The iPod Lady
 

This girl is one of the things I'm currently working on:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t/iPodlady.jpg

I'm working on a magazine project this week and couldn't come up with a proper Illustration for the iPod article so I thought I might as well make my own :thumbsup:

I'm almost done with her but I want to add some extra shadows to her lips and eye lids only I can't remember how to do it (it's been a while since I've used Illustrator). I've been looking for sites with great tips, tutorials and trick in Illustrator but so far no luck. Does any of you guys know a great site?

thanks! :D

there is a command to make a drop shadow, but i hate messing with the numbers.

here are the mac commands i use to fake a shadow:
apple-c (copy the piece you want a shadow of)
apple-b (paste that copy behind the original)
use the arrow key to move to desired position
change fill color to black, or darker version of original color,
reduce transparency to somewhere between 30 and 50.

hope that helps.

doodle.

oops. i forgot to compliment you on the lady.
i like the angularity and simplicity of it.
parts of it are bordering on cubism (which i love)
i'd shorten up her eyes a little bit, though.

all that being said,
i don't think the lips or eyes need shadows.
it's ready for publication as is.

doodle.

Awesome art nancy, but something about her left arm looks odd to me.

Looks really good. I'd say it's ready for publication as well!

I work with the program everyday but just as a mechanic, getting files ready to print - no joy here. But the lady is very fine :)

bit different to the usual 'ipod' artwork I've seen around, most have copied the ads with the black silhouettes, good to see something a little different :)

Strong work, as always. I like her just as she is.

Apply a gaussion blur to that and you've got yourself a great shadow. Although I usually use a darker tone of the background color instead of black, it seems to work better when printed.

Hey Nance. Some tips for yer. Check this out and see if you like:
http://img23.exs.cx/img23/7473/eyeandlipshading4rv.png

For the eye, I made an eyelid shape and used the same gradient as on the face but just reversed the direction.

For the lips, I copied the shape and cut a portion of each lip. Then I did a gradient that used the original lip colour and a darker version of the same colour (only adjust the 'k' or black bar if you're using CMYK). Lay the lip portions over the original lips and just adjust the angle and the gradient positions until the seam (or join) disappears.


Hope thats useful. :thumbsup:

My teacher thought so as well and was very impressed with my work :thumbsup:

I hear ya regarding the cubism - I tend to get tired of smooth curves so I change my style once in a while :)

Thanks for the compliments and the tip about drop shadow, dear doole! I published her just as she is in this picture because I was (AM!) 98% satisfied with how she looks + I simply ran out of time, heh. I will, however, try adding some drop shadow to her eyes just to see if it'll improve it :)

hahahah awesome illustration of your tips dear dobster! :thumbsup:

I do ocasionally use the same eyelid trick as you because I like the cartoony effect a lot. However the shadow effect I wanted to add to her eyelid is a special trick I found in an Illustrator book at school. I'll pick it up next week, add the shadow and show it to you :)

gaussan blur huh? Hmm I've never tried that one.... gotta try that one the next time I'm fooling around with shadow effects :)