Pen Tool - Lesson 2 Activity

Tracing a Skull

Below is an image I traced using the pen tool in Adobe illustrator. I used the pen tool to generate straight and curved Paths. In order to adjust the curvature of the paths, I would pull or push the handles on the anchor points by using the selection arrow, until I achieved the desired effect.

I made the stoke size 1 point, and chose different colours for each path so as to represent various sections I worked on. I found this very useful, as I was able to stay organised and focused on each path I was working on.

Later on in the task, I was taught how to mirror a selected shape or path. Once I learnt this new technique, I was able to apply it to the paths I was working on. I would then duplicate (mirror) the final product and then apply it to the other side of the skull image. This made my timing on the lesson task go a lot quicker and smoother.

I found this task very challenging but enjoyable. It gave me the opportunity to practise using the pen tool, and I was able to pick up on various techniques that made the task a lot smoother and quicker.

Here is the skull image I traced, using the pen tool. In this version, I made the fill colour light grey for the main skull shape. Then a darker grey for the shading and then black for the shadows and outlines. This created a very detailed and realistic effect.

In this version of the skull I traced, I had to change the colours of the fill and stroke to make a more interesting finished product. I chose purple for the outline and dark shadows, green for the highlights and yellow for the main body of the skull.

Personal Projects

Business Card

My little asked me if I could design and create a business card for her Make-up and Special FX Make-up company. Of course, I was happy to oblige. It meant more practise on Photoshop using the skills I learnt from my course and some practise using Illustrator.

From various discussions, and design examples, I was able to get a good idea of the style and overall look she wanted for her business cards. We searched and downloaded a number of Fonts and Brushes that represented her desired style and tested each kind, until we came up with the final product. The brushes and fonts were uploaded and used in Photoshop.

I adjusted the various blend modes, levels and opacity in order to achieve the overall look.

The Logo, for me, was one of the hardest things I've had to make. It required the use of the pen tool to trace the outline of the image, and then I used the selection tool to manipulate the anchor points to create the curved lines of the logo, before filling with colour.

She was so pleased with the finished product, she had them professionally printed on cards and printed the logo on a T-Shirt that she now wears when she visits her clients.

Front

Back

Logo

Birthday Invitation

A very close friend of mine was celebrating her 30th Birthday. As a gift to her, I offered to design her birthday invitations. She wanted a Pirate theme for her birthday, and this was an exciting personal assignment for me, as I also love all things pirate themed. Once again, I searched for various fonts and brushes, and had multiple discussions with her about the overall look, style and layout of the invitations until we came to a final product.

She was very happy with the final product of her invitations, so we had them printed on a photo card to send out to her family and friends.

Assessment Task 1

Band Poster

For my Photoshop Assessment Task, I needed to generate an image that used a variety of blending modes, filters, layers, brushes, adjust the levels and create various images by using the selection and cutting tools. I also had to create my own logo's for various supporters or promoters. I favoured the double exposure technique during this assessment and enjoyed playing around with the blending modes to obtain the overall desired outcome.

Below is another image I was playing with that could have also been a potential Poster idea for this Assessment Task.

Retouched Images

Wild Hair

In this task I had to find an image of a model with messy or crazy hair and attempt to remove the background as cleanly as possible. I used the magic wand tool and the select and Mask tool. Using these two tools, I was able to successfully remove the original background and transfer the image onto a coloured gradient background. This task was very challenging but enjoyable.

Splash Paint Effect

Original Image

Photoshoped Image

Eyes and Teeth Alterations

Below is an image of a young woman without any alterations. I altered the features of the woman, by changing her eye colour to a vibrant purple and I whitened her teeth, subtly enough that they look more natural.

 Original Image

Altered Image

Double Exposure

I absolutely enjoyed the double exposure part of my practise tasks. I love that you can incorporate natural environments and merge them with human subjects to give a deep and meaningful and potentially powerful image. Below are some of the images I created using the double exposure effect.

Displacement Maps

Below are the various Displacement Maps I practised for my tutorial tasks. At first I found it a little difficult to try and incorporate the effects, however, after some trial and error, I began to thoroughly enjoy the tasks more. Which is more evident in the last task, with Marilyn Monroe.

Image Wrap

Logos

Text Wrap

Disperse Effect

In order to generate the disperse effect, I first needed to downloaded some various cloud and smoke brushes. Then I duplicated the image twice, and created a solid colour background with one duplicated layer images. I then carefully, cut out the image of the person from one of the other duplicated layers (deleted the background) and then duplicated that image. I used the filter effect, Liquefy and used a very large brush size, I stretched out one side of the person and then generated it into a mask layer. I hid the masked image by filling it in black. I then went to my original image (layer 1) and generated another mask. Then, finally, I used my various cloud/smoke brushes, I started to create the disperse effect, by going between the black and white colours and changing the brush sizes, until I achieved the desired effect. I had to attempt this task a couple of times, before I was happy with my end results.

Original Image

Dispersed Image

Airbrushing Effect

For this airbrushing effect I used a photo from my home collection. I believe that the end results came up very well, however next time I would need to lower the blur effect to make it look more natural. I also believe that if the photo was taken with a good resolution camera the results may also been a lot better. This photo was taken with a phone.

Photoshop - Fonts

Below are the various Fonts that I downloaded from Da Font and then edited. With each different Font style I adjusted the stroke, fill colour, font sizes, and included various blends. I also downloaded brushes to include in some Fonts, in order to enhance the various styles and themes of each Font type.

 Bordered Font

 Bordered Font

 Distressed Type

 Distressed Type

 Distressed Type

 Image Text

Image Text

 Image Text

 Image Text

 Image Text

 Light Blur Text

 Light Blur Text

 Light Blur Text

Wet Ink Type

Adobe Illustrator - Using the Pen Tool

Below are the various vector shapes I created using the Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator. I adjusted the anchor points to create the shape I desired and then edited the image by changing the stroke size, and colour, as well as the fill colour. I also added gradient colours to some of the shapes, in order to give it a nicer aesthetic.

A Circle

A Star

A Square

A Triangle