Posts Tagged ‘tutorial’

Drawing Cars with Adobe Illustrator

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

In my last blog post, I mentioned my obsession with identifying cars. And, if you have read some of my earlier blog posts, you will see that I am also a little obsessed with Adobe Illustrator. As a way to keep my Illustrator skills sharp and experiment with different techniques, I have been illustrating cars.

Last year, I did a series of Porsches. This year, I have been doing a series of funky hatchbacks. In all of these, I have given myself a limited palette of 5 colors and have imagined these files being suitable for screen printing. That means no gradients or blending modes but it also gives me an extra color if I imagine it being printed on a colored paper.

To draw these cars, I have been using a technique I learned back in one of my early Illustrator classes. It is simple but effective. Basically, you just draw the main overall shape and then logically cut it into smaller and smaller pieces. To “cut” the overall shape, I use an unfilled path that extends beyond the main shape at least two points.

Let’s use a 1991 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon (barf) as a subject for this technique. I first trace the contour of the body (I do the wheels separately). This gives me my main shape shown here in magenta.

I then begin cutting this main shape with paths that extend beyond the shape at two points. My first cutting path,  shown here in cyan, is a path with no fill. It will separate the dark underneath of the car from the rest of the body.

I then select the path and the shape at the same time and click Divide on the pathfinder palette. Then Ungroup.

Now, I have two separate shapes that line up exactly next to each other.

Here is what it looks like in Outline Mode.

Continue whittling down the larger shapes into smaller and smaller shapes working from large to small. Here is the larger shape being cut into about 20 smaller shapes using the same technique.

Here is what the outline looks like so far:

Keep breaking the larger shapes into smaller shapes. You can get as detailed as you want. It helps to work off of a high resolution image. Here is how I divided the car including the wheels and a shadow. (The pieces like the door handles and badges were not made using the cutting technique. They are on their own layer.)

These are just the main shapes. I then break down these shapes based on reflections and how the light is hitting the car.

Now you can fill each piece with color. Here are the colors I chose. (I imagine the yellow is the color of the paper it would be printed on.)

For this piece, I also created my own vector woodgrain for the door panels. Below is the finished project.

I also experimented with using a plug-in called Phantasm CS from Astute Graphics. This gave me the ability to turn a gradient into a vector halftone. I then colored each halftone with a color from my color palette. See the detail below.

Happy illustrating!


Fun with Trigonometry

Monday, May 14th, 2012

To find the direction from one object to another, we need to use some trig functions. First we need to know the positions of those objects. Then we can find the change in X and Y. From there we can find the distance between them and the angle from one to the other.

Here’s an example: Point A is located at coordinates (-10, -20), and Point B is located at (110, 70). To go from A to B is a change of (120, 90).

To find the angle from A to B, we use the arc-tangent function.

var distX = objectB.x - objectA.x;
var distY = objectB.y - objectA.y;
 
var angle_radians = Math.atan2(distY, distX);
var angle_degrees = radiansToDegrees( angle_radians );
function radiansToDegrees(r){
    return r * 180 / Math.PI;
}

In Javascript and ActionScript, the Math function atan2 will take y and x, and return the direction in radians. That means the returned value will be between -π and π. to convert radians to degrees, we multiply by 180 and divide by π. In this example, the angle is about 36.87°.

To find the distance between them, we use the Pythagorean theorem: a2 + b2 = c2, or:

var dist = Math.sqrt(distX * distX + distY * distY);

In this example, the distance is 150.

Now you can set the rotation of the first object to look at the second object. OK, but how do you move it forward at a constant rate? If you update its x and y position by 120 and 90, respectively, it would reach the goal in one step. Not much of an animation. Instead, give it a speed and use trigonometry to figure out the change in the x and y positions.

var speed = 6;
 
var deltaX = Math.cos(angle_radians) * speed;
var deltaY = Math.sin(angle_radians) * speed;
 
objectA.x += deltaX;
objectA.y += deltaY;

First we decide what speed to use. This is in pixels per frame. Each frame the object will move by 6 pixels in its forward direction. Then each frame, calculate the change in the x and y positions using the cosine and sine functions. This time we need to use radians, not degrees. These functions will return a value between -1 and 1. Now just multiply by the speed and apply it to the object.

To make the object turn smoothly, as in the example above, is a little more complicated, so I’ll save that for another time. But to give you a hint, it starts with a turning speed. You can see how it’s done in the attached FLA: trigTest.fla


Calligraphy with Illustrator

Monday, September 12th, 2011

Sometimes calligraphy brushes in Illustrator just don’t cut it. As much as you may try, a brush style in Illustrator just can’t mimic the flowing hand drawn style we crave. In the past, Illustrator was very limiting in creating flourish elements. To get shapes the way you want, you had to rely on your skill with the pen tool and the Bézier curve. With Illustrator CS5 in our hands, we now have the ability to manipulate line weight at different points on a line, making a job that would have been very time consuming, a breeze.

1. To mimic the hand drawn calligraphic style, I’d suggest starting on paper. Erasers are definitely your friends. Grab references of calligraphy styles you enjoy. Play with flourishes at the ends of words and with how words interact with eachother. Draw out your words. Don’t worry about the line weight at this stage, we’ll be adding this in the next steps.

2. Scan in your sketch. Bring it into Photoshop and clean up your drawing. This step makes it easier to trace in Illustrator.

3. Open your clean sketch in illustrator and starting tracing. Using the pen tool, trace over all of your lines. I’d suggest trying to keep the number of points to a minimum, but if your having trouble getting smooth lines, I’d try using the smooth tool.

4. Now we can get crazy with those curves. Press Shift (W) to begin using the width tool. Once you have this selected you can click on any point in your illustration to adjust the width of the line. Just click and drag away from the line to create a thicker stroke or toward the line for a thinner stroke. This will adjust the width of the entire line from that single point. To have more control over the whole stroke, use the direct select tool (white arrow) to select a point on your line. Then press Shift (W) and adjust the point. This will only effect the width of the line from that point until it reaches the next point on the line. This method is great for getting high-contrasting line weights on a single line. A great way to start is by scaling down the width of the line on each end-point of your type. This creates clean beginning and endpoints and helps the lines feel more brush-like.

5. With your reference images in hand, mimic the line weights you see. I’d suggest trying to keep all of your thick strokes a similar weight and thin strokes a similar weight. This way your type has a very consistent and cohesive feeling. Once you have all of the type in the style to your liking, try playing around with embellishments. Add extra flourishes or lines to enhance the design. To finish up my own design, I added a soft gradient halo around my text and a subtle feathered drop shadow to make the text stand out from the background.

Now get out there and start experimenting, you’ll be surprised at what you can make and how easy it can be to get fabulous looking designs!


Tutorial: Tilt Shift Photography

Friday, June 10th, 2011

I have an obsession with small things. Starting at a young age, I can remember building tiny cities and farms with my brother with wood blocks and small plastic figurine pigs. I continuously checked out the same book on making my own miniature doll furniture, and was way obsessed with decorating Barbie’s dream house with all of her miniature accessories. Even a bit more grown up, I still find myself in love with small things, from miniature brass figurines to tiny tiny lamps and, as most here know, dogs with short legs.

Tiny is just too cute, and so I love the emergence of Tilt Shift Photography. I can now make everything appear at a smaller scale. Tilt shift photography gives the appearance of a scaled model, with a shallow focus, high-contrast, and vibrant colors. Today, I’m sharing a fun way to create this look in Photoshop, so you too can start shrinking your world.

1. Select a Photo. Generally a model is seen from above, so make sure you’re choosing a shot from a high and wide angle, this will give you the best results. For this tutorial, I choose a photo taken out of my upstairs window of the street below.

2. Enter Quick Mask Mode. Open the image in Photoshop and enter Quick Mask Mode. You can do this by pressing Q on the keyboard, or select the Quick Mask icon at the bottom of your tools palette.

3. Draw a Gradient. Select the gradient from the menu by pressing G. Choose the reflected gradient. Draw a line where you want your main focus to be on the image. In this picture I choose the car to be the most in-focus element. If you look closely, I drew a line from the bottom of the car wheel to the top of the car. Keep using the gradient until you get the placement you’d like.

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Tutorial: Subtle Web Backgrounds Using Photoshop Texturizer

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Subtle web background textures are extremely popular in current web design. They can be used to give a site depth and and add richness in a way that isn’t too overwhelming. I’ve been really into using these subtle textures in my web designs and I’ve been on the hunt for how to create my own textures from scratch. Today I’m going to share one way to create these patterns for your own web designs.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a repeatable pattern in Photoshop and then use Photoshop’s texturizer to make a unique subtle and repeatable web background (as seen on the left). The texturizer’s great, because it allows you to add texture to an image without altering the image below. If you’ve already got a repeatable texture, you can jump down to section B to get started with the Texturizer!

A. CREATE A REPEATABLE TEXTURE

1. Find a Photo. Start with finding a high-res pattern image. I choose to work with a great fabric texture found here, but you could easily use a different photo or create your own.

2. Convert Texture to Grayscale and Resize. Bring your texture into Photoshop and convert to Grayscale. To do this go to, Image > Mode > Grayscale. Resize your image as necessary. I scaled mine down to create a more subtle look. Go to Image > Image Size to adjust the scale of your pattern.

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InDesign Dimensions Include Stroke Weight?

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

One thing that has driven me crazy about InDesign is that by default, unlike Illustrator, the dimensions of an object include the stroke weight. So if you draw a box that is 1″ x 1″ that has a 1 pt. stroke applied to it, then remove the stroke, you no longer have a 1″ x 1″ box. You have a 0.9861″ x 0.9861″ box. Conversely, if you draw a 1″ x 1″ box and then add a 1 pt. stroke, it becomes a 1.0139″ x 1.0139″ box. This has plagued me ever since I started using InDesign and has wreaked havoc when trying to align things.

I wanted it to work like Illustrator. In Illustrator, If you draw a box and add a stroke, it does not include the stroke weight as a part of the dimensions. One way I would get around this in InDesign was to align the stroke to the inside of my shapes. This worked all right until I butted two shapes up against each other. If those two shapes had a 1 pt. stroke then where they touched it created a 2 pt. stroke, again, raising my blood pressure to new heights.

So finally, after years of insanity, I decided to see if I could find a way to fix this and I found it! I don’t know why I didn’t search for it sooner. It is very easy fix but somewhat hidden. You would think it would be in InDesign’s Preferences but it’s not. (Believe me, I looked there many times!) The setting is located in the fly-out menu of the Transform palette! Duh.

If it is not already showing, you can find the Transform palette under the Window menu then Object & Layout.

Then in the Transform palette, in the fly-out menu, uncheck Dimensions Include Stroke Weight.

Much better.

(You can also find this setting in the fly-out menu of the long, skinny Control palette at the top of the screen when you are using the Selection Tool (black arrow)).


Find All Open Paths in Adobe Illustrator

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

A few weeks ago, I was working on an illustration and I noticed that the Divide function in my Pathfinder palette was not working the way it was supposed to. After a little troubleshooting, I found out that it was because one of the shapes I was trying to divide was not a closed path. I looked to see if Illustrator provided an easy way to find and select unclosed paths to no avail. It seemed to me that you should be able to find it under the Select menu where you can select stray points, all text objects, same fill or stroke color, or same blending mode etc. It seems like selecting all unclosed paths would be a pretty common query. Nope.
I did a Google search to see if anyone else had this problem or knew something that I didn’t. I ran across a free plug-in that adds Open Paths as well as 17 additional object types under Illustrator’s Select menu. It is awesome. Now I can easily select Guides, Open Paths, Closed Paths, Filled Paths, Unstroked Paths, etc. instead of spending valuable time and sanity hunting these rascals down.

The screen-caps above show Illustrator's Select Menu without (left) and with (right) the SelectMenuCS3 Plug-in.

You can find this and many other useful Illustrator plug-ins here. Thank you Rick Johnson! Download the file and then drag the plug-in into Illustrator’s “Plug-ins” folder. (On the website, it says it only works with CS3 and CS4 but it works for me in CS5).

The above plug-in only finds open paths. It is up to you to close them. I found a script that will find and close all open paths in Illustrator. I found this one on vectips.com. It actually contains 2 scripts; one that closes all Open Paths and one closes all selected Open Paths. To use the scripts, in Illustrator, under the File menu go to Scripts then Other Scripts… and navigate to the downloaded script and click Choose.

A dialogue box will open and let you know how many open paths it found and ask you if you want to close them all.

If you want your scripts to show up automatically without having to navigate to find them, store all your scripts in Illustrator’s Scripts folder. You can find Illustrator’s Scripts folder here: Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS5/Presets/en_US/Scripts.

Sweeeeeeet.


3 Key Rules To A Professional Email Signature

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

Email SignaturesThis morning, I received an email to my office inbox with a bizarre and fairly obnoxious signature. Is this really the signature that this person uses at the bottom of all outgoing email communication? Yikes! So, that got me thinking about best practices for your office email signature. While there are many articles written on the subject, I have condensed the learned wisdom down to 3 key rules. (more…)


Patterns in Illustrator

Monday, November 29th, 2010

We have been doing a lot of work with patterns in Illustrator recently and I thought I would share some of the things we learned and re-learned.

The easiest way to make a pattern is to just drag your object (perhaps a sweet Van Halen logo you made) into the ‘swatches’ pallet.

This creates a swatch that can be applied to the shape as a fill or a stroke.

A pattern does not have to be a square. It can be a rectangle, too.The pattern will repeat at the outer edges of the object (VH). If you do not want the pattern to repeat that way, draw a rectangle with no fill or stroke and move it behind the object.

Drag your object (VH) and the rectangle into the swatches pallet. Now, the pattern will repeat where the edges of the rectangle were.

You can scale or rotate the pattern within the shape. Select your pattern-filled shape and double-click on the “rotate” or “scale” tool to bring up its dialogue box. Make sure that only the pattern is selected and then enter the amount you would like scaled or rotated.

You can also move the pattern inside the shape by selecting the shape then holding down the Tilde key (the keyboard key to the right of the 1 Key), then clicking and dragging. Crazy.

It is a little more complicated to make a staggered repeating pattern. I will cover that in a new post, so stay tuned!

Happy patterning!


How to Read a Binary Watch

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

A while ago, I received a Binary watch as an anniversary gift. Since then, I frequently get asked how I read it. So let me break it down for you.

First, note the Flash app to the left. I built this for my Chumby, but the inspiration came from my watch. The main differences are that I put in a line of bits to show seconds, and I gave it the ability to show the date. Tap the watch face to view the date for five seconds. If you’re reading this, 01 The One, take some notes.
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