Krita for Beginners: Sketching and Building a Simple Illustration Plan

From Rough Idea to a Workable Sketch (Without Overcomplicating)

The goal of this stage is not “pretty drawing.” It is a readable plan: a sketch that clearly shows what the illustration is about, where the viewer should look first, and how the big forms fit together. If you can read the image at a small size, lineart and rendering become much easier.

1) Thumbnailing on a Small Canvas

Thumbnails are tiny, fast sketches that let you test ideas cheaply. Keeping the canvas small prevents you from getting lost in details.

• Create a new document at a small size (for example: 1200×800 px or even 900×600 px). You can always scale up later.
• Make a layer group named Thumbnails, then create three layers inside: Thumb 1, Thumb 2, Thumb 3.
• Use a simple sketch brush and draw each thumbnail in 1–3 minutes. Aim for big shapes only: horizon line, main subject, and one or two supporting elements.

What to include in a thumbnail: a clear subject, a simple background shape, and a value/shape contrast that makes the focal point obvious.

2) Choosing a Clear Focal Point

A focal point is where the viewer’s eye lands first. In a beginner-friendly illustration plan, you want one main focal point, not three competing ones.

• Decide what the illustration is “about” in one sentence (example: “A character holding a lantern in a doorway”).
• In each thumbnail, place the focal point using a simple rule: keep it away from dead center, and give it the strongest contrast (either darkest against lightest, or most detailed against simplest).
• Support the focal point with directional shapes: a path, a doorway frame, a character pose, or a light beam that points toward it.

Quick check: If you blur your eyes or zoom out, can you still tell what the main subject is?

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3) Setting Simple Perspective Guides (Just Enough)

You do not need perfect technical perspective for a readable sketch. You need consistency: objects should feel like they sit on the same ground and face the same direction.

• Pick a perspective type for the thumbnail you like best: front view (flat), one-point (hallway/road), or two-point (corner of a building).
• On a new layer named Guides, lightly draw a horizon line.
• Place one vanishing point (one-point) or two vanishing points (two-point) far apart to reduce distortion.
• Draw only a few guide lines: ground plane direction and one or two key edges (like a table top, doorway, or building base).

Tip: If perspective starts to slow you down, simplify: keep the background as big shapes and focus on the subject’s clarity.

4) Blocking Basic Shapes (Big Forms First)

Blocking is turning the thumbnail idea into clear, simple forms. Think in boxes, cylinders, and spheres before you think in details.

• Create a new layer above the chosen thumbnail called Rough Block-in.
• Use basic shapes to define the subject: head as a sphere, torso as a box, limbs as cylinders; props as boxes/cylinders.
• Block background elements as large flat shapes (walls, windows, trees, rocks) so they support the subject rather than compete with it.
• Leave intentional “air” around the focal point so it reads clearly (negative space is part of the design).

Spacing rule: Avoid tangents (when edges barely touch). If the character’s hand almost touches the frame edge, either overlap clearly or separate clearly.

Working with Multiple Sketch Layers (Clean Iteration)

Instead of erasing constantly, stack sketch passes. This keeps your exploration flexible and reduces frustration.

• Layer 1: Thumbnail (messy, fast)
• Layer 2: Block-in (clear shapes)
• Layer 3: Rough Sketch (structure and readable forms)

When you move to the next pass, reduce the opacity of the previous layer so it becomes a faint guide.

• Set the thumbnail layer opacity to around 10–25%.
• Set the block-in layer opacity to around 30–50% when drawing the rough sketch.

Practical habit: Keep the newest sketch layer at full opacity and do your corrections there. If something is wrong, redraw it on the current layer instead of “scrubbing” the old one.

Quick Silhouette Checks (Readability Test)

A silhouette check helps you see if the pose and main shapes read clearly without interior detail.

Method A: Fast fill silhouette

• Duplicate your Rough Sketch layer.
• On the duplicate, roughly paint the subject as a single flat shape (one color) to see if the pose and prop are recognizable.
• If the silhouette is confusing, simplify the pose, separate overlapping shapes, or change the angle of an arm/prop.

Method B: Zoom-out test

• Zoom out until the image is very small (thumbnail size).
• Ask: Can I still identify the subject and the action? Is the focal point still the strongest shape?

Guided Exercise: 3 Thumbnails → 1 Readable Rough Sketch

This exercise is designed to be quick and practical. Total time: about 20–40 minutes.

Step 1: Set Up a Thumbnail Area

• Create a small canvas (example: 1200×800 px).
• On a layer named Boxes, draw three rectangles side-by-side (your thumbnail frames). Keep them simple.
• Lower the opacity of Boxes so the frames don’t distract.

Step 2: Create 3 Thumbnails (3 Minutes Each)

Prompt idea (use your own if you prefer): “A character finds a small object on the ground in a quiet alley.”

• Thumbnail 1: One-point perspective alley, character centered-left, object as a bright spot on the ground.
• Thumbnail 2: Closer view, character crouching, background simplified to two big wall shapes.
• Thumbnail 3: Two-point corner, character in foreground silhouette, object near the corner with strong negative space.

Keep each thumbnail to: horizon line + 3–6 big shapes. No facial features, no textures.

Step 3: Pick the Best Thumbnail (Readability Criteria)

Choose the thumbnail that best meets these criteria:

• The focal point is obvious at a glance.
• The subject is readable as a silhouette.
• The background supports the subject and does not compete.
• There is clear spacing for later lineart (no cramped clusters everywhere).

Step 4: Add Simple Perspective Guides

• Create a Guides layer above the chosen thumbnail.
• Draw the horizon line and one or two vanishing points.
• Add only the guide lines you need to place the ground plane and major background edges.

Reduce Guides opacity so they remain subtle.

Step 5: Block In the Main Forms

• Create Block-in layer above the thumbnail.
• Draw the character using basic volumes (box torso, cylinder limbs, sphere head).
• Place the object (the focal point) as a simple shape with a clear outline.
• Block background as 2–4 large shapes (walls, doorway, sign, distant buildings).

Checkpoint: If you hide the thumbnail layer, the block-in should still communicate the scene.

Step 6: Develop a Readable Rough Sketch

• Lower the opacity of Block-in to around 30–50%.
• Create a new layer named Rough Sketch.
• Refine the contours and overlaps: clarify which shapes are in front, which are behind.
• Indicate key design lines only (gesture line, major folds, prop edges, important background boundaries).
• Leave clean, open areas where lineart will go later (avoid filling everything with scratchy marks).

Lineart spacing plan: Make sure the focal point area has the cleanest silhouette and the least clutter around it. If needed, simplify nearby background lines or push them farther away.

Step 7: Do a Silhouette Check and Fix One Problem

• Do a quick silhouette test (fill the subject shape or zoom out).
• Identify one readability issue (example: the arm blends into the torso, or the prop blends into the background).
• Fix it by adjusting overlap, changing the angle, or increasing negative space around the shape.

Common Beginner Pitfalls (and Simple Fixes)