Final Image

Here is my final finished initials!!!

I’m pretty proud of how far I have come in only a handful of workshop classes; going from never having used any computer design software before, to being confident enough to make this in one sitting (the one I made before took me a few hours, but that got lost, and I remembered how I made it with all the shortcuts, etc.).

I added a few different things to this final one than my previous one, including the transparency of the bottom flower sections, to create layers of colour throughout the bottom half, especially behind the initials, as well as creating two drop shadows on the initials (made by holding option and dragging it to the left, then decreasing its opacity to 60% and the same with the third one, but the opacity is 30%)

I actually started this image with all different colours, including blues and greens, however changed it toward the end to the same as the last one, with emphasis on warm tones, reds, pinks, maroons, etc. I like the way that these colours mix together, giving it a 70’s sort of vibe (especially when mixed with the initials that are retro inspired), as well as staying more true to the initial clients favourite colours.

Another thing I changed in this final image is the sizing and location of the initials. Originally, in my previous ‘final’ image, the initials were placed at the bottom of the image, with the flowers blooming up and over the city skyline. Although this had a great effect, it drew attention and emphasis away from the initials, and I wanted to change that in this final piece, so I reversed the flower top (to also appear more like dripping slime) and placed the initials right in the centre.

The process of finalising these initials came about through trial and error and heavy emphasis on experimenting. I also drew inspiration from the artist research that I did for this workshop, seeing the different ways graphic designers and artists incorporate certain styles and influences into their own unique work; I love all of the old 60’s and 70’s posters for movies and musicians, etc. (e.g. Jimi Hendrix) and loved the idea of potentially creating my own ‘poster’ in a similar fashion, but keeping it unique with the initials.

As far as the clients drawing goes, there is little correlation between the physical letters and my ending result, however, if she had not drawn the small flower (that I nearly overlooked), I would never have travelled down the path of experimenting with flowers and leaves, and wouldn’t have been inspired to make the futuristic looking shapes and landscapes in the image.

I’m overall very pleased with the end result and really enjoyed the process of creating it, learning about all the unique and fascinating uses and abilities of Adobe Illustrator along the way! 😀

Issy