Need some advice/tips on a task i'm working on

[MattS]

Hey, I don't think I ever introduced myself properly on this messageboard so this might be a good thing to start off with.

I've always done general arts in school but as I discovered the wonders of the adobe products I felt that the way of creating and designing was more up my alley than painting on canvas etc,...

So earlier this year I decided to go for a degree in DTP and Graphic Design. I'm 28 years old and living in Antwerp - Belgium.

Now that I'm halfway through my year I have a big task to finish by the end of the week. I made it quite far already but there's still some work to be done and I'm hoping to get some tips here on this board.

I have to get a photo fully traced and colored and try to get it as realistic as possible. The photo wih the subject of my choice you can see here:

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4360/400dfrontfdownbs.th.jpg (http://img259.imageshack.us/i/400dfrontfdownbs.jpg/)

And this is how far I progressed:

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2610/d400.th.png (http://img87.imageshack.us/i/d400.png/)

As you can see here's still some work to be done but I'm quite content on how it looks so far. Some meshes need to be tuned and cleaned up though as they are a bit rough.

The thing I'm trying to get done first is the glare on the lens, I've put a gradient on it with a transparency but it still looks a bit too flat in my opinion.

Also the big horizontal "wheel" (i think it's that what's used to change the mode on the camera) needs the grip texture on it which I don't find easy either.

So if anyone has some advice or neat tips on a technique on how to get the best result, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance for your time =]

[kialua]

Nice job so far Matt. hang on we have some real experts in Illustrator and when they get the time they will probably have a good tip for you.

[Srecko]

No tips from me, just to say that I am impressed with your work!!!

[Billb]

Matt,
Looking good so far. These objects are always fun projects, even better when you don't have a time constraint on them and can just doodle along at your own pace. Welcome to the world of graphic design DEADLINES.

The knob can of course be done in many ways. One way I was thinking of is to create one vertical piece, copy it, move it right (and change it's size) then blend about 8-10 of them for a little strip.
Do the same thing going left.
*(look up Replace spline to follow a path with the pieces)

Here is a quick copy of what I mean.

You can play around with the individual pieces by expanding the blend. I haven't played with them here but if you move them closer together as you reach the edges of the knob it will look good.

I can write up a more detailed tutorial if you need, but thats the idea anyway.

I did a watch a while back after seeing the idea on the internet. It took about a 12 pack of Beer to get done, but I was happy with it.

On your lense, It looks pretty good right now, you might want to add a few transparent colors to it to tweak it a bit to your liking.

On the Camera body parts, just a tiny tiny bit of Grain/Noise or whatever you call it always seems to help but very little and don't over do it.

Whatever happens, don't overthink the project, most people aren't going to notice the really small items, and you'll waste time fretting over stuff.

good luck...

Bill1618

[MattS]

Aha =] thanks for the compliment and thank you Billb for taking your time to write such a helpful reply. It will certainly help me move further on the project.

Also an excellent result you cooked up there. Both the watch and the knob =]

And yes this is something I really enjoy doing although my experience with it so far is limited to two projects. Including this one.

For the texture on the body of the camera I had a graphic texture in mind thinking that simply adding noise wouldn't be sufficient. Guess I'll have to give that a go first too.

Thanks again and keep those tips coming everyone =]

[meganchi]

Matt,
I very quickly drew a "lens" (see attached file). Basically, I drew a circle and filled it with 3 gradient colors of green, gray and darker gray. Next, I drew about a 1/3 piece of a circle filled it with white color and placed it on top of the other circle. Then I applied an overlay transparency on the white 1/3 piece of pie and set the transparency to 23%. Then I applied a 30 pixel guassian blur. I duplicated the 1/3 piece of pie and adjusted for a larger blur of about 50px. It will still need a little tweaking. But the effect was done as basic as I could think of doing.

[Pointyhat]

Just so I'm on the correct page though.
You've taken a rasterized photo and retraced it in Illy. And done an amazing job as well. Clapping my hands in delight.
Or are you saying you took the raster photo and redrew it in Illy. That would be breathtaking but extremely rare.

[MattS]

Hehe, it's the first. Retraced the rasterized photo. Although I like how it is looking so far, I'm sure there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Meganchi, thanks for the tips =] I've put an opacity mask on it earlier and in ended up looking like this (see att.)

Today is the last day where I get to work on it before I have to turn it in. But it should give me enough time to finish the smaller details.

[Billb]

Don't forget to post the finished piece and let us know how you did on the project... :D

Good Luck!

B

[Lukas Engqvist]

You say you need to get a photo traced, but both images look, to me, like computer renderings. It is agood excersise, but part of the excersise is knowing how to simplify an object. Seems you are making good progress, and I don't want to disrupt the fine handywork.

[MattS]

You say you need to get a photo traced, but both images look, to me, like computer renderings. It is agood excersise, but part of the excersise is knowing how to simplify an object. Seems you are making good progress, and I don't want to disrupt the fine handywork.

Well, as far as I am aware the first thumbnail is just a regular studio photo of the Canon camera, the 2nd thumbnail is all me with tracing and meshing about.

Sorry but I'm a bit confused on how to interpret your comment (blame the hard working I did today ^^ ). Do you mean that by looking as computer renderings it's not good, useless...?

I know I still have a lot of practice ahead of me so I guess simplifying things will become more and more natural to me as I progress.

But, as working day has ended for me - the project has been finished, I can show you the result as how I handed it over to be judged.

The end result had to be turned in as an ad concept too., so that explains the text and added elements =]

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/690/canonad.th.png (http://img155.imageshack.us/i/canonad.png/)

[eugenetyson]

I don't understand

A photo of a camera was taken by the same model camera.

That photo, of the camera, taken by the same model camera is then traced in illustrator.

Then the traced version is used in an advert campaign advertising that camera.

It doesn't say much about the camera if it had to be redrawn in illustrator?

Why not just use the camera image taken by the camera for the advert?

Anyone else following me?

[joeparis]

I'm confused now.

As I see it, the OP was asked to create a realistic image of an object. He used a picture of a camera for reference. Maybe the reference picture was actually a vector image itself - is that it?

Personal taste aside, as an exercise in using Illustrator's tools, it's not a bad thing is it?

[MattS]

The ad campaign is fictional =]

It was merely a project given to us to show how far we have gotten in understanding and working with the tools in Illustrator. The pen tool, pathfinder, appearance, mesh, etc..

[Lukas Engqvist]

I was just pointing out that the "photo" looks like a rendering and not a photo. It is basically the sama as saying in traditional art there is a difference between copying old masters and learning to reduce and simplify a shape. The excersise as in learning the mechanics, and to some degree reconstructing the image is a valid one. And the task is well done, nothing to be ashamed of. I think it is a great job. (Better just leave it at that.)

[kialua]

I don't understand

A photo of a camera was taken by the same model camera.

That photo, of the camera, taken by the same model camera is then traced in illustrator.

Then the traced version is used in an advert campaign advertising that camera.

It doesn't say much about the camera if it had to be redrawn in illustrator?

Why not just use the camera image taken by the camera for the advert?

Anyone else following me?

Well one of the reasons this type of art is used instead of the photo is to make it consistent with other products that weren't shot at the same time. And sometimes the drawings are made from a photo that is too small to be used larger.

[eugenetyson]

That makes sense Kiaula.

And it's a fictional ad campaign too - :)

Ok the finished image isn't bad. It's a little bit wobbly on the curves a bit. Especially the dial at the top left.

I haven't look at the image since about 10 hours ago. I still remember seeing inconsistencies in the curves.