Portrait: step one

I've been busy with a few assignments. This is one of them. I have a family portrait I am working on. This shows the first steps in digitizing it.

I drew the sketch earlier and got approval from the client. I scanned that sketch and placed it in Adobe Illustrator. The scan is on a template layer. The default for a template layer in Illustrator is a 50% gray. I grayed it out an additional 50% using the transparency palette and setting the blend mode to multiply.

The above figure shows how I'm starting out. I'm using the pen tool to trace my sketch. The lines are magenta so they stand out from the scan. These are all on a layer I'm calling outlines. I will use this layer to create my fills and strokes later.


Here is a detail of how I'm outlining. I'm not worried about the color or weight of the stroke. That will all change later. I use the pen tool because it gives me a much smoother outline with the fewest points.

Next time, I'll show you how to fill the areas with color.

Top 10 Illustrator Tutorial Sites

Vandelay Design has a great post on the top 10 tutorial sites for Adobe Illustrator. This is a great resource. Too often, most of the tutorials focus on Photoshop. Adobe Illustrator definitely has advantages for graphics, illustration and cartooning.

Warping objects in Illustrator

Layers Magazine's web site has a great tutorial by Bert Monroy. He shows how you can use the warp tool in Adobe Illustrator to get realistic effects such as the wire mesh in this trash can illustration.

The nice thing about using the tool in Illustrator is you have greater control in the mesh grid and you can make the mesh looked banged up. I'm try this one out.

http://www.layersmagazine.com/artistic-expressions-warp-versus-warp.html#comment-3832

Beginner tutorials for Adobe Illustrator

Tony Soh at the istockdiary.com blog has been doing some tutorials for the beginning Adobe Illustrator user.

My drawing software of choice has been Adobe Illustrator for several years. I like the fact artwork is scalable. You don't have to worry about enlarging your artwork only to see everything pixelated. Yuck!

It works well with my cartoony style. Even if I am doing something realistic, I usually do the base artwork in Illustrator and export my work to Adobe Photoshop.

If you are an illustrator, I highly recommend Adobe Illustrator.