Chapter 03 Skills Review:
Drawing and Composing an Illustration

A) Draw straight lines

1. Open Al 3-9.ai, then save it as Mighty Montag.
2. Place the Montag Sketch.tif from the drive and folder where your Data Files are stored into the Montag document.
3. Position the sketch in the center of the artboard, then lock it.
4. Set the fill color to [None] and the stroke to 1 pt black.
5. Use the Pen Tool to create a four-sided polygon for the neck. (Hint: Refer to the image below as a guide.)
6. Draw six whiskers.
7. Save your work.

B) Draw curved lines

1. Using the Pen Tool, draw an oval for the eye.
2. Draw a crescent moon shape for the eyelid.
3. Draw an oval for the iris.
4. Save your work.

C) Draw elements of an illustration

1. Trace the left ear.
2. Trace the hat.
3. Trace the nose.
4. Trace the left jowl.
5. Trace the right jowl.
6. Trace the tongue.
7. Trace the right ear.
8. Trace the head.
9. Save your work.

D) Apply attributes to objects

1. Unlock the placed sketch and hide it.
2. Fill the hat with a red swatch.
3. Fill the right ear with 9C/18M/62Y.
4. Fill the nose with black.
5. Fill the eye with white.
6. Fill the tongue with salmon.
7. Using the image below as a guide, use the colors in the Swatches panel to finish the illustration.
8. Save your work.

E) Assemble an illustration

1. Send the neck to the back of the stacking order, then lock it.
2. Send the head to the back, then lock it.
3. Send the left ear to the back, then lock it.
4. Bring the hat to the front.
5. Bring the right ear to the front.
6. Select the whiskers, group them, then bring them to the front.
7. Select the tongue, then cut it.
8. Select the right jowl, then apply the Paste in Back command.
9. Bring the nose to the front.
10. Select the eye, the eyelid, and the iris, then group them.
11. Drag and drop a copy of the eye group. (Hint: Press and hold [Alt] as you drag the eye group.)
12. Select the right jowl.
13. In the Color panel add 10% K to darken the jowl.
14. Use the Color panel to change the fills on other objects to your liking.
15. Save your work.

F) Stroke objects for artistic effect

1. Make the caps on the whiskers round.
2. Change the whiskers’ stroke weight to .5 pt.
3. Unlock all.
4. Select the neck and change the joins to round.
5. Apply pseudo-strokes to the illustration. (Hint: Copy and paste the elements behind themselves, fill them with black, lock the top objects, then use the Direct Selection Tool to select anchor points on the black-filled copies. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the anchor points. The black copies will peek out from behind the elements in front.)
6. Click Object on the menu bar, then click Unlock All.
7. Delete the Montag Sketch file behind your illustration.
8. Save your work, compare your illustration to the image below, then close Mighty Montag.

 

Source: "Adobe Illustrator CS3 Revealed" by Chris Botello