Layout for Advertisement Artwork

When you have your ad headline, body and illustrations, you have to put everything together into your artwork. Properly called camera-ready artwork, this consists of all the elements of the ad, all in their proper places, ready to be photographed for the printing process. If you are working on a DTP system, then the artwork will take shape as you work, rather than being a separate stage in the process. All you have to do is print it out. But if you are working by hand, then all the elements of the ad will come together at this stage.

What is required here is an eye for detail, an eye for color if you are using it, a steady hand and a degree of creativity. You will also need a few pieces of basic equipment.

If you did your own layout, you can probably put together your own artwork; otherwise you will have to find a professional designer. If you used a designer at layout stage, the designer will normally do the artwork as well. Many newspapers and local directories employ staff who will do the artwork for you but, as with any designer, check their cost and quality before you commit yourself.

You could get by with just a few basic items of equipment:

• A drawing board. This needn't be a sophisticated piece of furniture costing a fortune. A piece of solid level board of at least 700 x 500mm is really all you need. You could use a desk, but it is likely to get a bit messy, so a special board would be better.

• White art paper or board on which to stick all the pieces of artwork. If you are preparing a brochure, you will need a separate piece for each double-page spread.

• Some tape to secure the art paper or board to the drawing board, so that it doesn't slip around while you are working on it. It can be extremely frustrating, if you are nine-tenths of your way through a job, to have the paper slip, and your lines go crooked!

• A T-square, a ruler and a set square to help you draw accurate vertical and horizontal lines. If you are also likely to want to draw lines at odd angles, a protractor would be useful. Apart from the T-square, which you should be able to get for a few pounds from an art shop, the other items are part of any basic geometry set.

• A pair of compasses and dividers. The compasses are indispensable for drawing circles, and dividers will help you divide lines into equal parts. These can also be found in a geometry set.

• A light blue pencil for drawing the dimensions of the ad or any guidelines - lines which are for guidance only, and are not to appear in the ad (when the artwork is photographed, light blue pencil lines won't show up). You can also use your blue pencil to draw in any rules or design elements to be inked in later with a drawing or felt-tipped pen when you are sure they are right.

• A black technical drawing pen and black felt- or fibre-tipped pens of different thicknesses for drawing in any lines and rules to be printed.

• Correcting fluid will come in useful for any small mistakes you may make when inking them in.

• Scissors and/or a scalpel. It's best to use a scalpel for cutting out the various elements that make up your artwork. Scissors will do, but they are not as easy to use as a scalpel, nor do they give as clean a cut.

• Tweezers are good for handling small, fiddly pieces of artwork.

• Adhesive for sticking everything down. There are various kinds available, from the ubiquitous Cow Gum to spray-on glue. You can choose whichever one suits you best, but remember that if you get some adhesives on areas which are not to be glued, they can look dirty and show up when photographed. Rubber cement is useful here. If you go over the area to be glued, the excess can be removed with a ball of dried Cow Gum.

• Tracing or overlay paper is useful for covering and protecting your artwork and illustrations, as well as for your overlay, if you use one.

• If you are using color, a tint chart will help you specify the colors you want for various elements in your ad. They are very expensive to buy, however, so you might prefer to use your printer's chart.

Grabbing everything on your list will make for paying huge dividends in the success of your ad artwork.