How to create a vector Illustration

1. Give the drawing some simple colors

1.1. There are different styles, I personally prefer drawings without strokes

1.2. I generally choose a palette of colours and then I fill all the shapes with basic flat tones

2. Create shadows and highlights

2.1. Second step is creating some shadows and highlights

2.2. You have to think about where the light source is (in our case on the top right) and you should imagine what areas of the picture will be dark or light.

2.3. Here's my final result

3. Final tips: Searchin' for a style

3.1. There are plenty of styles out there

3.2. Find your own voice

3.3. Personally I like a pretty basic style, with some gradients when it's necessary, but you have to find out yours

4. Sketch an Idea on paper

4.1. A good digital illustration starts with a drawing on paper

4.2. Let's create the first sketch

4.3. Don't worry, you don't have to be Picasso to make a good illustration

5. Scan the illustration

5.1. You can use a good scanner

5.2. But you can use your smartphone too, my sketch has been digitalized using an iphone

5.3. The important thing is a good picture to trace

6. Trace your drawing

6.1. You can trace your picture in different ways, personally I trace all my drawings by hand, line by line, it's the only way I can be as precise as I want

6.2. So I cut and paste my picture into illustrator and I use the Pen tool to do the dirty job

6.3. Here's my trace