Here, are some more examples of vector art mimicking realism. I did these pieces of art about 10 years ago. They were entirely created in Illustrator version 7. No effects or filters were used. A combination of blends gradients, and masks were used to achieve highlights, shadows, and detailed reflections.
A table light that used to sit on my drawing desk when I was in college.
This was inspired by manga.
My first car that I truly owned.
I love bugs...
My husband was watching Oprah today, and she had Simon Cowell from American Idol on. My husband tells me to guess what kind of car Simon drives. It's a Bugatti.
So, in turn I decide to create a Bugatti in Illustrator CS3.
This is not completed illustration. You'll have to tune in to see the final illustration...
I'm addicted to the Swatches palette in Adobe Illustrator. The colors are preselected to compliment one another. The swatch group I'm loving at the moment is the Bright swatches.
Below is a Teen page design I am working on. The color scheme is the Bright palette. I have also used this same palette for my Dr. Seuss inspired FLIPSIDE Weekend page that runs tomorrow in the York Daily/Record.
Here, are some detail shots of the crab and seagull. Aren't they cute?
My 4-year-old son was playing video games with his big sister tonight, so I took this opportunity to play around in Illustrator CS3.
This is the start of a cellphone illustration. Fig.1a is the preview mode and Fig. 1b is the outline view.
Fig.1a
Fig.1b
Fig.2a
Fig.2b
In Fig.2 I have added the keypad and numbers along with the top slider. All the shading that you see is with careful manipulations of the gradient slider palette.
And ta-da! The final illustration. Total creation time: Approximately 40 mins
I used one drop shadow effect, but otherwise the phone is completed made up of gradients.
Below is the outline mode of the illustration.
This is a simple illustration of a circle with a drop shadow and highlights.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Can you tell which one was created by blends and which one uses the drop shadow and inner glow effects?
Answer: Fig. 2 is the blended circle and the file size is 460KB
Fig. 1 uses the effects and it's a whopping 900KB
Neither one of these graphics makes for a big file, but the difference is try multplying the usage of effects and filters to a couple hundred times when it comes to a more complex illustration.
Don't get me wrong Fig. 1 is smoother at closer examination, but not by much and with practice and really studying the object you are rendering the blends can become just as smooth without using the effects which can increase file size dramatically.
So, have fun with the filters and effects in Adobe Illustrator CS, but caution in heavy-handed use of them.
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.
I was going through some of my old illustrations for the newspaper. And I came across one I did in August 2004.
It was a cover for the Friday magazine, which we don't do anymore, but I like the perspective and style I used in the illustration.
An illustration can be simple, but add some perspective and it can transform a simple illustration that is more interesting to the the viewer.
