ACG112 Electronic Illustration

Final illustration project: trace template

• Scan or convert initial sketch to a template file:
  • Make sure your image will be easy to see--even as a greyed-out screen template:
    • If your original is a drawing, erase extraneous lines and cross-hatching (you can indicate shading on a separate tissue overlay).
    • For photographs, you may need to boost contrast and bring out the outlines:
      • If you are using FreeHand, try the image controls in the Object Inspector, as detailed in the handouts for the "Classmates" project. This will apply the same change to the entire image, and is only available for TIFF files.
        • Raster formats will be automatically converted to TIFF and embedded in the FreeHand document. This does not apply to EPSs.
      • To change only a part of an image, open it in Photoshop, select the portion to change, then use Image-->Adjust-->Brightness and Contrast. Try also, in the Filters menu, Artistic-->Poster Edges, Stylize-->Find Edges, Stylize-->Trace Contour.
  • For sketches on paper, follow scanning instructions provided at the start of the semester to use Ofoto with the black and white Apple scanner.
    • Set Scan and Print bits to "1: Threshold" for a contour drawing, set to "4" for a photograph. Set Scan and Print dpi to 75, or slightly higher--depending on the amount of detail in your image.
    • For a contour drawing, before scanning use Windows-->Show Scan Controls to display the palette that lets you modify the threshold level, drag the slider for the most effective level.
  • When saving, TIFF with LZW compression yields smaller files and works with both Illustrator and FreeHand.
• Create a new document using the template
  • Template files can be added to your document at any time.
    • You can have multiple templates in the same document--preferrably on separate layers for easier management.
    • Or you can trace each template separately, then copy and paste the tracings alone into a composite document.
  • To add a template file to your document:
    • Use File-->Place (Illustrator) or File-->Import (FreeHand).
  • Organize your document:
    • Move the placed picture to a separate layer and lock the layer.
    • Dim the layer to better see your work while tracing.
      • In FreeHand, drag the layer's name below the Foreground/Background divider in the Layers panel.
      • In Illustrator, use the Layer Options command in the Layers palette's menu, and turn on the "Dim Placed Images" checkbox.
  • Do not trash your template file.
    • Remember that in most cases the template file is not copied to the Illustrator or Freehand document, and must be available whenever you want to work on tracing.
• Trace template
  • Follow tracing instructions provided for the Crests project:
    • Minimize number of control points.
    • Select most appropriate type of point.
  • Plan ahead to forestall later problems in shading:
    • Work out where color changes, highlights, shadows will occur before you start tracing.
    • Any of the above features requires its own separate path. Just tracing the outline of figures will not, generally, create the paths you need.
    • Any shape you intend to use as a mask should be a closed path. In FreeHand, any path you intend to fill should also be closed.
      • Remember that open paths in Illustrator cannot be closed with a simple menu command: you have to sift through the drawing until you find the disconnected points. Pay attention to the circle next to the pen nib cursor indicating you're about to properly close a path.
      • You cannot mix open and closed paths in a blend. Plan for this as well.
  • Look for repeating features:
    • these can be drawn just once, then stepped across the drawing using Command-D (Edit-->Duplicate in FreeHand, Arrange-->Repeat Transform in Illustrator)
  • Look for symmetrical and/or similar features:
    • these can be efficiently handled using duplication in combination with the transformation tools (reflection, rotation, etc.)
  • Look to save work on complex shapes:
    • These often can be drawn more efficiently in a simplified form, then transformed to their final appearance.
    • In the following example, it is more efficient to align the circles and step-and-repeat the spokes before scaling and rotating to put the wheel in perspective.
      
  • Adapt the style and contents of your image to match the capabilities of draw programs:
    • illusionistic three-dimensionality is possible, photorealism is not.