Trying my hand at Illustrator

[thebrettartist]

I always worked with Photoshop until now, but I figured I had better try out Illustrator.

Here's the result.

C+C Welcome.

http://www.thebrett.com/library01.gif

Thanks,

-Brett

www.thebrett.com

[blackhand]

The illustrations have a nice style, but I think you could use more contrast in the colors. I wouldn't suggest using outlines as you'd lose that cut-out look and feel, but the figure gets lost in the bright colors of the outdoor scene. I'd just knock back the saturation of the background a bit.

Depending on the environment, I think the character could stand to have some bolder colors as well.

[sentinel2001]

I am an old Illustrator hand having worked hard with the program for about a year and a half, I have come to specialise in the kind of art that looks like photoshop or painter, and pushes the limits of what 'vector' art is supposed to look like.
a fairly navigable collection of my stuff is on deviantarts here: http://sentinel2001.deviantart.com/deviations

My Illustrator work here is:

Generic Furry Babe
Laser Scalpel
The Acolyte
Vector Eye tutorial
Universe Alice

More Illustator stuff is here:
Correspondence (http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/sentinel_graphics@ameritech.net/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos/My+Art+Portfolio/Misc+Illustration&.src=ph&.dnm=Correspondence.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/sentinel_graphics@ameritech.net/lst%3f%26.dir=/My%2bPhotos/My%2bArt%2bPortfolio/Misc%2bIllustration%26.src=ph%26.view=t)

Witches Mark: A detail from The Acolyte (http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/sentinel_graphics@ameritech.net/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos/My+Art+Portfolio/Misc+Illustration&.dnm=Witches+Mark.jpg&.src=ph)

Ball breaker (http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/sentinel_graphics@ameritech.net/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos/My+Art+Portfolio/Character+Illustration&.src=ph&.dnm=ballbreaker10.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/bc/sentinel_graphics@ameritech.net/lst%3f%26.dir=/My%2bPhotos/My%2bArt%2bPortfolio/Character%2bIllustration%26.src=ph%26.view=t)

Some observations about Illustrator:

1. It's not your father's Illustrator
You are't limited to art that looks like Hanna Barbare cell art. It has photoshop like blend modes and the latest versions can do complex repeatable vector textures (using symbols).
You can do stuff that most would think required a airbrush (gaussian blurs) tool or a paint tool (mesh gradients)

2.Learn to use Layers
Layers are your friend in any program that uses them buth they are a friend in deed in Illustrator. A complex painting can have hundreds of layers and learning to take advantage of the layer functions is necessary


3.Try to learn what the program can do not what it's usually used for.

I'm continually told my work 'looks like photoshop'. That's because I'm willing to try to make the program do thinks people normall don't use it for. Look despite the name 'Illustrator; this program is used as an Illustration tool only a fraction of what Photoshop other bitmap paint programs are. This is because for years Adobe simply didnt keep the program up to date with the evolution of the capabilities of paint programs and because whenver you pointed this out the programmers at Adobe shrugged and just said "pull it into photoshop". Yes pull it into photoshop and loose the technical advantages of a vector format. But with the later versions of Illustrator it has evolved to a program with whole new level of capabilities.

But relatively few know this. For the reasons I have stated, because of what 'vector art' is 'supposed' to look like there is a tiny fraction of material on the web for Illustator. To truly make Illustrator do something you have to be willing to be something of an explorer, So much of the available tutorial material is either irrelevant to vector programs or requires sometime tricky translation to sqeeze out the useful parts.

But I'm willing to help, any othe Illustrator types out there to I'd be happy to show what I have learned about what the NEW Illustator can do (and learn something myself..)

[sentinel2001]

Also the pic Voodo Queen on the Deviantarts site was done in Illustrator 10 as well.