Digital Illustration (WK2) - Design Blog

This week in Illustrator felt like one long “aha” moment. I moved past just using shapes and basic paths and started actually learning how to use tools that make Illustrator feel powerful instead of overwhelming. It was frustrating at times, but also really satisfying. 

The pen tool continues to be both my enemy and my best friend. But this week, it finally started to feel like I'm actually understanding how it works, and it's becoming much easier. I'm actually finding that it's sometimes easier to use than the curvature tool, which was my go-to before starting this class. 

The gradient mesh tool seemed impossible to understand at first. The textbook was incredibly helpful, but you can definitely see the difference in understanding if you reference the two assignments I submitted this week. The moon doesn't look nearly as dimensional as the banner, but I allotted more time to the second project. What I love about this tool is how organic everything looks. I was shocked to see the dimension difference, even just comparing assignments.

The biggest thing I learned isn’t really about a specific tool; it’s about not trying to make everything perfect on the first try. Illustrator feels a lot easier when I treat it like a sketchbook instead of a final product machine. Hand-drawing and then putting the drawing into the program, changing course on design ideas, and just messing around with the tools until something works have been the most helpful things I've taken away from this week's assignments.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Social Media and Digital Marketing (WK1) - SMART Goals (Vans)

Image
*Please click the image to enlarge for clear viewing* I know, I know...I went over the top when completing this assignment. I've finished quite a few SWOT analyses and SMART goals (before The Art Institute closed, I took an E-Commerce and Social Media Marketing course, as well as doing these for my own business); therefore, I am intimately familiar with this process. I have a preference for coordinating branding when it comes to assignments like this, so naturally, I applied that to my SMART goals to match my SWOT analysis.   
Read more

Graphic Design Theory: Project 1

Image
Hello again! Long time, no speak (haha).  This week, we were tasked with creating a 3.5" x 2" business card in Adobe Photoshop, being mindful of our use of color, whitespace, typeface, and C.R.A.P. (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity).  I have some experience with Photoshop, and this still proved to be a challenging assignment - I couldn't stop picturing the business cards I had previously made, which go against many of the rules we were taught this week. I really wanted to start from scratch and learn the proper process, versus just editing an old design!  I spent a solid 30 minutes getting reacquainted with the program before creating this. There was a lot of trial and error (mostly error) before I decided this was the route I wanted to take. I used my small business as a guideline, as it gave me a jumping-off point for the color palette.  My business colors are black, purple, and silver/white, and I have a tendency to use imagery that reflects th...
Read more

Digital Illustration (WK2) - Project 3 "Identity Package"

Image
For this assignment, we were asked to create an identity package using our own subject and original artwork. I chose to redesign my business identity and go with a more "metal-inspired" approach.  For the updated logo, I created a font by drawing it by hand first. I knew I wanted it to look vampiric, but also take inspiration from band merchandise that I've seen over the years.  I was able to get more comfortable with the freeform gradient tool, which is what I used for the letters in the new logo.  I also used the gradient mesh tool for the moon, which I believe helped to give it some dimension. I learned a lot about this tool while doing this project, and I'm excited to use it more in the future!    For the second part of the project, I needed to create stationery using the new logo. I liked the idea of putting a trim at the bottom (demonstrated in the textbook), so I drew the heart chain on paper first and then traced it in Illustrator (I'm not a very skilled...
Read more