Composition is SO important to learn as illustrators, but for many of us, it is also SO confusing and hard to put into action in our own work! I made this class to help illustrators learn how composition works, and specifically, how you can USE this understanding to make more outstanding compositions in YOUR OWN work!

What You Will Learn

HOW COMPOSITION WORKS for illustrators working in a flatter, graphic style
Why some principles are COMPLETELY USELESS!
Which principles are the most ACTIONABLE
How to use 2 SIMPLE GRIDS to give your compositions more structure
Just 6 COMPOSITION TYPES to use as starting points

And of course, you’ll get to put it all together in a JUICY PROJECT — a series of 6 ILLUSTRATED POSTAGE STAMPS based on the theme and country of your choice! It’s a very challenging project but there’s absolutely NO way to learn composition except by trying it with your hands in a very specific way.

There really is no class like this one — which aims to teach composition in the most ACTIONABLE way possible. My goal is to show you how the principles work in a more universal sense, but also to guide you

in how to use them in your own personal way.

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MORE CLASS DETAILS

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What is the Class Project?

Create a series of 6 illustrated postage stamps
The stamps are based on the country and theme of your choice
You will use the Six Types of Compositions taught in the class to tell the story of your country/theme in 6 different ways
Follow along with me or use your own style/techniques/tools
This is an INTENSIVE project. Prepare to go deep with this one!

What does the Class Include?

PRIMER - Key insights about Aspirational, Actionable and Structural principles of composition.
SIX COMPOSITION TYPES - An introduction to 6 popular compositional approaches that can help you come up with more ideas and tell stories in more creative ways.
EXERCISES - Each lesson concludes with an opportunity to "TRY THIS" — putting what you learned in the lesson to the test.
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIAL - Learn the basic techniques and brushes I use to create my stamps in the project demo.
MOCKUP TUTORIALS - Learn how to use the provided Stamp Mockup files in Photoshop and Procreate
The PROJECT - (see above section)

What Resources are Included as Free Downloads?

Harmonic Armatures grid (PNG and EPS)
Rule of Thirds grid (PNG and EPS)
Stamp Mockup files (PSD and Procreate)
Thumbnailing Template (PSD and Procreate)
Refined Sketch Template (PSD and Procreate)
Final Art Template (PSD and Procreate)

Why Take This Class?

You want to make sense of the principles of art and design
You want to learn how to use composition to tell better stories and have stronger ideas in your art
You want to learn how composition relates specifically to illustration
You want to learn quick starting points for ideas and compositions
You want to learn how work in a flatter, graphic style of illustration (rather than 3D or realistic)

Who is This Class For?

Beginning illustrators looking to learn the basics of composition
Anyone looking to learn about composition for flat/graphic style illustration

Prerequisites

To get the most out of this class you should have the following experience/skills:

Some experience with illustration, either as a student or professionally
Basic skills in illustration software, such as Procreate, Photoshop, Fresco, Adobe Illustrator, Clip Studio, etc.

Materials/Resources

To complete the class project, you will need the following materials/resources:

Sketchbook/pencil or digital equivalent.
An illustration app on your computer or tablet, such as Photoshop, Procreate or Fresco.

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CLASS CREDITS

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Class Editing

Huge thanks to my video editor, Mark Allan Falk, for his hard work and patience (and fantastic skills) throughout this project.

Script Reviewers

Thank you so much to the following kind souls who reviewed my very long early manuscript for this class.

Nicola Balkind
Endriu Gilbert
Lucy Lambriex
Siobhan Twomey
Jutta Schneider

Example Illustrations (Copyright Information)

I have used many illustrations from many illustrators and artists to help students visualize the various principles that I am teaching in this class. There are so many amazing illustrations here that it was not possible to secure permission for every single one of them before publishing this class. However, I believe my specific usage here falls under Fair Use under international copyright law, as follows:

The works have been included in the class for educational purposes, to exemplify the principles being taught.
The works are clearly contextualized as such examples and not used to as illustrations in their own right. In this sense the use is Transformative, according to The International Copyright Alliance.
The works are always displayed alongside the artist/author name.
The work is shown in a favourable light

Artists are listed below under the respective lesson titles in which they appear. If you are one of the named artists and would like to see your work as used (but are not a Skillshare member), please let me know, and I will give you access to the video. If you would like to request removal of your image(s) from my class slides, please contact me at hello@tomfroese.com, and I will do so immediately.

All images are copyright of their respective authors/creators.

WHAT IS COMPOSITION?

Yasuo-Range
Zebu
Daniel Salmieri
Pam Wishbow

DON'T COMPETE WITH YOUR CAMERA

Laura Jean Allen
Anderson Design Group
Grace Helmer
Sophie Gogishvili
Fagostudio
Cruschiform
Thomas Campi
Chris Van Allsberg
Karlotta Freier
Herbert Green / Rachel Cocker
Ryo Takemasa
Laura Simonati
Roman Muradov
Scotty Gillespie
Giacomo Bagnara
Martcellia Liunic
Eight Hour Day
The Printed Peanut
Klas Fahlen
Sara Boccaccini Meadows
Peter Donnelly
Miroslav Sasek* (Typo in Slide)

ASPIRATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Irene Rinaldi
S. Neil Fujita
Henri Matisse
Paul Rand
Max Kisman
Craig Frazier
Keith Negley
Ophelia Pang
A.M. Cassandre
Francesco Ciccolella
Samuel Earp
Ed Cheverton
Lab Partners

ACTIONABLE PRINCIPLES

Adrian Johnson
Virginie Morgand
Richard Vergez
Laura Liedo
Stephanie Wunderlich
Antti Kalevi
Maria Picasso I Piquer
Dorothy Siemens
Geoff McFetridge
Martin Azambuja
Lisa Congdon
Andrew Holder
Noemie Cedille
Mauro Bubbico
Paul Thurlby
Charlotte Trounce
Shutterstock
William Benson
Kohei Shioi
Miroslav Sasek
Carpenter Collective
Benoit Tardif
Ryo Takemasa
Hiroshi Nagai
Luzi
Tom Clohosy Cole
Spencer Gabor
Alberto Lot
iStock
Loris Lora
Ben Wiseman
Rebecca Green
Malika Favre
Noma Bar
Francesco Ciccolella
Emiliano Ponzi
Cecile Gariepy
Georges Remi
Lora Lamm
Hacco
Alvin Tresselt
Christoph Niemann
Jen Leem-Bruggen
Herbert Leupin
Marijke Buurlage

STRUCTURAL

Sebastian Curi
Kento Iida
Giovanna Giuliano
Miroslav Sasek
Paul Rand
Paula Rusu
Raymond Biesinger
Spencer Gabor
Andrew Holder

THE SIX TYPES

Catherine Pape
Masao Takahata
Cyrus Highsmith
Kyoko Nemoto
Bojan Oreskovic
Floor Rehbach
Antti Kalevi
Lan Truong
Tess Smith-Roberts
Monika Forsberg
Tisha Lee
Tara Deacon
Gisele Murias
Marcus Oakley
Agostino Iacurci
Tersa Bellon
Harriet Seed
The Printed Peanut
Anna Kovecses
Vincent Mathy
Clover Robin
Andy J. Pizza
Rosendals tradgard
Mariso Schoen
Abbey Lossing
Oleh Haramov
Sjoerd Van Leeuwen
Lo Cole
Tang Yau Hoong
Ariel Lee
Catarina Sobra
Sam Kalda
Kati Szilagyi
Emil Wikstrom
Doublenaut
Yiffy Gu
Lena Yokoyama
Hedof Studio
Cari Vander Yacht
Raul Soria
Beatrix Hatcher
Fonzy Nils

PROJECT INTRO

Carpenter Collective
ç½ ææ
Asahi Nagata
Ethan Fender
Sara Tomate

FLAT LAY

Paul Rand
Amelie Fontaine

B Roll and Supporting Imagery

Ruvim Miksanskiy (Forest drone shot video)
Suzy Hazelwood (Record player video)
Dmitry Varennikov (Stars in night sky video)
Luz Calor Som (Galaxy video)
BJ Zurc (iPhone in the Sunset video)
Tima Miroshnichenko (Young woman with architecture drawings video)
Tima Miroshnichenko (Female painter thinking in studio video)
Kęstutis Paškevičius (Flying over field toward forest video)
Yaroslav Shuraev (Female artist with drawing board)
Sasha Kim (Young woman illustrating plant with tablet video)
Amina Filkins (Flower arranging videos)
Antoni Shkraba (Couple seated in art gallery video)
Sirisvideo (French apartment exterior photo)
Thao LEE (Karate on the beach photo)

Ileana Chase

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