Step 4

Start the line art. Do what you’re used to doing. I personally don’t use strokes in Illustrator because I like to have more control

over my lines, but honestly, do what you feel the best at doing. I like to start from the eyes because that is the most central part

of the illustration. Then just build around it.

Step 5

As you’re illustrating your piece, explore some ideas in shading, or just add to it. I would never suggest copying the piece

straight up, but allow yourself to be creative. Also, don’t rush it. As you’re only focusing on one side of this piece, you’re already

saving yourself time. Let the lines flow and add your own perspective on the piece.

Step 6

Once you get the first side done, copy your line art and flip it. Once you do this, line up the sides so they are almost flush. At

that point, you’ll discover that certain spots look flat or odd. This is your chance to go in and clean that up and also blend the

middle a little bit so it will feel more unique.

Step 7

Adding colour is quite fun. Create a new Layer under your line art. Lock the layer that has your line art on it, and also hide or

click off of the layer with photo. You want to avoid any distractions and work with a clean background. First you want to drop a

base colour down.

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Step 8

I generally work in greyscale, then change it to colour later to save me some time, however it’s your call. You don’t have to be

perfect when dropping in colour, it’s a matter of just filling in the areas that you want to pop out. Take time to throw a few

shades of darker colour or lighter colour for shadows or light reflections. Doesn’t have to be over the top, but enough to give it

some depth.

Step 9

When you finish the colouring process, create another layer for your background elements. That way if you need to go later for

more colouring, or more line art, you can, besides, keeps the file really organized.

Step 10

I generally take advantage of clip art elements or create my own elements like hair, or little flourishes that I can throw all over

the piece. This is where you can have fun with the piece and just let it become you. That’s really what this illustration is all

about. It’s not about copying this skull, but it’s about your own perspective and take on this skull (or whatever you are

illustrating).

Step 11

I also recommend just playing around with bitmap files or dirty vector files and place it on top or around the piece to give it a

little bit more of the raw effect.

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Step 12

At this point, you are pretty much done. I would expect at least 3-6 hours for a decent vector illustration, maybe more depending

on how detailed you really want to get with it. Also don’t be afraid to rehash elements in it if it saves you time. Hair is a great

thing, because if you do it right, you can pretty much rotate it and now you have a whole different piece to work with.

Who: Joshua M Smith is an extremely cool US designer specializing in vector- based illustration and design. He has created

work for the likes of Evoke LA, Flicker Records, Boom Magazine, E360 Magazine, Comet Skateboards, and apparel for the likes

of Ripcurl and Quiksilver. He has recently redesigned his Web site, which features a wide variety of his work.

Contact: www.hydro74.com

Software: Adobe Illustrator

Time to complete: 3 hours

On the CD or download: All files for this tutorial can be downloaded here.

Tip

There are many occasions when I start from scratch and just find good reference points to start a illustration from but, for the

most part, I like to have the correct perspective, so having something to trace from helps. Once the basic tracing is done, be

creative and see were it takes you. Save the files often, also, duplicate the illustration to the side if you want to explore some

other things with it by adding some organic styled pieces or even some hand-drawn elements.

Tip

You can make any colour a spot color simply by holding down the Command/ Ctrl key when you click the New Swatch icon. To

make a Global spot colour, press Command/Ctrl + Shift while clicking the New Swatch icon.