Cafe Limon project

Hello friends,

I recently completed the Cafe Limon logo project featured in the Adobe Illustrator book. Initially, I faced some challenges with the gradient mesh tool. I used the eyedropper tool to sample colors from the original lemon image and applied them to the anchor points in the wireframe, but I didn't notice any changes. After some investigation, I realized I hadn't been viewing the preview and hadn’t sampled enough colors to see the adjustments I was making.

I’ve found that taking a break and stepping away from your work can be incredibly effective for both efficiency and creativity. After that minor setback, I thoroughly enjoyed the project. The hands-on learning experience really brought everything together! Here’s what I came up with!

Creative Challenge 25

Greetings, friends,

I know I said that I wasn’t going to use the book entitled "Caffeine for the Creative Mind" any longer because I wanted to explore other sources for new creative challenges, but this book is just too good to resist.

That being said, I was looking online to find something fitting for our current class on Adobe Illustrator, but I didn't find anything that really resonated with me. Then I picked up "the book." I opened it to the first page, and I literally laughed out loud. The exercise was called "I Never Knew a Pencil Sharpener Could Be So Deep."

The interesting thing is that we had just been discussing in class earlier this week how we should approach drawing in Illustrator by looking at things in terms of shapes. This exercise literally asks you to find an image you see every day and sketch it out using only shapes. It challenges you to change your perspective on something you know well and see daily.

I decided to use a calculator I had on my desk, and I created the image in Adobe Illustrator. It was challenging, but I liked how it turned out. Great exercise!

Tattoo

I decided to create a tattoo design that I've been wanting for some time now. This is essentially a rough draft, as I plan to revisit it and add more detail later on, but for now, I'm starting with this version.

This image holds a lot of meaning for me—it’s a tribute to my son and his father, who passed away. 

I crafted a silhouette in Illustrator by using a photo that captured the essence of a father and son. I traced the image, expanded the object, and removed any unnecessary elements. I also found an image of a gate that resonated with me and followed the same process.

Next, I utilized the Free Transform tool to adjust the anchor points on the gate, creating the illusion that it was in the distance and that my boys were walking toward it. I employed the Pen Tool to create a path and positioned the silhouettes of the man and son along that path, trying to depict them walking together. I recognize that this aspect needs further attention to enhance the perspective—I view it as a work in progress. Finally, I added text in a font that conveyed the emotion I wanted the viewer to feel, using Smart Guides to center and align it.

This piece was very emotional for me, and I truly enjoyed working on it. I hope to refine it as I improve my skills as a graphic designer and, ultimately, get this tattoo one day.

Camping Icons Project

Good evening, friends! I recently tackled the Adobe Illustrator book's camping icons project. It was quite challenging, mainly because I couldn't access the file needed to complete the project as instructed. It was frustrating, but then I spoke with a classmate who had encountered the same issue. He was so positive about it and suggested that we could just create the icons without the templates. I excitedly agreed and thought to myself, "Why didn't I think of that? This guy is a genius!" (Haha.)

That said, I found some very helpful videos on YouTube, and along with the book and everything we've learned in class so far, I did my best with the resources I had.

To be honest, I actually found it kind of fun. I got more practice with my good friend, the Pen Tool, and I decided we really need to be friends—I need to stop hiding from it! 

I practiced using my bounding box and the marquee tool, and I had some hands-on experience with fill and stroke. I discovered that Smart Guides are a lifesaver, and I’m so thankful we have them available in Adobe Illustrator. My work may not be mathematically perfect, but if I had more time, I wouldn’t have stopped until everything was aligned and distributed perfectly. I also used the Lasso Tool extensively and absolutely love how Illustrator automatically detects the shape within the lasso selection, allowing you to move just those items without affecting other parts.

I did use the Align and Distribute features, which worked great until I created the images inside each box and tried to realign them, resulting in a terrible outcome. So, I used the lovely Command + Z function to undo everything and, for the sake of time, decided to let it be. 

Well, here it is. Voila!

Creative Challenge 24

Welcome back! I had a great winter break. The weather was fitting for winter break, considering we are in Florida—it was freezing! I know I mentioned that I wouldn't use the book "Caffeine for the Creative Mind" for any more creative challenges, but I was thumbing through it and found a challenge that feels like a great fit for the class we are currently in, which is Adobe Illustrator. The challenge is called "How Do You Draw Music?" and I decided to take what I learned from the Adobe Illustrator tutorial videos and apply it to this challenge.

Most importantly, I chose to embrace the pen tool and practice with it to express what music feels like to me. I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but I started having fun with it! I learned how to close paths, and how to click on the paths or the handles to adjust lines and create curves, and I used the direct selection tool to choose each letter I made with the pen tool individually. Then, I played around with gradients and discovered I have much more creative freedom in Illustrator than Adobe Photoshop. I’m really starting to love Illustrator—yeah, I got this!