Illustrator Tutorial

               For this illustrator tutorial we mainly focused on using the pen tool to trace an image of Marilyn Monroe. I found the task quite challenging as I have never used Illustrator before let alone the pen tool. However towards the end of the session I did feel more comfortable in using the pen tool to create curved lines. We also looked at changing the weight of lines and the stroke profile, and how to use the layers, eye dropper tool and art boards. 

Here is the image we were given to work with: 

First of all we placed the image on to an artboard on Illustrator, then scaled it to fill the page, as well as lowering the opacity so when tracing round the image we could see the lines of the face and use the pen tool accurately.

After this we began by drawing round different elements of the portrait, first of all the face, then the hair and the focusing on the facial features and colouring.

We were then instructed to add shadow to the neck:

 Then the features to the face were added, using the ellipse tool for the eyes, and also signature beauty spot, and duplicating and reflecting the eye elements. Also the stroke profile and weight of the lines drawn on the face were changed to look softer. This was done through the stroke panel :

The last thing we did was add detail to the hair by again using the stroke profile and weight settings on the lines created by the pen tool.


Here is the finished outcome: 

The finished outcome would maybe look better with shadow on the face and if the jaw wasn't so angular due to struggling with the pen tool initially. Due to my inexperience on Illustrator and using the pen tool I decided to experiment using the techniques taught in the session. Below is a second attempt using a different image, done after the session using the pen tool to create a vector image:

Image used:

My work:

 I feel this second experiment is an improvement on the Marilyn illustration done in the session as I felt more confident in using the pen tool and added more details to the illustration on the face which makes the work look better I feel.