This post will show you the design process of the Abstract Chinese Phoenix, one of my latest illustrations which was presented at the FOWD 2008 conference. I will briefly guide you through the process — from sketching to polishing. Hints and tips will be provided throughout the article. Most importantly, I'll explain what inspired me for this piece of artwork. If you like this illustration, you may download a high resolution JPG for your desktop wallpaper.
1. Sketching
The images below show how I sketched out the phoenix in abstract form. I started off by drawing the phoenix's body, flowing towards the wings, feathers, and then filling in the details.
Inspired by Nature
A lot of my design patterns are inspired by natural elements such as:
- DNA Helix
- blowing dandelions
- and the patch patterns on the butterfly wings and tree leaves.
2. Adobe Illustrator - Vectorization
After the sketch was done, I imported it into Illustrator for vector tracing. Here is a tip for tracing artwork in Illustrator:
i) Import the sketch in the first layer, adjust the layer opacity to 20 to 30%, and lock the layer.
ii) Create a new layer on top, hold down the Cmd key and click on the visibility icon to view the layer in outline mode (in this way you can see the sketch underneath).
Final Vector Outlines
3. Coloring
For color theme palettes, I go to Adobe's kuler site and ColourLovers.com. Personally, I like ColourLovers because it allows me to copy and paste the color images directly to Illustrator. I just randomly pick the color palettes from the site and paste them in the artboard. To quickly fill in the color, use the Eyedropper tool to sample the colors and gradients.
Final Vector Artwork
As I was vectorizng the artwork, I added more elements such as the sky background and the phoenix's tail.
4. Photoshop Polishing
Then, I imported the vector art in Photoshop and used my Vector Polishing Techniques to spice up the illustration.
Pastel-like Background
To make the background look pastel-like, I used the Pencil tool and lightly brushed up the sky background.
Particle Effects
The particle effects are done by using the layer Dissolve mode (see tutorial: Vector Polishing Techniques).
Depth
I blurred some elements to add more depth to the illustration.
Final Design
How Long Did It Take?
The sketch took about 1 hour, vectoring took 12 hours, and the Photoshop polishing took about 10 to 15 hours.
Amazing! you rocks!
TOP WORK AGAIN. Thanks for your knowledge again! :)
Oh yes. I like that. 25 hours of creative juice flowing. I could do with just one hour.
I have set it as my desktop and it clashes fantastically with my Dell Joseph Amedokpo’s “New World“ lid design
Great job!
Nice tutorial. Much appreciated.
Wonderful post, very detailed. 25 hours of work is a long time, but I see that your designs get the most out of it! I’m always unpleased with my own designs; perhaps spending half the time you do on yours would be beneficial.
nice tut.
seen it before somewhere.
i wonder how to draw like this. i never can bring my ideas on the paper like they’re in my head…I’m jealous:)
Hi Nick,
Gorgeous artwork (it’s now my desktop wallpaper, thx!) and wonderful tutorial.
I wanted to clue you in on a one-click way to get Kuler themes into Illustrator, available in Ai CS3 and CS4: from the main menu, go to Window>Adobe Labs>Kuler. That will open an application panel that gives you acess to the Kuler website. One click will download selected themes into your Swatches panel. In CS4, it’s Window>Extensions>Kuler. And in CS4 that same panel and access to Kuler is available in Ai, Ps, Fl, and Fw. There’s more inof on that here: Kuler on Adobe.com</
For some reason it’s comforting that this took you 25 hours. I’ve never been patient enough to put that much time into projects, mainly because tutorials like this one make it seem so simple and quick. Maybe this is something that should become a feature on tutorials, so that learners don’t get disheartened when they take so long.
On the other hand, you might want to keep it mystical and make it seem like it takes no time for you.
Thanks a lot for sharing this! In general, I think people assume that the beautiful work of others is created with minimal effort in an hour or two. When experts (like you) make things look so easy, I often find it discouraging, because when I try, I spend the hour or two that I (foolishly) assume you spend, and I come away with something rather disappointing.
Having such a well-done breakdown of a project like this, including the time estimates at the end, really helps me feel like more of the beautiful things in the world are within my capabilities if I’m willing to put in the time. Thank you — you made my world a little brighter.
intensely beautiful
I wish I had more time to play around with Illustrator so I could be as talented as you! (And even then I doubt it. :D)
Question on the vectoring outlines… Did you draw the entire shape at a time, or the separate lines and then used the Pathfinder?
WOW, the things you can do with Ai . . .
Wow, That is extremely HOT ! Amazing. Really Amazing.
Good post, I like the way how you choosing the colours. The problem is, that so many people suck from the net and don’t really think about the colour management. It could be fine as far as they know what they do otherwise it’s over colored or worse its a junk which is sorrow.
One of the subscriber ‘-)
GIVISION | Jiri Mocicka
Great Tutorial, still would never attempt to do such a design. Leave the vector graphics to the pros!
I think this has got to be the best advertisement for Adobe Illustrator ever.
Beautiful work! I love the colors, I’ve never thought to import a Kuler palette into Illustrator like that. Thanks for the processing tips and inspiration!
wow, extremely beautiful
no 1680 x 1050 ? Shame.