Vector Effects-Snowboarder

I thought that this tutorial was fun and very different from what we have been doing. So, I thought it was nice to learn some of these new tools. I used tools and effects such as the pen tool, live trace, mask, and expand buttons. I also got to experiment with patterns and opacity, which I thought was really cool. I used the rectangle tool to help in the creation of making a symbol to use as a stencil. I thought this was super awesome, and that was probably the thing I enjoyed learning most, from this tutorial, just because I thought it was really nifty and different.The easiest part of the project was starting the image and doing all the converting, deleting of pieces and changing the color of the snowboarder. I thought the hardest part was arranging the rectangular shapes in the background and making them look just how I wanted them to. It was just time consuming and tedious and I did it over and over agian.

Bellwork_October 16

Q:What are the steps taken to create a Gradient Mesh and what tool do you use to select the      desired anchor points?

A:To create a gradient mesh, you must first make a rectangle. Then, click on the rectangle and go to  Object>Create Gradient Mesh. This should create a Gradient Mesh for you.

To select the nodes you would like to change the color of, you would use the Direct Selection Tool. Then, you could change the color of them.

Lily Pad Project-Working with Gradients

Some of the tools I used to create this picture of the lily pads were the Gradient Tool, Ellipse Tool, Pen Tool, Gradient Mesh, Blend, and Warp Tool. The Ellipse Tool was used for things like the spots on the water and the lily pads. The Gradient Mesh and Blend were used for coloring. Also, the Pen tool was used to help create shapes like the petals of the lilies. I thought the hardest part of this tutorial was using the Gradient Mesh, because it was hard for me to select the nodes and color things correctly. The easiest thing for me was adding the color and blending the petals, because once I figured it out, I had it down and was able to do it very quickly. I really liked this tutorial and I think the lilies turn out very pretty.

Shape Tool-Basketball Player

Using the shape tool, I was able to create this basketball player. He is made using rectangles, ellipse, and some effects. First, I started with creating his head and then his hair. Next, I made the body and legs. Lastly, I add the ball and a few extra things. I used tools such as the knife, rectangle, ellipse, and the shape builder tool. The hardest thing for me was getting his shoes to look just right. Making the legs was the easiest thing for me. I thought making this basketball player was lots of fun, and this is probably one of my favorite things I have created so far. I think my basketball player turned out pretty well.

Pen Tool Personal Sign Project

Picture from: http://www.jamespegram.com/walt-disney-world-2011-part-1/

For my personal pen tool sign project, I chose to do the Walt Disney World entrance sign. The hardest parts of re-creating this sign was adjusting the bricks and adding color to the sign because it was very tedious. Creating all the shapes and lines with the pen tool was the easiest part for me. I thought this project was lots of fun, and I liked that we each got to pick a different sign. I think my re-creation of the Walt Disney World sign turned out really cool!

Las Vegas Sign (Pen tool sign project)

For me, the hardest part of re-creating the Las Vegas sign was being able to locate all the different tools available that I needed to use and just getting started on the project. Typing words that would resemble those in the original sign and creating the welcome circles were the easiest parts for me. I think my version of the sign turned out well. It is super neat that I was able to re-create the Las Vegas sign. I really enjoyed this project.

Pen tool practice

Learning how to use the pen tool was pretty diffucult for me. I did not understand why the pen tool made curves on its own when I wanted straight lines. Also, I had to learn that you can move your mouse to make the arc of the pen tool taller or shorter. The easiest things for me to learn how to do with the pen tool was creating objects with straight lines.