# Car project - Maserati vector



## kazzie (Nov 23, 2009)

I finally finished tracing my Maserati in Illustrator - approx 60 hrs of work?
I guess this is "vexel" art or whatever they call it, considering the background and such is all photos and pixel shtuff


this took me forever.
i better get a decent grade, lol









The original photo is very easy to find in google images - it's always about the first or second car to show up if you search maserati!


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## Randy (Nov 23, 2009)

Wow... that's a vector image?!


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## kazzie (Nov 23, 2009)

just the car  the rest is all photoshop


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## Randy (Nov 23, 2009)

Even still, that's really great work. 

I've tried time-and-time again to get into comic book style coloring, with limited or no success. Doing it as a vector is an idea that's always intrigued me but I know it takes a totally different mindset and is really time consuming.


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## kazzie (Nov 23, 2009)

Comic book art is by far, to me, the most difficult art to make!

I suggest getting a drawing pad! so you can train with photoshop.


But if you wanna do vector, MASTER the Pen tool and the world will be yours 

OR
Draw them first, by hand, scan them, template them and trace them with the pen tool in illustrator. mucho easier!


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## Randy (Nov 23, 2009)

Thanks a million for the advice. 

I do have a pen tablet, and I'm so-so with using it. I can... kinda understand the pen tool, especially for black lines. Once I get to coloring... there's a lot of confusion. I'll give you an example:






Now, I think it's pretty obvious that it's a Photoshop coloring job... right? 

Using the cape, for example... there's the base red, there's a darker tone, and then a nearly black tone. So, I'd draw the red 100% opaque. Next, drawing the shadow... so I grab a darker shade from the palette. Now, the transition between the two is where I get confused.

If I'm just using my brush tool, I'd first try using the same color and using less pressure as I feather the edge... but there's so much variation in the pressure, that it has a buncha' different shades throughout (and looks awful). Option two is using the "darken" tool to transition, but whenever I use it, the transition looks really choppy (and awful, again).

In comes the option of a gradient (part of why I was considering vector coloring). The only off-putting thing about it is that I'll have to "draw the shape of the gradient", which is the "counter intuitive" hump I'm trying to get over. 

Sorry for the hi-jack... I just don't really know anybody else who has experience with that kinda thing. Thanks for the help, so far.


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## kazzie (Nov 24, 2009)

Ah!

I get your problem - you need to get aquainted with the wonderful tool called the GRADIENT MESH 
It's a lot of work - I suggest maybe finding a youtube video for a tutorial. But once you do just two three pieces, you will be a pro.
The whole car *is* gradient meshes. You have to do it bit by bit though !

Example : the mirror has about three "layers" of gradient meshes on top of one another.
The door can be about three pieces as well - the top part is one layer, middle is another, and finally the bottom. The gradient mesh allows you to add different variations of color on the anchorpoints - using the eyedropper tool if you are tracing something.






This is a good example of a very easy gradient mesh - in which you really only use one piece. The way it works -

You basically do your shape - a circle of some sort. You pick the gradient mesh tool from your tool box and click in the shape where you would like your additional anchor points to be (where you want new colors). You then pick the white arrow, click on those anchorpoints and pick your colors.
Make sure you click ALL anchor points, even the ones from your original circle done with the pen tool - and give all of those anchorpoints a color 

Here's what I just did :





Sorry for the large file - lol
As anchorpoints are added "into" your shape, not only can you give them a unique color but using the white arrow you can move them around within that shape, to make sure ther color is exactly where you want it.
I suggest praciticing with easy shapes like apples and oranges though, because complicated shapes require layers and layers (literally, illustrator layers) of gradient meshes.

Hope this helps


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## silentrage (Nov 25, 2009)

@Randy, if you're serious about getting good at comic art, and have the time to invest, I think it's best if you learn how to sketch first. Take a pencil and a large pad and draw some simple everyday objects, clay shapes, busts, other drawings or sketches by master artists. 

Sketching helps you to _understand_ and create *form* using a pen or pencil, form meaning shape, size, depth, structure and anatomy. 

As in your example, when you see a shade of bright red turning into a darker red, you're seeing a change in form, but if you don't understand what that form is and how it changes, and what it changes into, you won't be able to re-create it.

Once you're able to understand form in black and white, then you can incorporate color theory into it, this is a whole other can of worm which I think is best to steer clear of until you're well acquinted with form building. 

On the other hand if you just wanna have have some fun, then you can try copying a comic book image with photoshop. Don't trace it as it doesn't help you at all, but copy by looking at an image, and trying to draw the same image on a black canvas, start with lines then fill in the shades. 
While and after you copy it, sit back and look at the image from afar, and try to see how form is created, you should notice how light shades push a surface out, how dark shades makes a surface recede, how the transition between light and dark shows how soft or sharp the form is, etc etc. Noticing these things will help you understand form so that you might create images of your own later-on.

There is a DVD by a renowned concept designer Scott Robertson called 
How to Render Matte Surfaces Volume 1
Shading Planar Surfaces
This is an amazing tutorial that will help you get into drawing form very quickly.


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## Randy (Nov 25, 2009)

Wow, tons of information there. Thanks a lot Kazzie and Silentrage. I should have a good bit of material to work with for a while.


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## Elysian (Nov 25, 2009)

The only thing that throws me off about the image is the size of the fence in relation to the car, it makes the car look very small...


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## Sebastian (Nov 25, 2009)

Looks amazing ! ... GTS ....


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## kazzie (Nov 26, 2009)

Elysian said:


> The only thing that throws me off about the image is the size of the fence in relation to the car, it makes the car look very small...


You're right! I got similar comments - Definitely something I will fix 
I mostly made the car a bit smaller on the image to reduce some of the details on the cars that weren't good enough in my opinion 
Once I fix the car I'll definitely work on my proportions 
thx!


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