Build a Character in Illustrator
Exploring Ideas
This section explores the criteria "Explore the visual arts practices and styles as inspiration to develop a personal style, explore, express ideas, concepts and themes in art works(VCAVAE040)Explore how artists manipulate materials, techniques, technologies and processes to develop and express their intentions in art works (VCAVAE041)."
Finding Inspiration
This section explores the criteria "Analyse and interpret artworks to explore the different forms of expression, intentions and viewpoints of artists and how they are viewed by audiences(VCAVAR045)Analyse, interpret and evaluate a range of visual artworks from different cultures, historical and contemporary contexts, including artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to explore differing viewpoints (VCAVAR046)"
Types of drawing
This section explores the criteria "Select and manipulate materials, techniques, and technologies and processes in a range of art forms to express ideas, concepts and themes (VCAVAV042)Conceptualise, plan and design art works that express ideas, concepts and artistic intentions (VCAVAV043)."
Exploring techniques
This section explores the criteria "plan and make their art works in response to exploration of techniques, technologies and processes used in the work of other artists. They demonstrate the use of materials, techniques, processes, visual conventions and technologies to express ideas and convey meaning in their artworks."
Refining project
This section explores all the criteria, reworking, reassessing, considering intent, concept and technique.
Final outcome and character backstory
This section explores the criteria "Create, present, analyse and evaluate displays of artwork considering how ideas can be conveyed to an audience (VCAVAP044)."
VCD – Experimenting with techniques
Learning Intention: Experiment with lots of techniques in Illustrator
Success Criteria: Identify qualities you would like to include in your work and spend time experimenting in Illustrator. Demonstrate your understanding of stroke and fill and how you can work with these to create different effects.
Here’s a checklist for students and teachers. This is what you should have ready so far:
| Mind map | |
| Character development sheet | |
| Visual diary and some paper | |
| 3 artworks for reference | |
| Illustrator | |
| Ideas for what techniques to use in Illustrator | |
| Completing 3 drawings of your character. Chosen one and then drawn it in Illustrator using the pen tool and shape tools |
Experimentation
Here is an example of some of the experimentation I have done in Illustrator:
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| In this example I am experimenting with some different gradients applied to the character’s fur, I feel like it doesn’t have the texture I’m looking for | I’m trying a thicker stroke on it but it looses too much detail and doesn’t look anything like a good texture for what I want. | I play around with the colours a bit more but I’m thinking I really need to change them. |
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| Here I used the Adobe Colour website and chose some good colours for my rabbit. One for the fur and one for her outfit. | I experimented quite a bit with the colours and added some from the themes I had downloaded and liked some of it, but wanted to do a 3D character and this one looks ok with the gradient but I’d like actual fur. | Here I selected a texture from a website and added filter from the appearance panel. This really confirmed for me that I wanted to have some sort of fur texture on the rabbit |
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| Here I experimented with a technique of making a blended shape and then applying to my already drawn rabbit shapes. I like the detail in it. | Here is is applied to the hand from the gradient shape. It’s really interesting the effect it creates and I’m loving it. | Here’s a great shot showing the depth and shape from one hand and the other original one. I’m really liking this fur look, although it is a bit fiddly. |
The more experiments you can do the better, it’s great to try lots of new things and use lots of materials.
Here is a really great demonstration of using the stroke panel, line tools and width tool. This could be really useful for creating an interesting look in your character where you want a really cartoon like look.
Think about what effects you would like for your character, maybe you need a fur look too!
Here is the video I used for creating the fur look:
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