Carpenter Collective
• Benoit Tardif
• Ryo Takemasa
• Hiroshi Nagai
• Luzi
• Tom Clohosy Cole
• Spencer Gabor
• Alberto Lot
• iStock
• Loris Lora
• Ben Wiseman
• Rebecca Green
• Malika Favre
• Noma Bar
• Francesco Ciccolella
• Emiliano Ponzi
• Cecile Gariepy
• Georges Remi
• Lora Lamm
• Hacco
• Alvin Tresselt
• Christoph Niemann
• Jen Leem-Bruggen
• Herbert Leupin
• Marijke Buurlage

STRUCTURAL

• Sebastian Curi
• Kento Iida
• Giovanna Giuliano
• Miroslav Sasek
• Paul Rand
• Paula Rusu
• Raymond Biesinger
• Spencer Gabor
• Andrew Holder

THE SIX TYPES

• Catherine Pape
• Masao Takahata
• Cyrus Highsmith
• Kyoko Nemoto
• Bojan Oreskovic
• Floor Rehbach
• Antti Kalevi
• Lan Truong
• Tess Smith-Roberts
• Monika Forsberg
• Tisha Lee
• Tara Deacon
• Gisele Murias
• Marcus Oakley
• Agostino Iacurci
• Tersa Bellon
• Harriet Seed
• The Printed Peanut
• Anna Kovecses
• Vincent Mathy
• Clover Robin
• Andy J. Pizza
• Rosendals tradgard
• Mariso Schoen
• Abbey Lossing
• Oleh Haramov
• Sjoerd Van Leeuwen
• Lo Cole
• Tang Yau Hoong
• Ariel Lee
• Catarina Sobra
• Sam Kalda
• Kati Szilagyi
• Emil Wikstrom
• Doublenaut
• Yiffy Gu
• Lena Yokoyama
• Hedof Studio
• Cari Vander Yacht
• Raul Soria
• Beatrix Hatcher
• Fonzy Nils

PROJECT INTRO

• Carpenter Collective
• ç½ ææ
• Asahi Nagata
• Ethan Fender
• Sara Tomate

FLAT LAY

• Paul Rand
• Amelie Fontaine

B Roll and Supporting Imagery

• Ruvim Miksanskiy (Forest drone shot video)
• Suzy Hazelwood (Record player video)
• Dmitry Varennikov (Stars in night sky video)
• Luz Calor Som (Galaxy video)
• BJ Zurc (iPhone in the Sunset video)
• Tima Miroshnichenko (Young woman with architecture drawings video)
• Tima Miroshnichenko (Female painter thinking in studio video)
• Kęstutis Paškevičius (Flying over field toward forest video)
• Yaroslav Shuraev (Female artist with drawing board)
• Sasha Kim (Young woman illustrating plant with tablet video)
• Amina Filkins (Flower arranging videos)
• Antoni Shkraba (Couple seated in art gallery video)
• Sirisvideo (French apartment exterior photo)
• Thao LEE (Karate on the beach photo)