Mike's graphic notebook: Elect. Illustr 2: Vector Graphic

Steampunk design

one of my latest projects I had to work on was a steampunk image to be used on a T-shirt. the design had to 10" x 15" using two colors.

If you never heard of steampunk before, look it up "google it". it's kinda out there, but really quite interesting.

and if you had it printed on a shirt it could look like this

Steampunk Reflection

I started off a little slow on this project, mainly trying to find an interesting subject to start with. Once I got started things began to flow pretty well. I started this project with a “trout fish” but as things progressed and I wanted to make it a little more interesting I added the head of a “swordfish”. Things were looking pretty good but the tail was looking a little weak. So I added a tail similar to what might be found on a “mermaid”. That is how the image got its name. Mertrousal fish.

Some of my biggest problems with this project was trying to get the images into auto trace, and not be a big blob. Finding sketch images works great and requires little work. Color images can be dealt with by converting them to black and white then adjusting the color curves. The thing you need to do is get the blacks as black as they can be, and the whites as white as can be.

Once I got some of the fish started in Photoshop, I did a test trace in Illustrator. Things looked pretty good so I decided to start adding bits and pieces. Some of the parts I simply created, and some came from the web/ Photoshop.

I really didn’t know how much to take away from the original “fish” image. But I wanted to make it interesting. As a result very little of the original fish image survived. It didn’t take long for me to become friends with the eraser tool, as deleting anchor points and manipulating control handles takes a lot of time.

One of the new tools I used was the “brush tool” with the “decorative elegant curl floral brush set”. Wow you can really make some interesting shapes.

When it came time to color the image I really wasn’t sure how to go about it. First I tried the brush tool. That had dismal results at best. So with a little time on the Interweb I seen some videos about the “blob brush”. That worked pretty good.

The final hurdle was to get things ready for print. Everything looks pretty good, but I’m not sure. Hopefully it’s right but if not. It will be next time.

The Superhero Hydro Man

Hydroman helps guide paddlers, rafters, and fishermen. With a mighty stroke of his paddle he can control the depth and direction of waterways. Hydro man is a friend of nature. He can wave his paddle in the air, and cause it to rain. When the water level is to low; or when there is a forest fire, he is there to put it out,with torrents of water.