affinity designer Moggles Vector Book cover

[kevinmcsherry]

A vector illustration -There are no 'Pixel Persona' layers in this one because I removed them. They didn't seem to add anything worthwhile to this image. There are a few textures though -the main one being a photograph of one of the sandstone paving slabs on my patio. Another thing about the working file is that after a few raster images were added, the file became quite sluggish to work with. I'm not sure if I'm approaching this the wrong way. Since it's vector, perhaps I didn't need to create the file at 300dpi? Some advice is needed for that.

 

I started with a sketch in Pixel Persona -that really is a great function of AD. I find it very useful.

 

Best wishes,

Kevin

 

[retrograde]

Nice job Kevin. Like seeing the sketch too and the final result. Funny illustration.

[Richard S.]

Excellent Kevin - well done!

 

How did you create those clouds?

I presume it was a feathered brush, but I was under the impression that feathering was not able to be vectorised?

 

Thanks.

[kevinmcsherry]

Hi DesignMeister, 

Thanks for the compliment. You can feather a vector shape -even with a stroke applied (that's the way the propellor is done. You have to go into 'effects' and use the Gaussian blur. Those clouds are a combination of: Shape made using the pencil tool, with a fill (no stroke) of a gradient, then a gaussian blur AND reduced opacity. Every layer also has 'noise' applied at around 30%. It seems to make things look more natural.

Can anyone tell me why there is an opacity slide in 'Layers' AND 'Effect'? They seem to work independently of each other.

Kevin

[Richard S.]

Wow - I never knew that feathering and noise could be vectorised. In fact, MEB told me that the noise slider was a raster effect?

I'm now confused. Have you tried increasing that image to a very large scale to ensure that your effects are fully scalable?

 

I'm sure you already have, as you're obviously a professional illustrator, it's just that I have received conflicting information.

 

Hmmm, not sure where to turn to now for more information?

 

Anyway, great work Kevin - it's a really good image!!!!!!!!

[kevinmcsherry]

You should take MEB's word for it really. I'm only new to this way of working. There is an issue with noise that I've come across -MEB's right, you can't blur it. It just disappears. I've experienced this in any attempt I've made to make a really photographic image. As a workaround, applying a texture over the area (or the entire image) works just as well, if not better. Hence the sandstone image that I used. Once you use Multiply or any one of the other options in that dropdown menu in conjunction with opacity, the results are terrific. Scaling up might be a problem there too, though. Maybe MEB could give us a better idea?

 

I am a professional illustrator but I don't think I've ever done a job which required massive upscaling! Usually magazines, etc.

[Richard S.]

Just looked at your website - fantastic!

Although I have been doing graphic design (mainly Photo editing) for 20 odd years, I have never actually created vector artwork, as most of my stuff is for the web / social media etc.

 

Therefore, I'm a total newbie when it comes to vector design, and trying to get a grasp on it :)

[kevinmcsherry]

You and me both! I was a graphic reproducer for years -remember that part of the print world? All gone the way of coopering and sealing wax making...

[jer]

A vector illustration -There are no 'Pixel Persona' layers in this one because I removed them. They didn't seem to add anything worthwhile to this image. There are a few textures though -the main one being a photograph of one of the sandstone paving slabs on my patio. Another thing about the working file is that after a few raster images were added, the file became quite sluggish to work with. I'm not sure if I'm approaching this the wrong way. Since it's vector, perhaps I didn't need to create the file at 300dpi? Some advice is needed for that.

 

I started with a sketch in Pixel Persona -that really is a great function of AD. I find it very useful.

 

Best wishes,

Kevin

 

That is a fun result! How many hours did you work on it in AD after your sketch was imported? Just curious.

[Butler To Cats]

Kevin, thank you for sharing details on your work process for this appealing image!

 

As for separate opacity sliders for effect and layer, I can see how you might want to adjust the opacity of, say, an inner shadow (how "dense" the shadow is) while not affecting the opacity of the object to which the shadow was applied - or have I (probably) completely mistaken your meaning?

[kevinmcsherry]

Hi Obtusity, I've attached a screenshot where I've separated out the two control panels 'Layers' and 'Effects'. I presume that it's just more convenient to have an opacity control in each panel. Whichever one -or is there another function I'm not aware of?

[kevinmcsherry]

@ jer,

I spent a long time on this -I was at it something like two full days. That's partly down to the ad hoc nature of the composition. It was all self-motivated so I didn't have a client on my back -which does concentrate the mind. When I started it, there was another cat piloting which was removed to show only Moggles clinging to the tail because it's funnier and more tragic.

[kevinmcsherry]

Oh yes -and I'm lazy and didn't want to make another cat.

[MattP]

Hi Obtusity, I've attached a screenshot where I've separated out the two control panels 'Layers' and 'Effects'. I presume that it's just more convenient to have an opacity control in each panel. Whichever one -or is there another function I'm not aware of?Screen Shot 2016-12-13 at 08.32.12.png

Hi Kevin,

 

The opacity in the Effects panel is actually just 'Fill Opacity'. Try this test: Make a red ellipse, add an outer shadow. Now go to Fill Opacity and drag it down - you'll see that the red ellipse changes opacity, but the shadow doesn't - that's different to what happens when you adjust the Layer Opacity in the Layers panel :)

 

Hope that makes some sense?

 

Thanks,

Matt

[eejits]

Superb image. Really like the effects you've achieved here. Nice work on the text on the side of the plane and the perspective.

 

George

[kevinmcsherry]

Hi MattP. Makes perfect sense now -thanks very much for that.

[kevinmcsherry]

Ah now -good point about the text perspective on the side of the plane, George. I couldn't make the perspective  in AD, so I had to use the 'Mesh' function of Aff Photo and bring it back into AD. Could I have done it in AD?

[Richard S.]

Kevin,

Did you also consider duplicating that image, but this time with the water shades of blue (as opposed to green). Or is that grass below the aircraft?

[kevinmcsherry]

Blue sea, as requested by the client...

[Richard S.]

:)

Hmmmm, maybe a yellow aircraft as opposed to red?

Maybe a few more trees?

 

JOKING!

 

I have OCD, and just wondered what it would look like with the sea blue :)

I wish I could draw like that, I'm jealous.

[kevinmcsherry]

That's quite alright -the whole point of me learning this malarky is that I can make changes without having to invest hours making changes with paint only for the client to make a further change. And it was an improvement. :)

[jer]

Ah now -good point about the text perspective on the side of the plane, George. I couldn't make the perspective  in AD, so I had to use the 'Mesh' function of Aff Photo and bring it back into AD. Could I have done it in AD?

 

No Mesh Tool in AD yet but, yes, with work-arounds like perspective grid, node manipulation, transform skew, etc = considerable more effort. AP was likely the less involved method.

[Alfred]

I have OCD, and just wondered what it would look like with the sea blue :)

I wish I could draw like that, I'm jealous.

 

I feel compelled by the OCD in me to point out that you mean envious, not jealous! ;)

 

(I don't wish I could draw like that. I just wish I could draw.)

[Richard S.]

Ah, Alfred - kind of you to join us.

No - I meant Jealous.

 

Jealous refers to when 3 people are present, whereas envious refers to 2 people being involved.

 

1) Kevin

2) The Cat

3) Myself

 

:)

[Alfred]

Ah, Alfred - kind of you to join us.

No - I meant Jealous.

 

Jealous refers to when 3 people are present, whereas envious refers to 2 people being involved.

 

1) Kevin

2) The Cat

3) Myself

 

:)

 

Apologies to Kevin for all this off-topic chat distracting attention from his wonderful work, but I've never heard that one before! Jealousy is when you don't want to share what you have (as exemplified by a woman flying into a jealous rage when she finds out that her husband or partner is cheating on her) whilst envy is wishing you had what someone else has (like Kevin's obvious drawing talent).