SHAWNA KIRBY
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Illustration: Design superpowers

My objective was to create a series of illustrations that would pair well with an article unpacking the nuances of designer skillsets or "superpowers".  

Full article here: 
kylietuosto.com
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Process work: Step 1

I always begin with pencil and paper. I began by brainstorming each persona and the visual elements that would bring his/her unique attributes to life. 
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​Process work: Step 2

After generating some high level concepts sketches, I reviewed them with my client to pull out and align on what we thought was working. From here I was able to begin refining and working through some of the details, while remaining in the physical world of paper and pencil. 
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​Process Work: Step 3

Once I had some compositions I felt were working I scanned in the sketches and began to trace each hero with the pen tool in illustrator. Getting the artwork digital was critical to figuring out how I wanted to use color while tightening up the line work.
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Refining the color choices, color treatment and style for each hero was probably the most time consuming part of the project—there are just so many options! I wanted to retain the hand drawn friendliness from the concept sketches while establishing a clean, digital style that could be re-used for future articles. 
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Copyright Shawna Kirby 2020
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