Keyframe Illustration Ideas: Push Past "Generic"

Check out my Free Illustration Mini Workshop where I share my journey from Amateur to Pro: www.thedrawingcodex.com/illus...
You will get some simple advice on how to get more detail and polish in your work. How to think about composition. And my thoughts on how to prepare for professional work.
This is Part 1 (Part 2 will be coming up next)
Being able to create a lot of thumbnails based on a single idea is an important skill. Not only for professional jobs, but also for coming up with ideas that are actually interesting.
To get beyond the initial generic concepts that are often floating on the surface of our mind.
One of the key ideas I often recommend is to set a quantity goal to help take the pressure off each individual idea.
And 20 is a good quantity to start with!
In creating these 20 thumbnails, here are some good frameworks: Let’s think of them in sets of five:
First Five - Generic Ideas: These are your initial thoughts, the most obvious concepts that first come to mind.
Next Five - Creativity Emerges: Here, you'll push past the obvious to explore more unique ideas as you start to run out of the easy options.
Third Set of Five - Exploring Further: At this stage, dive deeper into creativity, brainstorming to uncover ideas you haven't considered before. Think about using writing or other tools to explore things you might not have considered.
-Final Five - Pushing Boundaries: This is where true creativity is tested. Explore the most unconventional or 'art-house' ideas to fill these slots.
Remember, Quantity is a tool for creativity. Setting a goal of creating 20 thumbnails pushes you beyond the initial ideas. This approach can unearth more unique and varied concepts.
When presenting these thumbnails to to others (in professional environments, especially with clients), consider the following categories:
Generic Options: Start with familiar, recognizable designs that align with proven concepts.
Generic Plus 20% Spin: Mix generic concepts with a unique twist, adding about a 20% deviation from the norm.
Crazy, Out-of-the-Box Ideas: Finally, push for innovative and unusual concepts that showcase your full creative potential.
The principals of composition and picture making are time honoured and well understood. But figuring out how to apply them to your work right now is a challenge! Often we need to focus on the types of images we want to create and understand how things like compositional principals will help us specifically!
Happy Drawing!
Tim Mcburnie
Learn Drawing and Illustration from me: www.thedrawingcodex.com
Portfolio: www.timmcburnie.com
www.artstation.com/tim-mcburnie
timmcburnie
timmcburnie

[@TheDrawingCodex]

This is Part 1. Part 2 is coming soon. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions I can answer in the second half of these!

[@MrPaulowillians]

thank you!

[@solgast]

I appreciate the different approaches you have, Tim; the process is soothing. We have cook-alongs here on the tube and so much more. It is lovely to have draw-alongs like this. With the world today, more people need to slow down, be, and breathe. This is a perfect example of this. From voice, idea, and drawing process to concept to a more finished storyboard, it is wonderful to listen, watch, and have on the side of work. In my process, I lead with emotion and story; the next step is a form of surrender and acceptance of fully being in the moment and letting things flow with simple technical approaches to make space, so my intuition does not collide with any mental negative looping. 2 layers only, to keep things simple: a color and a light layer with 3 different brushes: a shape brush, a soft brush, and a rough brush. Thank you, Tim, for taking your time to deep dive further, asking the harder questions as to why and how, then going on to explain the multi-modal nature of it all. Something I have always resonated with deeply. The conscious effort have never really worked well for me tho. For me, it is the creative flow and attentiveness to it all through intuition, what naturally works best for me. With the acceptance of not knowing and walking through darkness, one can see the light more clearly.

[@DanielWillardson]

@@solgastcouldn’t agree more on slowing down and breathing. So many art videos art “quick tips” “hacks” or just edited in a way that focuses on engagement. It’s not a bad thing that those exist, a lot have great info. But I agree the slower pace of this is so refreshing

[@talyacold]

Planning and writing down ideas is super useful! I liked the 10th sketch the most 🙂 It would be very interesting to talk about the design of environments without characters (or when people and creatures are there just for realizing the size of objects). How do you think, this needs some references from real life for best result? Thanks in advance 🙌

[@Spiff210]

Did you modify the eraser ends on your pencils, or is that how they are sold? Looks like they've been pinched with pliers to get a stiffer and tapered eraser, perhaps?

[@Phoebeknz]

It still fascinates me how much extensive and in-depth knowledge you provide for free on KZbin. Truly a wonderful resource, much appreciated as always

[@DanielWillardson]

Something in this video I really appreciate as a fellow professional is your openness about how the process really feels. Making 20 thumbnails really does feel like you’re stretching the limits of your own creativity and that it’s normal and ok. So many videos ignore mentioning this and in the process the artists come off as these effortless gods who make art all day at no physical or mental cost to themselves. I find it really damaging to new artists and beginners, as well as veterans, who may feel like they aren’t creative enough when what they may be feeling throughout the process is so normal. So I just wanted to highlight that and thank you for your teaching style. It’s really refreshing and wonderfully paced.

[@squwiidp7244]

I cant really afford art school so having channels like yours at my disposal is truly a lifesaver, thanks so much for your content and time!

[@joemps]

These videos have been so helpful. You provide pieces of information that have me flabbergasted by what i'm capable off when i apply them to my work. Thank you for your service!

[@daze_0753]

it gets me every time that you have so much content in so high quality but not even 100k subscribers. Your work should get more attention for sure, but keep it up regardless, it's truly a incredible content that you provide for us!

[@Ahlra]

You bring so much motion line into your design from comic experience that could watch you draw quietly any time you thumbnail. Good content to work along with.

[@Erginartesia]

‘You’ve got to Art House it’ .. loved this video … loved the ‘do 20, push through the stage where you run out of steam’. Also love the ‘get through generic phase’ I’ve lived this, but never saw it as a strategy. I once had a pastel teach tell me “you always go through the ugly stage .. this is where you push through and it is magical on the other side.’ This is that idea taken to the next level. Thank you! Also, Picasso agreed with you.

[@amybaker5241]

Best thing I ever learned while in art school, thumbnails, thumbnails, thumbnails!

[@STFUppercut69]

Thank you for the tutorial! 2,5 hours of goody goodiness. No questions on the ideation process so far. You've explained everything wonderfully and I'm sure part 2 will be equally as good. What I'm more curious about and what you haven't covered all too much if at all so far, would be basic digital rendering. You focus on drawing and flat colors which are arguably the most important aspects, but how about maybe a video where you bring in some light and shadows to render the peace a little bit and talk about best practices when it comes to learning how to render. Your painting of the adventurer who meets the wizard in front of a big sleeping dragon comes to mind. I find the rendering on that artwork to be quite lovely. Thank you for everything you do!

[@kbob6980]

I love that your videos are pretty long. I always put them on my second monitor and draw with you :)

[@glenm2696]

Love it Tim! Thank you for sharing your process. Helped me immensely with my own. I appreciate you.

[@StevenKrueger]

I learned a new word today! "ideate" ī′dē-āt″ intransitive verb To form an idea of; imagine or conceive. To conceive mental images; think. Thank you for that and sharing your time and talent with us. 👍✏️✒️🖌🎨🌟🏆💯

[@lakasilum]

You talk abt building habits in the codex that you readily rely on and I find it sort of funny that I kinda have this pavlovian effect that everytime I hear your voice, I'm automatically in drawing mode. Much love Tim!

[@sarkany888]

The "how to shade a ball" tutorials are getting really cringe at this point. Finally, somebody diving into the real dilemmas and thought processes. Your info and the way you wrap it just plain elegance.

[@LukasDamgaard]

Really enjoy working with your videos playing on the other screen. Love the longer format videos - I would love to see in the next video, some suggestions on what a client prompt list could look like. Specific client needs/requirements to meet in the thumbnail concepting phase. Thanks !

[@mr.babichslessons7279]

YAY to the close up view!!!!! I love your work and often zoom in to see what’s happening! Awesome new kit! Thank you!

[@hommeburgersupreme]

really appreciate the leveling up you've done in terms of production for this video. Tim, you're an amazing resource

[@GingahSnapsArt]

This channel is an amazing resource. Thank you!!

[@fosc0g]

This was quite helpful! Before the video I was struggling with thumbnailing different ideas and thanks to the method you taught I could achieve the 20 you suggested :D Many thanks!

[@WinnettaChan]

super inspirational work! I love the style of calm, talking while you work and explaining your thoughts. You've inspired me to practice sketching keyframes

[@Sketchartofsanchez]

Very cool video's. Love seeing more creators put their knowledge out there! Awesome work too!

[@mitchellsink2584]

Love this. Probably one of my favorite videos of yours. I get a lot out of the thought and preparation that goes into an art piece.

[@gravez8593]

Great as always, we are all grateful for your work & insightful knowledge! Thank you!🙏🔥🎉

[@jetesouhaitepleindebonheur]

Your work is truly remarkable, I can't thank you with words only, the beginning of my art journey has great fondations thanks to your videos, keep up the good work and happy new year

[@cextheartist]

I was just thinking about thumbnails theese days and how, when I've used it, it helped to the final piece! Nice sinc! And thank you for the things you post here on youtube! thank you so much for it!

[@anthonywyndham]

Keep up the great work mate!

[@javiertejada9563]

It's been a while since I saw your work and I loved it... finding your channel has been a surprise!! Thank you very much for sharing all your knowledge...here is a new fan from Spain

[@Buddhabellie]

I have 10 in the bag on my project. Very helpful😊

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Awesome! Congrats

[@adibara]

thank you for this!

[@gator7537]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@AtHost98]

Concept art always looks cooler than what we see in the final game. I wonder if there’s a way to make it look more like concept art in game. Also this video will be helpful for me since I’m learning storyboarding so thanks. Also also I like your haircut

[@lionheart1019]

Woo hoo I just leveled up 👍

[@user-xy2qh8tg1v]

Thanks 🙏 U unbelievable 🔥💯

[@rixarraxor6392]

wow 2 horas, thanks a lot for this video y muchos saludos desde argentina

[@BDProductions34]

This is great stuff

[@artwhat..]

Hi Codex.. nice camera up grade. Hay, aren't you supposed to do the Loomis skeleton thing every episode,ha. Great lesson,Yessir 🥸

[@thehackingdom2868]

Could you please give me few advices/things to first focus on to get better at drawing human figures from imagination? I can draw human figures from reference pretty well and ik the names of muscles and their structure and stuff, I know how to break them down to simple cubes and cylinders and build them but whenever I try to draw from imagination it starts to look wonky and weird . Feels like I’m stuck here and I can’t see any progress no matter how many times I draw these with references ☹️

[@BreezyDefrag]

12:20 It's known as a cliché for a reason ^^ because it works. 32:00 I really enjoy using Clip Studio's Frame Templates. I have a couple one that is 8 per page, another that is 6 per page and It really helps to contain everything into a folder that can easily be collapsed. So also consider your program of choice if you do this digitally. 42:00 Never even thought about creating an object library right at hand... I typically use words to say what is there, but being a visual person can really be hard to convert the words to actual environment objects.

[@MegaPieru3000]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@DCUOMultiverse]

The process is simple enough..... 1. Pick up the Pencil 2. Sharpen the Pencil 3. Draw the pitchure. 4. Put the pencil down. 5. Collect your BiG Phat check. ;) ;)

[@cory99998]

I want to make more detailed scenes but its really hard to get started, I think building this muscle would help me a lot. Ideation is primarily where I struggle, so this would let me develop a visual library

[@koffeekage]

This is the first time ive seen someone use those pencils. Are those original or reproductions?

[@TheDrawingCodex]

They are pencils you can buy right now. Kind of expensive but readily available. I think that one is a Blackwing 602

[@malahamavet]

THANK YOU!!! we need beautiful public spaces, i never thought American train stations of all places would understand this... Brutalism ruined the urban landscape of my country and for building those aberrations they actually demolished the old town during communism so no wonder people associate it whith totalitarian enforcement, since it was used as such. And not even the housing stuff was worth it since living in one of those makes people feel like they're poor and indirectly poor people get the ugly stuff. To me this pretentious style is like a scar from the past that keeps hurting people's retinas and mood. It really affects your mood. I love being in Spain because is way easier to find all kinds of beautiful and practical buildings, modern and old, because like the Romans, the Spanish go outside most of the time thanks to their climate, so public spaces are always cosy and inviting. But when I visit my original country I actively avoid places whith the brutalist buildings as much as I can because it's just so uninviting and ugly and... brutal. The name is firing and we should get rid of it, like, even in survival games people dislike the basic noob square houses, and players try to at least put some care into their base even if they're starting, or they at least evolve past it and remake their houses, they don't take the noob base and say "you know what? this is actually pretty good" Thank you for pointing this out! this style deserves NO MERCY since it was mercilessly imposed and in many cases is built on the ruins of old beautiful buildings. it's not even that "modern'" anymore, like, get over your edgy phase grandpa, it's not the 60s anymore, you're not fooling me into thinking brutalism is new and revolutionary when most of its structures are already crumbling. In some countries they even have old bullet holes on them, sorry but no sorry, I'd rather live in an eastern European village if I have to live in a cheap home. No matter how poor I might get, I'll never go to a brutalist apartment. I'm greatfull for not having to and I feel bad for all the people who have no other choice

[@alexGonzalez-yd7rq]

please how can I improve on my drawings can you please give me some advice

[@alexGonzalez-yd7rq]

please I really need you're hlep I want to improve my drawings so I can find a job

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Check out many of the videos on the channel! There are a lot on basic drawing.

[@xandrepearcy449]

It amazes me that even talented people like this guy misunderstand what a thumbnail sketch is. Its not a detailed concept drawing. A thumbail is a small scribble before drawing a rough concept sketch or a more detailed drawing. Just want to put that out there in case any beginners are asked to thumbnail ideas for someone.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

That's one way the word has been used for sure. But in professional environments it is exactly what I am doing and sharing here. This is what is expected. If you get asked for thumbnails in my experience this is what you need to deliver. You should aim for clarity and add as much detail as you can provide at the sketch phase. Otherwise it's vague/unclear what the final image will be. You can do a rougher pass before this if it helps you understand the image better though. Unless I have an existing longer relationship with an art director and they have requested rougher sketches... I will try and provide even more detail than you see here as the first step. Anything else normally ends up with miscommunication and lost time as a rule. It's about a stage in the process not the actual size. Although I totally get what you are saying about the vernacular... The reality is that this is what it means in most cases as a deliverable.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Plus these sketches in the video are not detailed in my eyes. They are exactly as you mention... A small scribble before we move on.