This tutorial covers the process of creating a fantasy pinup illustration with Illustrator CS3. This tutorial uses Live Paint, so you will need CS2 or above to follow. If you need an alternative method for a legacy version of Illustrator, please download my Creating Comics with Illustrator tutorial which includes instructions for that.

Only an abridged version is shown here. You can read the full tutorial on Vectortuts+ here.

Downloads for Following Along:

• My brushes (Illustrator CS3, contained in a zip archive)
• Swatches for this file (Illustrator CS3, contained in a zip archive)

Highlight #1

When setting up a new document, I like to start with a layer named after the character (in this case, "Suko"), with these sublayers:

• g – for character-specific guides (optional)
• d – for top details and line work
• sh – for shading and shine details that will be filled paths
• c – for colour and shading with Live Paint

Feel free to use longer names that make more sense to you. You should also create a template layer at this point for your foundation drawing. I dim mine to 60% and set to unprintable (I delete the template later). Position the template image on the artboard and lock your template layer. My pencil sketch is available here, if you'd like to take a look.

Highlight #2

With the d layer active, start drawing with one of the calligraphic brushes with a black stroke set to 0.05 pt. Using a small stroke weight allows for a more delicate line. The brushes are angled to give subtle line variation.

It's easiest to start by drawing simpler lines first and leave the finer details such as facial features until later. I use the pen tool for drawing most lines. Use your pencil sketch as a guide, but don't be afraid to make corrections if you feel a line will look better if adjusted. Switch between the two brushes as necessary, if you find a line to be too thin or thick in a certain place.

Here's what the linework looks like when it's mostly done:

Highlight #3

Continue adding more details to your line work. Then, to make sure that the facial features are correct, unlock and show everything on all layers and sublayers. Rotate everything 90 degrees clockwise with the black selection tool (V) while holding down the Shift key. Adjust the facial features as needed, but ignore how the brush styles look altered. Use outline view (Command + Y) to see the paths without styles if that helps you while adjusting. I changed Suko's expression at this point to a slight smile. When you're happy with the changes, rotate everything back to the original position.

Highlight #4

When the line work is done, select and copy all of the paths on your d layer. Then lock all the layers you are not using and activate the c layer. Make sure that "paste remembers layers" is off.

Paste the copied line work on the c layer and delete any compound paths. Then, select everything on the c layer and convert to a Live Paint group by pressing Command + Option + X. You may receive a warning about brush styles being discarded. This is why the line work is on a separate layer.

Once you have your Live Paint group, hide your other layers. Use the direct selection tool (A) to select any superfluous paths that you won't need for Live Paint and delete them.

Select your Live Paint group and set the fill and stroke to none. Press X then / to do this quickly. Make the d layer visible again, but make sure only the c layer is unlocked. Now you can use the Live Paint bucket (K) to fill in your flat colours.

The image below shows partial flat colours and the gradient applied to the belt buckle (which I made as a compound path).

Highlight #5

Now we can move on to shading. Lock your Live Paint group and choose a bright colour that you are not colouring with. I usually use pink. Make sure you have no brush selected and set your stroke to 0.25 pt. You need to see the lines, but you don't want them too thick as you need to make sure the shaping is correct.

Draw outlines for the areas where you will add your shading. Some areas are easier to create shading outlines for by copying existing paths, ignore those for now. If you shaded your sketch well, use outline view to use your sketch as a guide. When you're done outlining, use the magic wand tool (Y) to select all the paths. Send them to the back of the layer by pressing Command + Shift + [. Unlock the Live Paint group and drag your selected paths into it via the layers palette.

When done correctly, you will see only your Live Paint group in the layer, but your paths will still be selected, as in the image below.


Press / to change the stroke to none if you haven't already. Deselect the paths and fill with your shading colours. Make adjustments as needed if there are gaps between paths that prevent you from filling.

When the bulk of the shading is completed for Live Paint, move to your sh layer to start adding extra details. I like to add a shaded accent to the eyes (alternatively, the accent can be lighter than the iris), and add small shading paths for the lips and the nose. You can also add shiny details to the skin and clothing. Use shiny accents on the skin minimally, you usually don't want you character to look like they have greasy skin.

The Final Image from the Tutorial:

This is only an abridged version of the tutorial. You can read the full tutorial on Vectortuts+ here.

Relevant Links:
The final illustration of Suko with a tiled background was shown in an earlier post (which includes links to the line work and sketch).

"Suko with a Rose" (with the tiled background) is available on RedBubble as prints.


Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Labels: illustrator, tutorial, vector

This gift illustration for my Mom is finally finished. I hope you like it! (I know she's happy with it)

Since the last post, I have made quite a few changes to the background. The trees you may recognize from my Alice and the Garden art post a while back.

I have, of course, changed the TWC incentive again. This time it's a sketch I drew of Aena last Friday.

Labels: art, vector

Here's an article I heard about today on Twitter that I found interesting:
The proper care and feeding of the in-house graphic designer (from the Jeff Fisher LogoMotives blog)

There are lots of great points in the article, it's a good read for in-house designers and those who work with them. It's also good as a general read for graphic designers and those who work with designers.

I think sometimes, from stories I've heard, that tensions tend to rise when clients and designers have trouble understanding each other. It may be necessary for the designer to give some idea to the client of what's needed to do a great job and what their working process is; but the client also needs to be able to step back and let some things happen behind the scenes before giving input. I think one of the greatest ways to build trust is for the designer to offer to give a little education about technicalities of design to the client. This is a way for the designer to show their expertise and helps the client understand the designer a little better.

Things like colour modes, resolution, and copyrights are good things to discuss in brief. The client doesn't need a ton of details, but they do appreciate knowing when things are being done correctly and knowing that the end result will be better for it.

I used to be an in-house graphic designer. It was something that I really enjoyed and learned a great deal from. I also made myself available to answer questions about design related things. I still work with that company, and they're one of my major freelance clients. I love working with them, corporate design is one of my specialties and I really get to be involved in so many areas of that with them :)

Prior to that, I worked at an engraving shop. In some ways, I think that had similarities to print on demand shops. It's high volume, high speed, and you deal with a lot of customers with different tastes. I always smiled when a customer said "you're the expert, please give me advice." What a great thing to say!

This carries over into design too. I always try to give advice on what I think will help the customer shine and I make a point of asking specific questions about things such as their needs, likes, and dislikes. Approval is always in the hands of the client, but the designer is there to offer creative solutions and help the client to meet their needs in the best way possible. And that's what we all want isn't it? The best possible solution to the task at hand :)

Labels: design, recommendations

Click the image to see a larger version. I have moved the separate pieces apart to show the divisions.

A friend asked me recently what the difference is between the knife and scissors tools. You'll notice in the image above that the knife tends to cut on a squiggly path. It also creates closed shapes, which isn't always what you want when modifying a shape.

Personally, I prefer the scissors tool (C). You can cut anywhere on the path to get exactly the line that you want. For closed shapes, you get more control by using the pathfinder palette with overlapping shapes.

Hope you found this tip useful! If you have an Illustrator question feel free to ask. Or, if you have a suggestion for a tip, feel free to let me know.

Labels: illustrator, tips, tutorial

I can finally reveal that this illustration is a Mother's day gift. While I'd gotten input on the sketch from my Mom earlier, I didn't tell her until Mother's day that the illustration was a custom gift for her. Kind of sneaky, but it worked out well for me! She said the lady kind of reminds her of Belle, from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I kind of see it, but it was completely unintentional. I used the bright blue because it's my Mom's favourite colour :)

I've been making some changes since the image showed above, based on my Mom's preferences. She's pretty happy with it so far, I just have some minor changes to make. When it's done, I'm going to get it printed large so she can hang it on a wall. She's had art from me on the wall before, but nothing this detailed. I'm glad to give her something really nice and finished that she can display.

Changes I've made since include a different pattern on the ground (I switched it to a multi-coloured tile), the removal of the steps in the back, and the addition of some plants. The finished piece is viewable in this post.

My Mom enjoys Regency romance novels, so I used a little Regency inspiration for the clothing. The earlier changes to the sleeves and gloves were based on that. Obviously the bodice is completely wrong for Regency, as the dresses in that time had a vertical emphasis and often an empire waist line. For personal work, I tend to design fashion in a very eclectic way. I like using a particular period as a point of inspiration and then going beyond that and creating something unique, instead of creating something random. It's a nice change, and I like to encourage myself to experiment.

I should say that I'm defining fashion design rather loosely here. I'm drawing clothing, but I wouldn't know where to begin to physically create some of the more complicated pieces. Basic mending is about all I can do with a needle and thread. I would definitely be intrigued if someone felt inspired enough to attempt creating any of the clothing that I've drawn in my personal projects.

I hope you like the image so far :)

Labels: art, vector

Here's the initial progress on the vector of the lady with a fan (the sketch is viewable in this post). Just the flat colour here, but you can see most of the costume changes in this image.

I'm still working on this one behind the scenes, but I need to decide on some more background elements to add.

If you want to see further progress, you can check out today's TWC incentive. I'll be moving that image to my art blog as soon as I have a new incentive replacement. The next progress image has moved to this post.

Hope you like the progress so far :)

Labels: art, vector

Just a little something I drew on the prompt "hats and hair." My mother said it seemed to have a bit of a Regency feel to it and made some suggestions about things I could add to give it a more obvious Regency inspiration. Drawn with fineliner marker and cleaned up in Photoshop.

I've been working on the vector version which includes changes to the sleeves and gloves, feathers added to the hat (thanks to my mom's suggestion), and I added a bow and flower where the top skirt parts.

I still have some more work to do on the shading for the digital, as well as creating most of the background. It's coming along, but I still have quite a bit of work to do to finish it.

Hope you enjoy this initial line art :)

Labels: art, traditional media