Jan 26
Design Process of the Phoenix
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.
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Comments
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There are 197 comments (+Add)
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197 Bean
August 17th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Dam that took you that long im impressed O.O
196 2dvector http://www.2dvector.com/
August 16th, 2010 at 4:14 am
awesome work. great job
195 libby
August 7th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
AMAZING!
194 Lynn
July 13th, 2010 at 7:32 am
What a mad dude
Trust me you dont know how much effect this has on me i swear it’s the coolest artwork I’ve seen in my life thanxx 4 drawin it im gonna show all my friendz
cya
193 AznGnslngr
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:31 am
the ending product looks amazing!
192 Jean http://www.lm5p.fr
May 25th, 2010 at 2:31 am
I found in love for your Abstract Phoenix Design. As Sue I would like to use it on the wall in my house. Can you provide me with high res for printing in a huge size ? Please email me.
Thanks!
191 MADI!
May 24th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
that is AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
190 Marciano
May 19th, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Hi, Im also a drawing artist I began to work with coral draw and photo shop a year ago. I heard about this illustrator software how nice it is and that work from above is realy nice. Do you think you can show me some designin, I have also desinged some things I made my self
189 darsh http://na
May 18th, 2010 at 12:56 am
really beautiful drawing i just love it………
188 sue
May 16th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Can you please tell me before tommorrow what your name is and what is the size