Vector Illustration Homework
Our homework was to create a vector illustration using the skills we learned on Day 3; pen tool, direct selection, pathfinder, reflect tool and stroke. I decided to make a cactus.
to start off I made half a form
then I reflected it using the reflect tool, I was able to create a uniform symmetrical shape. then I made two different sized circles slightly offset they are going to be my cactus arm base. I used the pen tool to trace around them.
as seen below the uniform cactus body and arms:
I need the cactus in a pot so again using the pen tool i created a rectangle after which I went through with the direct select to slightly offset the top edges to create that pot shape. Created a long and skinny rectangle with rounded off edges as the pots rim.
To add a 3D effect to the pot I duplicated both of the original pot shapes and then erased all lines except for the lines on the very left. I was going to try to attach the edges of the lines to the original forms but it didn't work.
In the end I offset both of the original shapes, rounding off a bit of the rim of the shadow edge, darkened the colours and used the direct select tool to adjust the line on the pot shape so the bottom left corner i angled upward slightly to create depth.
after adding depth I made a extra shadow on the front of the pot by tracing the form of the pot but a small thin rectangle. I did it similar to how we did the beak on the penguin.
After making the pot I began adding the stripes to the cactus. Again using the pen tool. Making a alternating gradually expanding equally sized on both sides. I just drew a pen tool line then repeated the process expanding outwards until I hit the limits of the cactus form.
as seen below the different shades of green are a different layer each time.
I did a similar pen tool process on the arms although it was more difficult because the shape wasn't uniform, I had to go over the lines over and over again a couple of times.
result of the pen tool to create the stripes
cacti are usually seen with flowers, I wanted to create my own style for the flower
I started off by trying with this design, making a red oval shape the adding 3 triangles to pathfinder minus front over
result was this, I don't really like it, it's not what i'm looking for in the flower design.
I created a new shape then using the direct select deleted half of it.
after deleting half of it I was able to use the reflect tool to duplicate and reflect the shape making it symmetrical
I used these triangles in a similar manner to the way I did it previously then using the pathfinder tool I created a much nicer looking shape, and after adjusting a bit I was able to make a better looking design.
this is what I ended up with. to complete the flower I change the colour back to red duplicated it made the duplication a different lighter shade more pinkish and made this duplication smaller and behind the original red creating petals and layers.I made a third duplication shrunk t down an change the colour to green to make leaves and as a way to tie it into the cactus.
flower result below, I like what I ended up with, I was completely winging the design but it turned out nicely. I decided not to add stroke to the petals to kind of seperate it from the cactus design as well as add a bit of softness to it, though the 'leaves' do have stroke on them.
for the background I added a gradient of light blue to a darker shade of blue. creating a sky effect. I plan on adding a floor beneath the pot as well.
Just for funsies I played around with the 3D effects in Illustrator I wanted to see what it would look like if I inflated the design, it created this cool blown up effect on the cactus stripes that was I thought was interesting I don't plan on keeping this effect but I thought it would be nice to see what I would end up with.
as a final detail to the design I decided to add some highlights to the cactus to work with the shadows that existed previouslyI used the pen tool to create a simple form around the upper right area of the cactus in the lighter shade of green no stroke, after it was made I lowered the opacity to add to the highlight effect to seperate it from being just another one of the stripes. I added two other highlights to the tops of the cactus arms
close up of the highlight on the arm you can see all the colours through the highlight which is important as the highlight is just a bit of light reflected on the form.
added a shadow to the bottom of the cactus in the same process as the highlights.
Overall I like how my cactus turned out , the form is balanced and interesting to the eye, the colours work well together, and I like how the gradient in the background adds extra interest. The stroke for the work was kept the same throughout the work, it wasn't the most important aspect of the design but I did remove it for the petals and the highlights/ shadows to add softness to the design. I think my work has a 3D effect through the use of shadows and highlights + the pot shape. I think it worked out ok.
