In this exercise, I will produce an illustration for use on the menu of a sophisticated, quality fish restaurant.  The menu uses fresh ingredients, and the restaurant’s ambience is modern, bright, and contemporary in design.  Although I will use the image at a small size on the actual menu, the restaurant would be interested in also using the image as a logo on their stationery and vans.  I will create the artwork on a large scale, but the finished design will be 40mm x 40mm.

1.    Spider diagram

I started with a spider diagram and jotted down some ideas while reading the brief a few times.  The illustration needs to be contemporary, simple, and sophisticated.  Words like “blue and white” and “line drawing” came to mind.  I still want the illustration to be warm and inviting and not a corporate company logo, so I don’t want to simplify it too much.  I can simplify the design either by extracting detail or by removing colour.

Further, I brainstormed ideas for the subject matter of the illustration.  I wrote down all the different types of seafood and seafood dishes the restaurant might have on the menu.  I decided on a restaurant in Paris, and because it is an upmarket restaurant, crayfish would be a sought-after dish.  Lobster thermidor could be the restaurant’s signature dish.  The restaurant would also have good wine and use fresh herbs, so I also brainstormed those ideas.  I was now ready to look at some pictures and reference materials to create a moodboard.

2.    Moodboard

I now know precisely what images to search for my moodboard.  I looked at wine bottle designs, pictures of herbs, seafood, seafood dishes and specific fishes used in French dishes.  I also looked at different illustrators who use one colour to design food and use lines-only to illustrate.  I am exploring how illustrators use line weights and marks for line drawings.  The illustrations on wine bottles appeal to me, and I investigated further to find more designs to inspire me.

3.    Sketchbook

By now, I had a good idea what this illustration should look like, but will it work on paper?  My first sketch was a round design with a codfish in the middle.  I especially looked at scientific illustrations of a codfish because a line drawing would work well in blue on white paper.  I consider nautical symbols, but once I’ve put it down on paper, it did not look right for an upmarket fish restaurant and appeared too casual.  Waves was another idea that seemed out of place once I had sketched it, which made the illustration look more like a beach scene instead of food.  

I played around with shapes and patterns, and in the end, I liked the oval shape that complimented the outlines of the lobster.  I decided to use lobster as it is a luxury food choice fitting for an upmarket restaurant and visually interesting.  Herbs, lemons, and capers work well in this illustration, and the lines give the drawing a warm feel by creating mid-tones.  Once I decided on the composition, I made the final thumbnail with the correct proportion and spacing.  I ensured that the sketch was 100% accurate before starting with the finished piece.

4.    Materials and work in progress

I have decided to use an acrylic 0.7mm pin pen in blue to do this illustration.  I used the same blue in a brush pen.  The acrylic is opaque and has given me a beautiful, consistent solid line.  I used the brush at the end to shade larger areas.  My paper of choice was 200gsm Bristol paper in smooth, bright white.  I wanted the maximum contrast between the blue and white and soft application without bleeding.

First, I transferred the sketch to the Bristol paper using graphite paper and then did the outline of the drawing.  I then started doing the shading and line details.  Although I am pleased with this inking method (or painting), next time, I will consider going straight into shading without doing the outline first. This could give me exciting contrasts.  I do think the outlines worked well for this specific illustration.

5.    The finished piece

Once I had completed the piece, I scanned it into Adobe Illustrator to do an Image Trace and convert the illustration to a vector image and transparent background.  I did this to size the image to a small size without losing its quality.

Once the image was in vector, I added some text to finish the illustration.  I have used the name “Seafood Restaurant” for the sake of this exercise.  I used Adobe fonts, Essonnes and Galvji.

Now I can resize the image and make mockups as I please without losing the quality of the illustration.

Overall, this exercise went much smoother than the previous exercise.  I made sure my composition and ideas were well established before starting with the final piece.  I will continue doing this for future projects.