Hey there! I’m Ever, and I create stick figure illustrations and animations for MinuteEarth. Have you ever wondered how digital drawings are made? When people see cool images like a Mushroom Cloud or a LionFish, they might think it’s magic. But there’s actually a lot of interesting technology behind it!
All the digital illustrations for MinuteEarth are created using Adobe Photoshop. If you’ve ever used Microsoft Paint, you’ll find Photoshop somewhat similar. In Paint, you can draw freely, change the pencil’s thickness and color, fill in areas, erase mistakes, zoom in and out, and even create perfect shapes. With enough practice, you can make pixel art, which is like digital cross-stitching!
When you draw pixel by pixel, it takes a lot of time, and the images can look “pixelated” when zoomed in. These images are called raster graphics. On the other hand, vector graphics are different. No matter how much you zoom in, they never get pixelated. You can create vector graphics using software like Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape, and even PowerPoint. Vector graphics are great because you can resize them without losing quality, change shapes, rotate them, and add cool effects like gradients and curves.
While vector drawings have a clean and simple look, they’re not the best for detailed paintings. For digital painting, artists often use a graphics tablet because it’s faster and more comfortable than a mouse. Popular software for digital painting includes Corel Painter, Krita, and especially Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is amazing because it can adjust brush size, opacity, and color based on how hard you press the pen on the tablet. This is still raster graphics, but thanks to anti-aliasing, you won’t see those jagged edges.
One of the coolest things about Photoshop is working with layers. You can sketch your idea in one layer, draw the final lines in another, and then add colors in yet another layer. This way, you can easily make changes without affecting the whole drawing.
Let’s make your drawing even better! You can add shadows by creating a new layer and turning it into a clipping mask. This allows you to draw only on top of the existing colors. Change the layer’s blending mode to multiply and reduce the opacity to create realistic shadows.
Next, create a new layer for the background. Use the gradient tool to add beautiful blues with a circular gradient for a nice effect. Finally, add another layer for rain using a light blue color and change its blending mode to overlay. Make any necessary adjustments, and there you have it—a cool and simple drawing perfect for a MinuteEarth video!
Thanks for learning with me! I hope you enjoyed discovering the basics of digital illustration. See you next time!
Use a digital drawing tool like Adobe Photoshop or Inkscape to create two simple images: one using raster graphics and the other using vector graphics. Zoom in on both images and observe the differences. Discuss with your classmates why vector graphics maintain quality when resized.
Try using a graphics tablet with software like Krita or Adobe Photoshop. Experiment with different brush sizes and opacity settings to create a simple digital painting. Focus on how pressure sensitivity affects your brush strokes.
Open Adobe Photoshop and practice using layers by sketching a simple drawing. Add layers for outlines, colors, and shadows. Experiment with blending modes and opacity to see how they affect your artwork.
Use Adobe Illustrator or a similar tool to create a vector graphic. Start with basic shapes and use the pen tool to create more complex designs. Practice resizing your graphic to see how it maintains quality.
Using a simple animation tool, create a short stick figure animation. Focus on keyframes and transitions to bring your stick figure to life. Share your animation with the class and discuss the challenges you faced.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi! This is Ever. I create stick figure illustrations and animations for MinuteEarth, and I’ve noticed that many people are unfamiliar with how digital drawing is created. When they see things like this [Mushroom Clouds Wallpaper] or this [LionFish Wallpaper], they might think it’s done with magic. But that’s not the case—at least not entirely.
These drawings, along with all the digital illustrations for MinuteEarth, are made in Adobe Photoshop, which is a software similar in principle to Microsoft Paint. If you’re familiar with Paint, you know that you can draw freely, change the pencil’s thickness and color, fill closed regions, erase, zoom in and out, and create perfect shapes if your hand shakes too much! With enough time and patience, you can create pixel art, which is the digital version of cross-stitching (which is also very fun!).
While you could paint pixel by pixel to create your drawings, it would take a lot of time. Additionally, pixel art has a “pixelated” appearance, and if you zoom in enough, you’ll clearly see those pixels. Images made up of pixels are known as raster graphics.
In contrast, we have vector graphics, which won’t become pixelated no matter how much you zoom in. You can create vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Inkscape, and even in PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows for basic vector illustrations, provided you adjust the default colors. With vector graphics, you can scale without losing quality, change shapes, rotate them, add gradients, create polygons, edit them, and even make fancy curves. While PowerPoint isn’t the best tool for vector graphics, you get the idea.
Vector drawings generally have a clean, flat, minimalistic look. While you can create paintings with vectors, it’s not the most efficient process because vectors aren’t designed for complex gradients, textures, or realism, and digital painting typically requires a graphics tablet. You can paint with a mouse, but using a graphics tablet is faster and more comfortable.
Digital artists use a variety of software for painting, such as Corel Painter or Krita, but the most popular is Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop can utilize pen pressure to adjust brush size, opacity, scattering, color, and even shape! This is still raster graphics, but you won’t get those jagged edges thanks to anti-aliasing. You can add gradients, vectors, text, edit photos, and much more.
One of the coolest features in Photoshop is the ability to draw in different layers. This means you can create a sketch in one layer and use it as a guide to draw the line art in another layer, then hide the sketch and add color in another layer.
This is a pretty cute drawing already, but let’s enhance it! You can add shadows by creating a new layer and turning it into a clipping mask, allowing you to draw only on top of the color. Change the layer’s blending mode to multiply and reduce the opacity. Erase any excess, pick black, and create shadows.
Next, create a new layer for the background, select the gradient tool, and customize it with beautiful blues. Choose a circular gradient for a nice background. Finally, create another layer and use a light blue for the rain. Change its blending mode to overlay. Make any necessary adjustments, and there you go! A cool, simple, and great thumbnail for a MinuteEarth video! See you next time!
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Digital – Relating to technology that uses discrete values, often represented by binary code, to process and store data. – Digital art allows artists to create stunning visuals using computers and software.
Illustration – A visual representation or image created to explain or decorate a text. – The book’s illustration helped readers visualize the story’s characters and settings.
Graphics – Visual elements or images used in print or digital media to convey information or enhance design. – The video game’s graphics were so realistic that players felt immersed in the virtual world.
Photoshop – A software application used for editing and creating images and graphics. – She used Photoshop to enhance the colors and details in her digital artwork.
Vector – A type of graphic that uses mathematical equations to create images that can be scaled without losing quality. – Vector graphics are ideal for logos because they can be resized without becoming pixelated.
Raster – A type of graphic composed of a grid of pixels, often used for detailed images like photographs. – Raster images can lose quality when enlarged, unlike vector graphics.
Painting – The practice of applying pigment to a surface to create an artwork. – Digital painting allows artists to experiment with colors and techniques without the mess of traditional paints.
Layers – Separate levels in a digital image editing program that allow for individual manipulation of elements. – By using layers, the artist could adjust the background without affecting the main subject of the image.
Tools – Features or instruments in software that assist in creating or editing digital art. – The drawing tools in the software include brushes, pencils, and erasers to help artists create their work.
Art – The expression or application of human creativity and imagination, often in visual forms like painting or sculpture. – Art can be a powerful way to communicate emotions and ideas without words.
