How To Create Dramatic Vector Illustrations

I have been drawing desktop wallpapers for Smashing Magazine’s monthly collections for over a year now, and every time it’s a very fun and challenging mission. In this article, I would like to share how I approach all stages of the process and provide general techniques for creating vector illustrations in Adobe Illustrator. Hopefully, you will find these techniques useful.

The idea for “Understand Yourself” derived from my curiosity about the future relationship between robots and human beings (artificial intelligence has become a thing recently). How would a robot go about understanding human emotions? By doing the same things that people do, of course. Hence, a pensive robot staring at the sunset.

Let’s take a closer look at it and see how it was made.

Things To Consider Before Getting Started
Resolution. Although vector artwork is scalable without compromising quality, you have to decide on the ratio. I prefer 4:3 and 16:9 because these are fairly common standards for most screens. Also, bear in mind that, despite the perfect scalability of vector graphics, working with curve anchors and colors in small areas is sometimes onerous.
Composition. Rules are made for breaking. But we should know which are supposed to get broken, right? One that I really like is the rule of thirds. It is easy and it works well. The key idea is that main objects should be located at the intersections of the grid lines. If you are willing to learn more about composition, I can’t recommend anything better than the book Framed Ink.
Depth. To make an illustration look more natural, create depth. You can achieve this by placing some objects closer to the viewer and some farther.
Framing. Don’t fret that some of your artwork will get trimmed; account for it while drawing. The rule of thumb is to think of your illustration as a clipping from a much bigger picture. While drawing, don’t try to squeeze all objects into the canvas; let them hang out. This is even more relevant if you are planning to turn your artwork into a wallpaper with multiple versions.
Detail. Adding detail is a great way to make your illustration more attractive. The more thorough the work is, the more one will want to explore it, and the more truthful it will look. On the other hand, adding detail might (and most of the times does) take a lot more time than creating a decent illustration that you are satisfied with.
Perfection. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. There is always someone (future you, as well) who is better at composition and coloring. Your drawing won’t be flawless, and over time you will notice a lot of things you didn’t pay attention to or just missed. At the same time, the only way to learn something is to make mistakes. That’s how it works.