Adobe Photoshop used to hold the top spot for digital illustration software. Other options were available, but often were a matter of budget because no other software came close to the capabilities of PS. But then Procreate changed the game in 2011 and digital illustration has never been the same.

Sometimes, as an artist, you have a lot of ideas swirling around in your head, but it can feel overwhelming to organize them. That’s where mind mapping comes in. A mind map is a simple tool that helps you visually organize your thoughts. It can turn abstract ideas into clear, workable concepts.

Have you ever looked at something ordinary and suddenly noticed how beautiful or interesting it is? That’s the power of observation. For artists, developing this skill can be a game-changer. The world is full of inspiration, but it’s easy to miss when rushing through life or distracted by screens. By practicing mindfulness and sharpening your observational skills, you can find endless ideas for your art in everyday life. Let’s explore how to do this.

Fear of failure is something almost every artist struggles with at some point. You might worry that your work isn’t good enough, that others will judge it, or that you’ll never meet your expectations. This fear can stop you from creating altogether.

When people think about creativity, they often imagine total freedom—no rules, no boundaries, just endless possibilities. But sometimes, too much freedom can feel overwhelming. You might stare at a blank page or canvas and not know where to start. That’s where constraints come in.

Illustration degrees are becoming more popular at universities and colleges, which is a cool development for those of us in the field who love to see illustration get a fair representation in the visual arts canon! If you’re interested in pursuing an illustration degree, there are many career paths you can choose from, some of which you might not expect.

I’ve written before about how I worked in the print finishing industry after I graduated from art school. It was an eye-opening experience that I still lean on when working on my creative projects (or helping other artists with theirs!) Sometimes, printing feels intimidating. We have the art and the ideas, but we don’t know how to execute it! Well, I’ve got you covered with some advice in this list of five things you probably didn’t know about the printing industry.

It's the season of New Year Resolutions, but if there’s one thing we’ve heard again and again, it’s that New Year Resolutions don’t work. However, I think they can work as long as we are clever in setting and meeting our goals! If you are interested in starting the year with some art resolutions, here are five ways you can gamify your art goals for a greater chance of success.

Whether or not you believe in the power of New Year’s Resolutions, I think it’s a great time to reflect on your art practice and prepare for the year ahead. If you want to try setting a few art-related resolutions, the key is to be clever about them so they actually get done. Here is how you can set art resolutions for your New Year.

How do you self-start a project that will appeal to clients, show off your best work, and highlight your strengths and interests? That’s what we’re talking about today on the blog. This is my process for coming up with a self-started illustration portfolio piece.

I’m working on clarifying my illustration portfolio so I can get the kind of work I REALLY want! And as I do that, I’m learning a lot about portfolios that I’m going to share with you here on the blog. Here are ten tips for clarifying your illustration portfolio to get the work you want.

Today on the blog we are continuing the theme from yesterday - designing character concepts for your story project. Now, I mostly focus on comics and graphic novels but I daresay the same tools and techniques can apply to things like animation and video games, too! Give this exercise a try.

The concept art stage of any long-form story project (animation, graphic novel, Webtoon, etc) is especially important. This is the planning stage where you decide on the visual look of your work, the physical appearance of your vehicle through the story and the world they live in. Here are three examples of great character concept art from the pros and what you can learn from them.

Scripting for comics can be a bit challenging. Unlike scripts for other media (like films, plays, or animation), movement through the scene can not be implied throughout the page. You have to break down each instant that’s captured within the panels, like snapshots, and be careful not to overload them. Here are five tips to keep in mind that will help you have successful scripts.

Writing an outline is an important step in making comics and graphic novels. It ensures you have all the details of the plot arcs and character arcs sorted out. And it ensures you have a compelling story told how you want it to be! It is important to ensure you have all the elements of good storytelling. Here are five steps you should follow to make sure your outline is perfectly crafted and ready to go.

In my post on Essential Skills for Making Comics, I mentioned that teaching graphic novel courses is one of my favourite things to do. Graphic novels and comics are challenging mediums to tackle because they exist at the intersection of many different skills! If you want to start making comics, this breakdown of all the steps you need to consider might be a good place to start.

One of my favourite parts of being an art student was being surrounded by fellow creatives every day I was on campus. Classmates, technicians, instructors - we were all creative people doing creative things. I miss the ease with which that creative community came together, but it’s not impossible to make your OWN creative community! Here are three reasons it may be a good idea to try.

My favourite class to teach is The Graphic Novel. Often, my students are brand new to the craft. Maybe they are a writer, an illustrator, often both! But combining those skills into a graphic novel is a whole new beast. You can expect many more posts about the skills for graphic novels coming up on the blog, including advice from beginner to advanced, but to start off, here are five essential skills you need to make a graphic novel.

If you are new to using Procreate as a digital illustration tool for creating characters, this step-by-step guide will walk you through an easy process. I use this process for each of my characters, and I design hundreds of them! And each step uses ONLY default Procreate tools and features, so no fancy brushes or extra software is required!

I’m primarily a digital illustrator these days, but that wasn’t always the case. My iPad changed everything because I could finally make the kind of art everywhere I went that suited the style idea I had in my head for comics. Still, I love using traditional tools, like markers, pencil crayons, watercolour and gouache, when I want to get messy. But which is better, digital or traditional illustration? Let’s bust some myths!