Personal projects — The Sand Cat

Wildlife illustration for children’s book

Concept creation
Sketch
Storyboard
Vector Illustrations
Print

In the words of illustrator and author Dieter Braun: « What digital drawing has in common with Mother Nature is geometry. »

I had the opportunity to take his incredible vector illustration course: Wildlife Illustration for Children’s Books. In this course, Dieter takes us on an exploration of the natural world through digital illustration. He taught us how to create playful illustrations of animals and wildlife by exploring vectors, textures, and gradients in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

The final project of the course was to create a two-page spread for a children’s book featuring an illustration of a wild animal in the foreground and a natural landscape in the background.

From sketch to vectors

Discover the mysterious sand cat

I chose the elusive sand cat (Felis margarita), or desert cat, a small wild cat living in the desert areas of Africa. An opportunity to introduce this still very little-known species (rarely observed in the wild due to its small size and discretion), with its enlarged head, sandy colour and dark stripes on its sides, tail and legs. Characteristics that I tried to represent in my illustration.

You can follow the illustration process below, from sketch to vector drawings using Adobe Illustrator. I also used Photoshop to add textures to give the illustrations the organic look that brings the sand cat to life.

The storybook

The beginning of a storybook for children

Once the illustrations were finished, I combined them with text to create a double page spread in a storybook that reminds children of the beautiful world we live in.