Gedeon Maheux, of Iconfactory, designed
some fantastic icons using the original pavilion logos of EPOCT Center. I think
he has done a really nice job of adapting them to a modern usage.

If you are interested in these icons they are available for download
at Iconfactory. For more information on the origins of these logos, pre-icon,
read Retro
EPCOT Logos.

Josh Agle started out working as a commercial
illustrator. His grandfather proved to have a comfortable life as an illustrator,
and that inspired him to consider it as a career. Josh became a very proficient
commercial illustrator. He wasn’t very well known until he started doing personal
paintings and showing them in galleries. In 1997, Josh had done his first solo
gallery show. The success of his shows only began to increase. It became his
life’s work. Today, Shag (Josh’s self proclaimed nickname) continues to paint
every day of the week. His line up of shows seems to have no end in sight.

Josh’s art is heavily influenced by the illustrations of the late 1950′s
to the mid 60′s, more specifically the commercial advertisements of
that era. He goes on to explain, “Back then, a lot of magazine ads, TV commercials,
and product packaging had sort of cubist-cartoonish look, which I’ve appropriated
and expanded upon for these Shag paintings.”

His use of vivid and highly saturated color seems to reflect the psychedelic
colors popular in the 60′s. His colors are certainly well chosen to match
the mood and assist in telling the “story.” Crisp lines and graceful
curves are of abundance in any one of Shag’s masterpieces. His environments
have wonderful details, all while not being distracting.

I really appreciate Josh Agle’s stylization. His characters are drawn
in an unrealistic fashion, breaking all the rules. But his consistency and development
of that style is so enjoyable to look at. Josh’s flat rendering of the
characters is often contrasted by a slightly textured background.

Shag’s famous tikis are something to behold. These statues are
brought to life on the two dimensional plane. Their expressions are always priceless,
and assist in telling the “story.” He even has created a few sets
of limited edition tiki glasses and accompanying print. Shag merchandising is
a popular commodity of those that enjoy collecting from the modern era.

Well if you understand bezier
curves, text boxes, and gradient mesh, this article is for you (you
don’t have to know gradient mesh, but if you haven’t used it, try
it out).

Work Smart, Not Hard

I’m not a really great at Traditional Art, so sitting down to draw some
semi realistic object could take me some time. But, wait! There’s the
shapes tool in Illustrator. Combine that with the line tool and you’ve
got yourself a handy way to make some complex objects.

First we need to open the pathfinder window (Window > Pathfinder)
if it’s not open already, locate the pallet that contains the pathfinder
window (default: bottom-right; pictured). Hover your cursor over each button
to familiarize yourself with its action.

Shape Modes: add to shape area, subtract form shape area, intersect shape area,
and exclude overlapping shape area.

Pathfinders: divide, trim, merge, crop, outline, and minus back.

It is helpful to note that the Shape Modes actions do not permanently alter
shapes, unless the expand button is clicked after having performed a Shape Mode
action. All Pathfinder actions immediately alter the shapes.

Pathfinder In Use

Ok, so lets make a complex object out of shapes. Select the ellipse shape tool
in the toolbar. Hold the shift key so you can draw a perfect circle. Atl-Drag
(Ctrl-Drag Mac) to copy the circle. Do this a couple of times. Then align the
circles so they overlap in places. I decided to create an overlapping crescent
shape with six iterations (pictured).

Select all of the circles, or whatever shape you decided to use, and use the
divide pathfinder action. This creates many more separate shapes where they
overlapped. They are automatically grouped, so to adjust each one it needs to
be ungrouped. Ungroup by using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + G
(Cmd + Shift + G). Feel free to change the shapes’ color, reposition,
and delete. I seem to have come up with a pretty interesting icon (pictured).

The Sky’s The Limit

By just using the pathfinder actions, one can create some complex looking drawings.
But if you enjoy drawing with the pen tool, be sure to use the pathfinder functions.
They will help you combing your pen drawn shapes into those more complex pen
drawings. I, for example decided to draw Mickey Mouse (you never know when you
might need that vector of Mickey). He is made up of three ellipses (his ears
are a bit squashed). See if you can tell how I could have used the pathfinder
tool. I did actually use a couple (divide, add to shape area, and subtract from
shape area) about six times.

I don’t know how many graphic designers actually have working knowledge of modeling in 3D, but I’m guessing not many do. With the inclusion of 3D capabilities in Illustrator, basic objects can be made in 3D. To use the command, go to the Effect > 3D menu. There you will find three 3D options Extrude & Bevel, Revolve, and Rotate. Todays example was made using the Extrude & Bevel Effect.

Extrusion

I had wanted to create a concept for a new iPod design, so I drew the basic shape in Illustrator as a path. Feel free to create the most complex shapes you can think of. Keep in mind, however, the more complex the shape the longer it will take for it to be rendered.

With the path selected, I clicked on the Extrude & Bevel menu selection. A dialog box opens. There you can adjust the amount of extrusion, which gives the object depth, and bevel, which changes the way the front surface connects to the back surface. Among other options, which are best learned by experimenting, are the lighting positions. Change the lights so you get a strong side light, or a bit of a backlight to soften the edges.

I created images to be mapped to the front and back faces, saved them as symbols, and loaded the on to my 3D object using the map art button. The best part about the 3D tool is everything, and I mean everything, is easily edited. Change the position to isometric top, and your object looks like it’s lying atop a table.

When your done you can expand the object, separating each individual shape into vectored objects. Relatively small file size, and infinitely scaleable.

Metals
seem to be all the rage. i’m not following a trend, just adapting. it does look nice though. right? comment on it.

this metal look has been on the web, mainly to create interfaces. as a graphic designer, i like to take advantage of all the textures i can get my hands on. brushed metal has allways looked nice. this texture can be attained with some intermediate photoshop skills. the webmachine has the steps for beginners or if you want some new ideas. till next time, chill

there i warned you.