My Process

A behind-the-scenes look at how a single character illustration comes together — from the first spark of story to the final rendered piece.

People often ask how a finished illustration comes to life — whether it starts with a sketch, a photo reference, or just imagination. The truth is, it’s a long, hands-on process with several distinct stages, and I wanted to pull back the curtain and walk you through exactly how I work, start to finish.

1. Story & Concept

I usually start from a story, because every image has one.
I try to understand what happens in it, what the characters are doing, feeling, how they are reacting to what is happening around them.
It may be action, or it may be a relaxed scene — the process is always the same.

2. Reference Photography

Then I take my mannequins, the black box, the LED lights, and my cellphone, and I start studying the composition, the movement, depth, and lighting — everything that can give my image the narration I, or my client, have in mind.

I take several photos from different angles and with different lighting setups — often more than a hundred — then I send them to my computer.

3. The Sketch Phase & Colour Blocking

It’s now time to pass to the “sketch phase,” which for me is more about colour blocking.

Sometimes I manage to do a little more, but usually this is a very ugly phase.

4. Building the Reference Sheet

It’s now time for my favourite phase: preparing the reference sheet.

I like to have documentation on every element so I can aim to a certain level of realism.

It is also time to take references for the hands, if necessary.
I use EasySelfie to take pictures of my hands.

5. Rendering, Piece by Piece

Now I’ll start rendering every part separately, so I can work at a bigger resolution without slowing down the process.

For the clothes I like to draw the pattern myself

The rendering phase can take days for every element,

and I may decide some elements just have to be changed

(those feathers looked nice on the reference bird, but terrible on the creature. At a certain point you have to accept something is better to be redone, than trying to make it works)

6. Final Touches

Then there’s just one last step: checking the values and painting in the special effects.

7. The Final Result

And after all of that — story, reference photography, sketching, rendering, and final touches — we have the final result.

Want a Piece of Your Own?

Every illustration I create goes through this same process — story first, then reference, then hours of hands-on rendering. No shortcuts, no AI, just craft. If you have a character, creature, or scene you’d like brought to life this way, I’d love to hear about it.

→ Visit my Commission page to get started.