Realism using Adobe Illustrator

I love Adobe Illustrator CS3. It's got some of the most powerful filters and effects to rival its cousin Photoshop, but be warn, just because there’s a drop shadow filter effect just a button click away, know that alot of these same filters can be created with carfeul planning of blends and gradients, which can keep the file size of your artwork down.

The above example is an Illustration done completely in Illustrator 7. All the highlights and shadows were created using subtle blends and gradients.

Here are some more detail shots.