How to Choose the Perfect Place for Your Custom Illustration

28 Aug

So you’re thinking about getting a custom illustration? Amazing.
The most important step is picking the place. It could be somewhere you go every day, or a once-in-a-lifetime spot you never want to forget. To make it easy, here’s a little guide to help you choose, prep photos, and even add those extra details that make the drawing feel 100% yours.

1. Pick your place

Think of a location that instantly brings up good memories. Some ideas:

A favourite café corner where you’ve laughed for hours with friends
Your backyard, where summer BBQs and late-night chats happen
A travel memory — that one little street, lookout, or beach you always think about
A “first” spot: first date, first house, first holiday together

There’s no right or wrong answer. If it means something to you, it’s perfect.

I personally pick the places from the moments that just light me up inside. I remember this one walk in the Daintree. The way the sun streamed through huge palm leaves, and then suddenly spotting baby cassowaries with my sister. So you can see, the artwork isn’t just what it shows, its a lot more. The story from the day that bubbles out of me. So that is what we are aiming for, an artwork that houses all the goodness of that day.

Cairns Rainforest

2. Find your photos

Don’t stress if you don’t have the perfect shot. You can:

Dig through your phone gallery. Sometimes the best photos are random snaps you forgot about.
(Tip: on iPhone or Google Photos, search by location name if you remember where it was.)
Ask friends or family. Someone might’ve captured a great angle you missed.
Visit the spot again. If it’s nearby, head over and snap a few pics in daylight. Bonus points: grab a coffee while you’re at it, now you’ve made yourself part of the illustration process, too.
No photo? No problem. I can also work with Google Maps or images online. I’ve done it before, and it turned out just as special. Let’s be real, sometimes we don’t take enough photos of those wonderful moments and I am also a big supporter of living in the moment rather than taking pictures of it all.

Try to get:

At least one wide shot showing the whole place
A couple of close-ups of key features (like the patterned tiles, the window shape, or the big tree in the yard)

Here’s an example: Erin took some photos of the Brisbane Story Bridge, where she and her partner first met. They made a little date out of it, stopped by Howard Smith Wharves, and ended up with some beautiful snaps of the location.

Erin also asked me to incorporate the bougainvillea.

3. Add in special details

This is where we can get really fun by being subtle.
The illustration of the place doesn’t have to look exactly like the photo. In fact I want us to work together and make it more personal. Think about items or details that make it yours:

Your dog or cat snoozing on the deck (pets and people take a bit more time, so I usually charge a small extra fee for them)
An object that you love. .A favourite flower, cup, candle or stack of books
A keepsake from that location or trip (maybe the hat you wore, or the coffee cup from that café)
An item that represents a person you love or you spend your time with there.

You can send me extra photos of those objects, and I can weave them into the scene. That way, the artwork feels less like “a place” and more like your place. Sometimes I might just ask you to photograph them at a different angle to make them fit into the photo.

Here’s an example: this illustration of Bern. The café they visited was already gorgeous, but I added more than what was in the photo. I included the jacket that was worn on their honeymoon, opened up the windows, and gave the whole scene a summery vibe. They told me Bern was having its first sunny days, and described it like a scene from The Talented Mr Ripley. I added fairy lights and a garland to increase the mood.

Find the extra bits. The cinnamon roll and the Leather Jacket

4. Keep it relaxed

The best part? Your photos don’t need to be perfect. My job is to bring the atmosphere and feeling to life with colour and playful strokes. Just gather what you have, send it through, and I’ll take it from there. Don’t worry if they are a bit blurred, overcast, rainy…. I can change it all up to be a wonderful illustration that will make you smile and remember.