Trending Illustration Styles for 2021

Thinking of illustration. What generally emerges in one’s mind is a set of animations. Perhaps some drawings can be denoted as art. But is this art traditional? That’s not the point when it’s about illustrations and this is because the trends and styles in digital illustrations keep on modifying. What could be trending for today might not be for tomorrow. But who’d know the trend would come back ten years from now?

If that confuses you or builds up any puzzle in your mind, we are here to resolve it for you. This enticing blog is all about knowing the best and trendiest illustrations styles for 2021 that you can utilize as a graphic designer. Even if you are a starter with digital designing.

As much as there is countless illustration software that would assist you to create something out of the box. There is still ample need to understand the background of these styles and what makes them so trendy! So, stay hooked here and read to find out more.

1. Animation

If you are an 80’s and 90’s kid, you would agree on the extent to which you were obsessed with the animations; from book covers to cartoons and movies. There was animation everywhere that would magically give you a ride to a world full of fantasy. As much as it sounds bizarre now. You cannot deny the fact that animations are still widely watched and delightedly enjoyed by children of all ages.

So, how is it being seen today? Although it is still used in cartoons, the usage has expanded because it is not only limited to that, there is more to it. If you ask yourself you would know that it is not just this but more to it. As digital marketing has evolved, the means of executing it in the right direction has changed as well. No one is drooling over fancy billboards; the idea is to be precise but also bold, without giving away too much. And to cater to this, companies are deriving the 30-second videos of GIFs, and instead of adding real-life faces; they prefer being animated for campaigns that prove to intrigue a wider scale of audiences. And what’s the best part after all? It is that animations can be used at a cheap cost, irrespective of your industry.

2. 3D Illustration

Bringing objects back to life! The 3D illustration is one of the best illustration styles you can use to make your marketing experience and overall branding exciting. Remember, the purpose of awakening and directing the audiences towards your brand shouldn’t be drifted. The idea is to be realistic but also innovative.

If you are looking at this from a lens of a designer, then this could be tricky though. As much fascinating it looks, it is one of the highly worked upon styles that firstly requires immense creativity and then the right kind of skill to result in an outcome that you wish. As a viable suggestion. It would be best if you first practice your hand on the skill and as you become confident in your skill. You can work on free or paid software, depending upon your availability. And work your way across! As a business entity, you may want to hire expert illustration designers and include them as an essential part of your goals. As much as this is imperative, as a designer if you upscale your skill and talent towards 3D illustration. You might earn more than you would have imagined.

3. Geometric Illustration

The perfect geometric illustration would be born to inspire. Geometric art has been one of the common design ideas for various companies that belong to different industries. But what makes it so dynamically flexible is that it can be used in various shapes and sizes. Speaking of sizes, this kind of style needs a creative effort. If you are someone who has prior experience in art, you can opt for it as it may interest you.

However, things may not go as planned several times. For instance, you might encounter a client that desperately needs their work in geometric illustration because it is trendy and timeless, and then what? If you wouldn’t have that creative mind that is willing to work on this. You might lose the chance of working with them. For this reason, you need to gear up your hand on this and get going! With the right pinch of all ingredients like color, size, and shapes. You can bring a spark to any look with this kind of style. To develop the sense, however. You need to build up the flavor by getting hands-on experience of working on geometric illustration styles which is one of the best decisions in the domain for 2021.

4. Minimalist

Minimalism is not merely a style rather a whole mood! If you are someone who desires to keep everything on a light note then you wouldn’t want to opt for any other illustration design except for the minimalist style. While the people on the opposing end might assume that it could be boring or dull. The crux is that this is not the deal that you think it is.

Minimalism is all about finding that one element that could be mind-blowing and then by playing the magic wand on it. The other features can be looked upon in a way that wouldn’t seem unnecessary. For example, I wish to add a bold statement by showing less. I could simply play with some characters or any other objects on a plain canvas or reciprocate it by emphasizing one bold color and keeping everything else minimal. Yes, it might be tricky but if this is done right, your whole job becomes easy. The whole idea is to derive that one factor and play around with it. Some digital illustrators are so immensely talented that they vividly know which element needs some contrast, and what needs to be brightened a little. If you want to accelerate this game to enhance your brand personality, try to be minimal.

5. Line Art

If you are into art, designing and illustrations you would know the significance of line art are widely pivotal. However, for people who are oblivious, it would be far from their imagination that even lines can be impactful and influential. In fact, just like objects, to get hands on line art is significant in these times where you would know how each of the lines in illustration designs makes sense. And that’s when you would get to the point of how intensely important it is as a graphic designer or simply someone who has the urge to work in design.

In other ways, the designers work around creating objects or even characters and then crafting them with different edges with converging or straight lines. To make it look stunning, the designers always play with different colors and there is always some rationale behind their choice of colors, characters, and anything that is created by them.

To Wrap Up

Being a part of the designing world, you need to equip tools that help you learn and upgrade your illustration skills so that you are open to ideas. However, to reach that point, gaining sufficient know-how of the current trends is essential and this is why we have discussed the top 5 illustration styles for 2021.