MERAKI

  I used a sad image to juxtapose the letter written to my future self. The letter is full of nostalgia and hopefulness for a more fulfilling future.  I started by outlining the reference image using the pen and curvature tool to make the contours of the face. I made a complete path for the full face since that was the main section I wanted to fill with the letter. Then, using the Area Type Tool I filled the face with my letter pasted around 12 times. Using the Helvetica font at 8 points and barely any space between the letters. After outlining everything, I filled the lips with the beginning of the letter as well and underlined the path at the bottom of the words so they were noticeable enough. Using the dropper tool, I tried looking for colors similar to the reference image. Using the ellipse tool for the eyes so I could also include part of my letter in it. Originally, the eyes were going to be blank but I wanted extra features with the letter. There are approximately 8 layers in th

  Illustrator Tutorial #1 'Yes, I'm a Designer' is a YouTube channel dedicated to tutorials for artists and graphic designers. The video provides an introductory look into making illustrations in the design application, Adobe Illustrator. He gives the user a simple explanation of copying other works to help them practice. He describes how simple shapes and shadows can help create a good illustration. The first tool presented is the pen and how to create curvatures to the lines placed. His example is an outline of a flame. He then shows the feature for rounding corners of shapes make with the lines. He uses the shape of a star and shows right-click features that are included to edit the corner's radius, width, and curvature. By the middle of the video, he has explained how to fill in colors and how to add different variations of color around illustrations to give them depth. At the end, he uses much more advanced skills for graphic designers such as working with fonts an