Illustrator Blog

My Soccer Sketch

I drew a soccer ball atop of grass with the sun in the corner of the sketch. First, I used lines inside the soccer ball and to set the horizon for the drawing. I also tried to make jagged lines to show the grass. Then, I used the regular colors that you would expect to see on all my objects, but I made sure to make the sky blue so that it wouldn't be too harsh or hard on the eyes (dark blue may resemble night).  For the grass's texture, as I mentioned, I used jagged lines to create a cartoon-sort image. I made the soccer ball the biggest part of the sketch, as it was the focus point. I used shapes such as circles to make the sun and ball, and used triangles for the sun's rays. I used squares and hexagons inside the ball as well. Finally, I decided not to have anything going on in the background, as to give the soccer ball space (as talked about in one of the key elements of graphic design). Finally, regarding value, I made the sky a light blue to create a peaceful image.

Adobe Illustrator Time

I then used Adobe Illustrator to recreate my sketch, but this time's objective was to use basic shapes and colors as well as the new tools to make this possible. So, to start off, I drew two rectangles that bordered each other to resemble the ground and sky. Then I made a circle with the shaper tool and moved it to the corner. As I made it yellow, I also created triangles to resemble the sun's rays. For the focus point of the project, I created a huge circle using the shaper tool and kept it white. Inside, I used the shaper tool again to create squares and a hexagon for the design of the ball (I colored these black). Finally, I used the pencil tool to connect the shapes inside the ball and also used this tool for the grass's texture.

The Shaper Tool

We were introduced to this tool which allowed you to draw a shape freehand and it would automatically snap to the perfect size and measurements of that shape. Pretty cool, right? This turned out to be easier than trying to draw shapes or making them with the pencil tool. It also takes place of the eraser tool as well. In our design with the shaper tool, we created a big circle, and then grabbed from the right side of the circle and cut off 1/4 of the shape. We then made a smaller circle and overlapped the original circle's center, making them combine. Finally, we made an even smaller circle and put it in the center of the two circles. We "punched a hole" in the design by drawing a jagged line with shaper tool to erase the smallest circle. There were a few learning curves, but the shaper tool is a lot easier to work with. I like Adobe Illustrator's features such as the shaper tool and pencil tool in general. Finally, it's cool that you can blow up a picture and it won't get pixelated!

What is Graphic Design?

Introduction

For our first sketch in our sketchbook, we had to draw something that resembled graphic design or what it meant to us. We were then to use the seven key elements of graphic design: lines, color, texture, size, shape, space, and value. Regarding my sketch, I chose some logos that I see very often.

Artistic POV

I chose the eCommunication logo, because, of course, we are in eComm. Plus, when I was sketching, right in front of me was the logo... so it inspired me to draw it. This is an example where you notice graphic design like that. Second, I chose the Nike logo because I wear a lot of Nike gear and my soccer uniform is made by Nike. Then I drew the Adidas logo because I've always liked Adidas and their gear. Also, they are a German company and my dad was born in Germany so I like Adidas because of it. I used the Under Armour logo because I wear their clothing a lot and they are a very famous brand with a surprisingly simple logo. You might ask, "Why did Colin use the Umbro logo?" Well, I don't wear their gear or anything very much to be honest. But, they were my first soccer cleat brand so it means something to me. Finally, I designed the Amazon logo because there are billions of things to buy on their website and their logo is creative. I used colors according to the color of each logo, but then used yellow as a neutral background color to make the logos stand out more. As a border, I colored black around the focus point of the design.

7 Elements of Graphic Design

Starting off with lines, I decided to have lines surrounding central portion of the design to outline it and make it bold. Of course, I already talked about color but made the logos their own color with add yellow as a background color. Regarding texture, I tried to make the outline of each logo more bold and thick than the coloring of it to make it stand out. The size of the logos also came into play, where I tried to make them close to the same in size. I tried to make the logos as close to the shape they are as possible, and decided to surround the drawing with a rectangle. I allowed for some space between logos as well. And finally, going with a lighter yellow background made the logos stand out more and the element that shows this is value.

The Process

First, I had to figure out how to make the logos all fit on the design and decided the best way to do this was to make them smaller, adding a border on the outside. I sketched the logos with pencil and then outlined most of them in black. Finally, I colored them in according to what the logo looks like. I liked my Adidas logo and Under Armour logo because they are simple yet effective. I also liked putting the border around it. All in all, the process was somewhat longer than I expected but came out as a good result.