holodek 365

078-TV

2010-03-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

077-Tasty Burger

2010-03-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

076-Spiral

2010-03-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

I drove past a building that had a cool brick pattern this morning. I recreated it then started playing with color and blending modes. This is how it turned out. Rather Andy Gilmore.

075-Daily

2010-03-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Fun with strokes and brushes.

074-Money

2010-03-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Saw this article at the ministry of type and thought I would try drawing some money-looking type with simple Guilloche patterns. Hand drawn M.

073-Magnolia 4

2010-03-14T12:57:00.001-07:00

Finally finished.

072-Magnolia 3

2010-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely.

071-Magnolia 2

2010-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Making progress.

070-Magnolia 1

2010-03-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

I always thought magnolia blooms were made to be drawn in Illustrator I have just never done it until now. I found this great photo of Magnolia Soulangeana as a reference.

069-Mix-Up

2010-03-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Was listening to The Mix-Up by the Beastie Boys and got lost. It was a fun ride. All vector, Victor.

068-Muse

2010-03-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Saw this cover for a Muse CD by La Boca on their blog and thought I would try and recreate it in Illustrator.

067-Emperor

2010-03-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Was turned on to LaBoca. Awesome geometric style. Totally inspiring. I thought I would try to recreate some of their stuff in Illustrator. For the texture, I made a blend of two stroked circles of about 50 steps, then gave it an opacity mask and used splattery brush strokes to reveal the concentric circles in certain areas. A cool way to add texture.

066-Cardboard

2010-03-08T20:31:00.001-08:00

Thought I would try to make some vector cardboard.

065-Comic Serifs

2010-03-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

It was much funnier in my head.
I took Comic Sans and widened the vertical parts of the letter forms and added some serifs. Still looks like crap.

064-Twill

2010-03-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

Followed this interesting tutorial. Plaid = easy. Twill plaid = more difficult. I am really liking changing colors with Edit -> Edit Colors -> Recolor Artwork.
Font: Bauhaus

063-Drippy

2010-03-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

Saw this graphic and got inspired. It is not as 3d as I would like it but it gets the point across.
Font: Edwardian Script

062-365

2010-03-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

061-Ribbon

2010-03-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial today and embellished it a bit. Used Envelope Distort again. It's a powerful tool. I am realizing that the word "envelope" is not the noun like the thing that you put letters or documents into and mail but is actually the verb that means to enclose or encase completely. It makes much more sense to think of it in this way.

060-Hood

2010-03-01T21:29:00.000-08:00

Went snowboarding on Mt. Hood yesterday and got inspired.

059-Safari

2010-03-01T21:27:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial. Got the job done.

058-Abstract2

2010-02-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

Basically just experimenting with linear gradients and blending modes from this tutorial. Once again all vector.
Font: Rockwell Extra Bold

057-Abstract

2010-02-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

Watched this tutorial today. Was surprised to see how many tutorials are on YouTube. This blew my mind. Such a cool effect and way to achieve it. All vector.

056-Deep Numbers

2010-02-25T23:08:00.000-08:00

Checked out this website and got inspired. Hand drawn numbers and no extrusion effect.

055-Caramel

2010-02-24T19:16:00.000-08:00

Another tutorial. Amazed at how simple it was to create something this cool and vector.

054-Wavy Halftone

2010-02-24T00:02:00.000-08:00

Followed a cool tutorial tonight. Basically created a halftone from a linear gradient, live-traced it then manipulated it. Used Envelope Distort for the first time.

053-Peeling Letters

2010-02-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Saw this website and got inspired.
Font: Bodoni Old Face Bold

052-Pattern

2010-02-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

Just playing around.

051-Drop Cap E

2010-02-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

First attempt at a drop-cap. Harder than it looks especially if you are not inspired.

050-Depth

2010-02-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

Simple study in depth. The shadows really help.

049-the final frontier

2010-02-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

Another doodle during a long meeting. Space. Pencil on black paper.

048-spirograph

2010-02-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial tonight. The hardest part was making the color pallet. I also have a new hero, Andy Gilmore.

047-Sketchy Trees

2010-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

My first non-vector post.
Doodling during a meeting. Abstract trees, hills and sun. Pencil on black paper.

046-Another Stripe

2010-02-16T20:35:00.000-08:00

Made something like the white shape at work today. Thought I would try running a stripe over, under and through it tonight. I'm digging the one pixel strokes for subtle shadows and hi-lites.
Font: Myriad Pro Bold

045-3d Lighted Text

2010-02-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial. It took too long and I don't think I did it right and am not happy with the results. It happens. Did notice that using a complex gradient mesh significantly increases your file size.
Font: Avant Garde

044-Pie

2010-02-14T23:22:00.000-08:00

I ran across a pie chart this weekend and liked the way it showed depth by using only hilights and shadows. Tried to recreate it in Illustrator.

043-Coffee

2010-02-13T11:45:00.000-08:00

Hardest thing about this was not drinking my model.

042-Blueprint

2010-02-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

Another tutorial tonight. Gets the job done. Used a gradient mesh as a mask which is a pretty cool idea.
Font: Zurich BT Ultra Black

041-Rays

2010-02-10T23:05:00.000-08:00

Found this Photoshop tutorial and thought I'd try and do it with all vectors instead.
Font: Bureau Agency Bold

40-Kiwi

2010-02-10T20:13:00.000-08:00

Another tutorial. Some symbols, some brushes, a few raster effects.

039-Rope

2010-02-09T22:57:00.000-08:00

Ran across this tutorial about how to make a climbing rope pattern brush. Very cool (as long as you don't let the ends show). Feeling a little weird about basing my numbers off of the font Giddyup.

038-Weber

2010-02-08T23:32:00.000-08:00

Started this on Saturday when I was grilling some chicken skewers. Another study in simple shapes but with some reflections this time. Vector on the left, photo on the right.

037-Battery

2010-02-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial. Opacity masks are cool but cumbersome.

036-Pencil

2010-02-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Not much to say here. Some basic shapes and a few shadows.

035-New

2010-02-04T22:34:00.000-08:00

Ran across the book cover for New Typographic Design and got inspired. Found out that to extrude two or more objects at the same time in the same way, they need to be a compound path first.
Fonts: Helvetica Neue 45 Light, 77 Bold Condensed

034-Inspiration

2010-02-03T23:34:00.000-08:00

Saw these desktop wallpapers and got inspired. I don't understand why the shapes get all effed up after you expand the extrude effect. Vector texture in the background, too.
Font: Myriad

033-Swirls

2010-02-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

This took way too long to have it turn out like this–a mess. Followed this tutorial on swirls. Did learn about the Feather effect and replacing the spine in a blend. Good stuff to know.

032-Diamond

2010-02-01T19:49:00.000-08:00

Another tutorial. Pretty simple but learned that you can make a layer a Template layer that will lock and make a graphic transparent for easy tracing.

031-Legos

2010-01-31T22:58:00.000-08:00

Again, not as easy as I thought it would be. I will have to revisit this.

030-House Illustration

2010-01-30T11:56:00.000-08:00

Vanishing points, smart guides and the Pathfinder palette.

029-Avacado

2010-01-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

Better late than never. Another tutorial. Learned how to scale a pattern that has been applied to a shape–without affecting the shape. Should have known that one already.

028-Popsicle

2010-01-28T21:29:00.000-08:00

Tried out this tutorial. Very well explained. Learned a little something as well. Feeling better about using the Blur Effect even though it is not technically vector. I guess the Drop Shadow effect is not either. Hmm.
Font: Rockwell

027-Gears

2010-01-28T00:27:00.000-08:00

Dude. This tutorial was not as easy as it looked. It took lots of processing power, time and understanding of Illustrator. I spent much more time than I thought I would. It's not perfect but it takes too long to move things around so it is good enough for tonite.

026-Perspective Stripes

2010-01-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

I saw this website and got inspired. For the blur in front, I tried one gradient with 17 colors but found that 16 two-color gradients end to end worked much better.
Font: Bauhaus Bold

025-Vector Wood Grain

2010-01-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

Have been wondering the best way to make a vector wood grain. This is a very simple and effective tutorial.
I still wish there was an easy way in Illustrator to make something look debossed. That is the part that took the longest on this one.
Fonts: Madrone, Blackoak

024-Lab

2010-01-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Saw some work by Jessica Hische last week. Love her style too.

023-Skate Heart

2010-01-23T14:18:00.000-08:00

Working on a poster for a skateboarding contest in Feb. Thanks Billy.
Update: Here is the finished poster.

022-More 3d Letters

2010-01-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

Saw this blog with inspiring type design. Thought I would give 3d letters a try by hand with no effects.
Font: Din Black

021-3d Letters

2010-01-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Found this tutorial. Skipped the Photoshop and did it all in Illustrator. Lots of potential here. Can't figure out why I never tried it before.
Font: Hypatia Sans Black

020-Red Chair

2010-01-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

Was checking out UK illustrator Matthew Lyons. Totally dig his style.

019-Scatterbrush

2010-01-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

Not the greatest. Another tutorial. Could come in handy sometime I suppose.
Font: Neutra Text

018-Vector Bamboo

2010-01-18T21:26:00.000-08:00

Another tutorial. Got in some Gradient Mesh tool and Symbol practice. I hate the gradient mesh tool. Maybe next month's theme will be Learn How to Use the Gradient Mesh Tool.

017-Vector Tree

2010-01-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

Saw something like this tree on a catalog cover today and got inspired. I like the shadows but I think it needs some texture. Regardless, it is a good start and good practice for sure.

016-Textured Ribbon

2010-01-16T15:45:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me how I made the tapered drop shadows earlier in the week. Here is how. Thought I would try and make a textured ribbon passing through the slit, similar to Apple's website last Christmas.

015-Bent Hash

2010-01-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

Saw this website being promoted and thought it was a cool type treatment. Thought I would give it a try in Illustrator.
Font: Futura Heavy

014-Paper Letters vs the Abyss

2010-01-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

Saw this advertisement for a book and thought I would try and recreate the look and feel using only Illustrator. Simple but very effective.
Font: Futura Extra Bold

013-3D Spiral

2010-01-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

My take on this tutorial.

012-Deboss Attempt

2010-01-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

I wanted to try and create a vector debossed — indented into the surface — look. The only tutorial I could find was for Illustrator CS4 and it looks easy. It is not easy in CS3. Text = totally uneditable and it is a cumbersome process.
Font: American Typewriter

011-Over Under Through

2010-01-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

It's all an illusion.

010-Vector Orange

2010-01-10T22:31:00.000-08:00

Not really feeling it tonite. Vector orange tutorial from here. I like the result. Learned of a somewhat practical use for the Pucker Tool and Stained Glass Effect, I guess.

009-Trendy Lines

2010-01-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial this morning for trendy geometric lines. I kept it all Illustrator and skipped the Photoshop parts. Don't usually get a chance to use Gill Sans Ultra Bold but I think it works here.

008-CMY Radial Halftone

2010-01-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I would try and manually create a radial halftone pattern in Illustrator using the blend tool and the rotate tool. Got distracted with CMY, Multiply and Free Transform.

007-Crazy 3D Stripes

2010-01-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

While working on a web site design, last month, I was playing with drop shadows and for some reason drew 1/4 of this shape. Today, I ran across it and decided to finish what I had started. It is a hard design to make in Illustrator with the shadows and continuous piece overlapping - but now I have a system.

006-Posterized Vector Ozzy

2010-01-06T22:09:00.000-08:00

Quickly followed this great tutorial. Posterize in Photoshop then place and LiveTrace in Illustrator.

005-Wine Glass

2010-01-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

Saw this tutorial on how to make a vector wine glass. Is it still vector even if you add a Gausian Blur?

004-Ozzy Mosaic

2010-01-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

I ran across this tutorial for making a funky photo-mosaic effect. Learned how to make a color palate from a photo and save it as a swatches exchange for Illustrator. Would take more time than I want to spend to finish so I just did the background.

003-Rolled Paper

2010-01-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

Followed this tutorial today. Learned how to make spirals with uniform decay and spacing to boot.

002-Isometric G

2010-01-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Saw this site while researching the isometric perspective.
My interpretation.
It's a 'G'.

001-disco ball tutorial

2010-01-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Just read about the Design Something Every Day challenge from Smashing Magazine. Thought I would give it a go.

I think I will try out some Illustrator tutorials for the first month and keep things simple. See where it goes from there. I found this list of tutorials.

Todays is how to make a disco ball.

Here we go.