Illustrator Hop-Up
8. Finishing the project
Now let’s add the lettering. I don’t think I will have to elaborate much on that; just your typical vector work with multiple outlines. Suffice it to say that a warp effect was applied and that the ‘Type on a Path’ tool was used as well.
To add to the nostalgic theme of the piece, load up your brushes one more time and lay down a bit of “old school” pinstriping here and there… use the same brush that was used for the ink-work… don’t worry if you’re no Von Dutch; you can always wipe the stripes off as long as the paint is still wet… hahaha.
Then add some finishing touches. It’s pretty straightforward really; Look for dull spots or other problem areas and try to come up with a nice solution within the parameters of the project: Remember the number of colors was restricted to only three; you can cheat a little by creating different graduations of a spot color with halftones. Simply adjust the percentage slider of the spot color to create your halftone. Oh and don’t forget to add your signature after you’re done!
And here’s the final piece ready to be sent to the client for approval. I presented them with three color options -red, dark blue and purple- to let them have something to choose from. It only takes a minute to change colors for the entire piece so it’s really no trouble at all. I’m betting the client will go for the blue version after all…
- color options
After a while, I received feedback from the client; they thought the artwork looked “outstanding”. They approved of the piece without asking for any changes: Hurray! And just like I thought they would; they went for the blue version. So here is the final T-shirt artwork:
- final T-shirt artwork
9. Conclusion
I am also pretty happy with the way the drawing turned out; not too shabby for a freebie shirt with sponsor names. Thank you guys for reading and maybe some of you picked up a trick or two… If you’re already an Illustrator user, I hope to have persuaded you to at least look into the Paintbrush Tool and to maybe have a look at the 3D feature as well. Both can help you create “outstanding” vector art. If you’re not an Illustrator user (yet), I hope to at least have given you some insight into how you could use this superb drawing tool to your advantage. Maybe you will try it some time and maybe you will find out that you are a ‘vector-guy’ after all. Anyway; some of you might have heard that old saying: “Give a chimp a typewriter and he will eventually write Shakespeare”… Don’t forget that it takes a lifetime of drawing experience to develop a good understanding of what it takes to make a piece of artwork look good… computer or not. Study how the old masters drew their stuff without an Undo-key…
Here at the Motorburg community, we’re standing on the shoulders of Giants – quite literally… Watch and learn… I am still learning every single day. Computer drawing applications cannot compensate for poor craftsmanship…
A big thumbs-up to the ‘Giants’ at Motorburg for inviting me to contribute some ‘real’ Content! I feel both humble and privileged at the same time. Wow!
About the Author:
Born in 1969, it took Ger quite a while to find his “right” lane in life. After graduating from business school and working a zillion odd jobs, he eventually came around to the conclusion that he wasn’t “executive material”. Always feeling itchy fingers around a box of crayons and a piece of paper, the last time of getting sacked finally made Ger decide to take the plunge and try his luck in the field of freelance illustration. Ger aptly named his studio “Dutch Courage Graffix” and hasn’t looked back since.
Peters’ artwork heavily gravitates around the field of Kustom Kulture and his drawings and paintings usually have more or less of a “cartoony” touch. With an obvious predilection for automotive work, especially when it’s hot rod related, you get a sense of his inspiration in heroes like Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Ed “Newt” Newton, Rick Griffin and Robert Williams, yet it’s obvious that his work is developing a style all his own. Ger hails from the small Dutch town of Heythuysen, where he lives with his girlfriend Claudy, and their children Koen and Vera.
Visit Ger’s website: www.DutchCourageGraffix.com
…or his Motorburg Community Profile, and his posts in our Forums, too!
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Wow Ger, great tutorial!
The brush explanation and application is fantastic and the 3D mapping is awesome to know.
Thank you for taking the time.
Awesome job man!
-lemorris
Very cool tutorial on the brushes. I will agree they are a not so widely used tool in Illustrator. I have played with the 3d tool but never though of using it to wrap/warp objects. I have always used the enevelope distort to accomplish this, thanks for the tip.
Ger wrote a tremendous piece here, and I sincerely hope that you’ll all give him a big “Thank You!”. TONS of great info, and by far, one of the best documented tutorials I’ve seen in a long time.
So much to learn yet….
Grrrr! Very well done my far away friend. I got a chuckle when you mentioned that ancient Dimensions program. I still have my 4.5 inch floppies of that program (1994 maybe?) My problem as a quadriplegic is, I have no pressure sensitivity in my hands and I can’t press the little button on the stylus. I’ve been designing a pen, but it has a wire that runs to a mouse that I can click. I can draw with a ballpoint pen and get some pressure control, but I’d have to be watching my hands. I’m sure there’s a real-time monitor tablet. But I’d need to sacrifice a few pens and mice to get the electronics correct. Maybe this year (twentyten)! Meanwhile, great tute!
Great tutorial, well written and illustrated! Now to see if I can find similar features in the vector program I use, and try out some bits of your technique.
WOW Ger Awesome work man. I can use alot of this in Photoshop (I don’t use Illy) Thanks for bringing this great technique to our attention!
Thanks for the kind words guys! I really appreciate it!
Great tutorial.. Explains a lot of the mysteries of making Illustrator a useful tool.
Could you explain how you do the grille texture and wheels. Specifically how do you make the grille bars parallel to each other..copy and paste? or just a real steady hand? my attempts freehand are always wavy and distorted..
Do you freehand the wheels and tires or copy and paste multiple ellipses. Making the wheels look right always seems a challenge…
Thanks for any additional insight you can give
KJ
A great tutorial for the whole process. Very helpful!
Ok this is perfect timing, as I have some Illy stuff to work on! Thank you for the great & concise tutorial!
Very nice Illustrator tutorial, you have got to have one steady hand to get the kind of linework you achieve! I’m curious about the settings you use for the Brush Tool — the ones you access by double-clicking the Brush Tool icon.
I can’t maintain consistency in the brushstrokes with the Brush Tool.
Thanks George – You know; I never even realized there was such a thing as Paintbrush Tool Preferences… I guess my values are just the default values as I can’t remember to ever have touched them: Fidelity: 4 pixels; Smoothness: 0 percent. All other options are checked and Within: 12 pixels.
Very well done tutorial. I haven’t gone digital yet, but am glad I will have this to refer back to when I make the move.
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