Custom Illustrations: Creative Fuel That Delights

Updated Jan. 12, 2022 Published Nov. 5, 2020 3 Min. Read

When you think of illustrations, you may often think that’s the stuff of children’s books. Think again.

While that’s true, there are so many additional ways to use illustrations in your content and to achieve your business goals.

Take us, for example. We used our Custom Illustrations service to create some briny, creepy movie posters to promote our Pickle spoofs on famous horror movie scenes. These were used in digital ads for our (now past) Scaretober promo that gave a discount on our monthly Graphic Design Essentials, Graphic Design Pro, and Custom Illustrations plans.

Grab your popcorn, and watch the short scenes here. Then, read on to see how illustrations can level up your creative content. ⬇️

The Shining 🪓

The beauty of Custom Illustrations is that, just like our design services, multiple versions of your concept can be created so you can choose what works best. Take these varied iterations of “The Shining” movie poster as an example.

The Shining movie poster using Custom Illustrations

The Shining movie poster using Custom Illustrations

The Shining movie poster using Custom Illustrations

 

Candyman 🍭

Our illustrator also created two posters for this urban legend — brought to life in Pickle form.

Candyman movie poster using Custom Illustrations

Candyman movie poster using Custom Illustrations

 

Psycho 🔪

The shower scene that made you never look at a shower the same way again. No Pickles were harmed in this!

Psycho movie poster using Custom Illustrations

 

Friday the 13th 🏒

Just another day at the lake … or is it?Friday the 13th movie poster using Custom Illustrations

 

The Ring ⚫️

What’s going to crawl out of that well? Perhaps the creepiest Pickle you’ve ever seen!

The Ring movie poster using Custom Illustrations

 

Paranormal Activity 😱

In paranormal (or should we say Picklenormal) fashion, this movie poster was actually created using graphic design! Since it was part of our Scaretober promo, we’re including it here. Can you spot the differences between a poster like this created with graphic design and the ones created with Custom Illustrations? 👀

We’ll answer for you: You’ll notice that the illustrated posters have an artful feel due to using original drawings and text. The “Paranormal Activity” poster combines already existing photo and text elements that are less artful, but still impactful. Each type of poster gets a message across, just through a different effect.

Paranormal Activity movie poster using graphic design

 

So, how are illustrations different from graphic design?

To further illustrate the differences between illustrations and graphic design, check out the infographic below. You’ll see that illustrations are rooted in the creation of original assets while graphic design manipulates those assets. Creating assets includes techniques such as drawing or painting (whether digitally or by hand) whereas manipulating assets includes things like resizing, moving elements around, changing colors, etc.

To take it a step further, illustrations can be used within graphic design or an entire piece of content can be an illustration. For example, a graphic novel is an illustrated book, but the cover of a graphic novel and the layout of its interior are designed and illustrated.

 

When it comes to creating content, think about how you can diversify your output and set your brand apart with an artful design form like illustrations. You can learn more about Design Pickle’s Custom Illustrations plan and sign up here — backed by our 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

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