Thumbnail sketch.
My client requested an illustration of a Mexican Bandito. Of course the first thing to pop into my mind was a favorite childhood cartoon mascot called Frito Bandito.
And as the rabbit trails of my mind work I had that theme song stuck in my head the whole week, humming it as I drew my art. But I digress.
Rough Sketch.
The client actually sent me one of the tools and like they do on American Chopper I had to create a custom die for the sticker based on the tools casing. My creative challenge was to provide the requested theme in a very restrictive format, so I drew out my art with the final shape of the sticker as my guide.
Refined Sketch.
Usually I draw and redraw until I get exactly what I want to build. I don't like leaving a lot of guess work in the build stage of my creative process. It just wastes time. Since this art is symmetrical I only have to draw half of it. Digital FTW.
Building Vectors.
Once I scan in my refined sketch I simply start building my vector shapes. For more about vector build methods and plugins that make it easier just visit my tutorial web site and you'll find all kinds of information on how to control your bezier curves like a pro.
I draw all my art out before I hit the computer. If you can get into a good creative habit of working this way you'll see a huge improvement in your work and it'll prevent you from becoming a Tooler.
Base Art.
With all my shapes built and fused together via the Pathfinder Palette I'm ready to work out how I'll model my art with more details.
Shading.
I'm a digital artist but my creative process goes back and forth between digital and analog. So when it comes to shading I print out my base art and grab a pencil. 2B or not 2B, that is the pencil!
Building the Shading.
Once I've drawn out how I want the shading and highlights to be handled. I scan it back in and use it as my guide to build the vector shapes.
Details of Illustration.
Once I have the shading resolved I visually study the art and determine other areas to drop in darker shades and highlights to create depth and focus attention within my design. I also start to balance my color palette and experiment with tonal values until it feels right.
It's not always a visual thing, sometimes it just has to feel right. Call it a creative intuition but I depend on it a lot. It's the one intangible aspect of my creative process that is hard to define.
Art in Context.
This is the actual tool the sticker will be applied too. It'll wrap the front of the casing. During the process I'm printing the art out and if time permits putting it aside and looking at it with fresh eyes later and making any necessary changes that improve the art.
Final Artwork.
This shows the final art for the Tool a little larger. You can see this art re-purposed for other usages here.
