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yankeedog — Vector Art Tutorial 1
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Published: 2005-02-19 14:48:14 +0000 UTC; Views: 30721; Favourites: 29; Downloads: 5028
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Description
(Steps A&B)All my Pin-Up girls start out the same way with a simple blue pencil sketch using a 0.5 mm Pentel technical pencil with blue lead on 11"x17" copier paper. The reason I use Pentel blue lead is that it's almost non-photo blue and it doesn't smear. After I have a sketch that I'm happy with, I'll lay a piece of vellum over the blue pencil sketch and ink a line drawing with a .0 Koh-i-noor Rapidograph.
When the line art is complete, I'll make a copy of it, reducing it down 65% to 8.5"x11". This sharpens all the lines and eliminates the blue pencil lines. This copy will be scanned 100% at 300 dpi and saved as a Tiff file (Tag image file format). Next I open this Tiff file in Adobe Streamline.
(Step C)
Streamline is a very simple program for converting pixel art to vector art. In Streamline, I can do some minor touch up, using the eraser tool, erasing overdrawn lines and the pen tool, to connect incomplete lines. You want to have all closed lines, no breaks. If you have a break in a line it will leave an open space in your vector art. After I've cleaned up the Tiff file, I select convert and Streamline redraws my line art. Step C shows all the vector points. You are able to add or eliminate points with the pen tool. The green indicates broken lines that I have to fix.
(Steps D&E)
After I clean up any broken lines and shapes, I save the conversion. The program automatically saves the art as an Adobe Illustrator EPS file (Encapsulated Postscript).
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Comments: 10
this is a great tutorial. I received my degree along time ago and have refused to use computers. recently My brother in law, who is a photographer gave me his old computer and it has photoshop, paint shop pro, corel draw and painter and I cant use any of them. so I must scrounge then internet for real beginners tutorials, I mean real , real beginners.
I really like this though... truly awesome.
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Thanks, I'm glad you like it. It's a little out of date, but if you substitute CS2's live trace for Adobe Streamline, it's still a relevant tutorial.
-YD
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this is a great tutorial. I received my degree along time ago and have refused to use computers. recently My brother in law, who is a photographer gave me his old computer and it has photoshop, paint shop pro core draw and painted and I cant use any of them. so I must scrounge then internet for real beginners tutorials, I mean real , real beginners.
I really like this though... truly awesome.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thanks! It's kind of obsolete now that CS2 has live trace, but if you substitute live trace for the Streamline part, it's still relevant.
-YD
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WoW!
A complex but interesting technique!
I alreay knew that you're a real artist (using traditional mediums) and then converting it to vector art.
And when I say real, it means REAL!
Best Wishes
Ahmed Nayyer
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My best wishes for you!
Ahmed Nayyer
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Thanks Ahmed! I really appreciate that. I've only been working on the computer for about 10 years now, but I've been working in graphic design for almost 30 years, so I'm no stranger to traditional art and methods. I feel rather fortunate to have those skills, I think it makes me a better artist on the computer. so much of what I learned as a production artist, I was able to apply to what I'm doing now as an illustrator. My goal is to have my art that I'm doing on the computer, not look like it was done on the computer. It's not an easy task, but I am getting better at it.
-YD
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