The Joy of Hand-rendered Vector Art
One of the beefs I have with a lot of vector art is that it often looks like, well, vector art. Too “computer-y”. In the right hands, the gradients and other flashy tools provided by programs like Adobe Illustrator can be used to great effect, especially for information graphics. But these tools also make it easy to create overly decorated work that lacks the warmth of a hand-rendered illustration.
Fortunately, Illustrator also provides tools that help you turn your napkin sketch into vector art without digitizing the life out of it. I sketched this spot illustration with a marker brush, creating large-stroke drawing for the bird plus a batch of pencil outlines for the color blocks. I then scanned the pieces and outlined them with Illustrator’s Live Trace tool, using different settings for the thick brush strokes versus the thin color outlines.
After combining the resulting vector outlines, I was able to play with color until I developed a palette I liked. To me this is one of the major benefits of vector art. I can explore and change color quickly, testing ideas and keeping multiple copies of variations I can go back to later. And if a client needs a change, I can work more quickly and efficiently with a vector file, without having to go back to the napkin.
A cleaned-up version of the brush drawing.
Final spot illustration.
Outlines for the color blocks.
Tags: Adobe Illustrator, drawing, Illustration, tools
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