Getting to Grips With Adobe Illustrator

This week I began playing with AI to transfer my paper illustrations to PC - yes PC not Mac (maybe a Mac one day when I have the dough). I've been getting my head around the various tools it has to give my work justice, which has meant reading plenty of tutorials online and following them to see how each of the different functions works. It's been fun to say the least but it takes some patience and getting used to.

To share some of the resources I've been using, as a total beginner on AI, I have selected my five favourite tutorials from last week which you can learn from if you are also a Noob or maybe refresh yourself if you've not used a range of tools it has for a while.

5 Adobe Illustrator Tutorials for Beginners

How to Create a Cute Bunny Vector Character

This tutorial shows you how you can take some really basic shapes and transform them into a cute little bunny. This lesson can provide you with a first step towards creating some original and unique characters of your own. To begin this tutorial visit: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/how-to-create-a-cute-bunny-vector-character/.

Create a Rolling Stones Style Mouth n Tongue

This tutorial takes hand drawings into account, as your first step is to scan in your drawing from paper to digitise it. This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking to do so open your eyes to this one and learn how to make your own cool Rolling Stones style graphic. Have a read of this tutorial at: http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/create-a-rolling-stones-inspired-tongue-illustration.

Thug Bunny Symetry Tutorial

Learn how to create illustrations with symmetry in the simplest way possible in this tutorial. The bunny looks pretty awesome. I promise this addition is not just because I like bunnies as I noticed the first tutorial is of a bunny. This one is more about learning how to make your design more symmetrical. Read how to do it at: http://illustrationclass.com/2008/07/07/thug-bunny/.

Making a Cake Illustration

Nearly as good looking as the real thing, this tutorial teaches you how to make a tasty looking treat. Moving through a range of different tools this one takes you into a 3D element of illustration. Try this tutorial at: http://vector.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/how-to-create-a-detailed-cake-illustration/.

Create a Vintage Badge

I turned to this tutorial because I'm going to look for an interesting way to brand my work with a logo or stamp of some kind. This vintage style appealed to me the most which could also be of interest to you if you're looking to sign off your work somehow. Find out how to make this vintage badge at: http://abduzeedo.com/vintage-badge-illustrator-and-photoshop.

That's all for now. I hope you find some inspiration in these tutorials as well as learn how to transfer your paper makings into graphic designs. Good luck and have fun the same way I have. Just be patient.

Autumn's Natural Beauty

I love this time of year, mainly because I know that Christmas is around the corner, which means I get to spend some quality time with my family. The other reason is because of the transformation in colour that happens to our natural environment.

What was once green is now becoming a mixture of reds, browns, yellows, and oranges. The streets begin to look as though they are on fire with the litter of leaves whirling around in the brisk air, almost like a delicate ballet of colour.

The change from summer to autumn is perfectly captured in this photograph which is today's IP favourite from Deviant Art user Kariliimatainen. Admire its beauty and get ready for the chill.

Movie Day - Warrior

Last weekend my brother introduced me to this film on Netflix. It had good reviews and was about MMA so instantly I was hooked. I was cautious about this one though after being bitterly disappointed with Channing Tatum's efforts at MMA in Fighting.

Starring Joel Edgerton as the man fighting to keep his family's roof over their heads and Tom Hardy as an absolute animal (pre-Bane) who is fighting to support his departed military comrade's family, whilst rivalling his brother over dark family history, this film is inspirational to those who train for any contact sports from the training through to the fights themselves.

The movie poster for Warrior is similar to the promotional boxing posters advertising big upcoming fights. This is achieved using a blacked out environment with a small light source on one side of the actors. Each image is of course shot separately and then stitched together with black space in between them for the text to impact in the way that it does.

The black and white theme is very strong and gives you a sense of the drama involved with the storyline. Somehow there is mild warmth provided with the orange/ gold "FIGHT FOR FAMILY" line, which is appropriately placed in relation to the character. Perhaps an effect that colour has on our beings at a subconscious level.

As a comparison, here's the Tyson vs Holyfield fight poster, which is a similar fight promotion poster that the Warrior's film poster is based on.