Design Process of Phoenix Illustration
March 23rd, 2007 Filed in: Design, Tricks & Tips Jump to comments
Numbers of people have asked me how to do the phoenix illustration on my site. Was it vector? Did I use Illustrator or Photoshop? Well, here I will tell you my design process from concept sketch to final illustration. Hope you will find this useful.
1. Concept Sketch
Like most other designers, I like to brainstorm and sketch out my ideas.
2. Research
Then I will go to Google image search to get design inspiration. Notice the color theme used on my site is very similar to the images that I found?
3. Tracing
Normally I will do a fine sketch and import it in Illustrator for tracing purpose. Check out my Illustrator vector tracing tutorial. Here I experimented with different color variation.
4. Illustrator Files
Here are the Illustrator files that I traced from sketches. These vector illustrations then imported into Photoshop for composition.
5. Effects
I used Photoshop to add FX effects like: rainbow, glow, particles, and gradient. One of the frequently asked questions is how to do the particles effect on the tails and flowers. To make the particles, just set the layer’s blending mode to "dissolve".
6. Final
Here is the final illustration. Download the full size wallpaper.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:01 am
amazing … I love your work!
April 10th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Es bellísima tú página… tienes unos tips muy buenos.
Saludos desde Arica-Chile
April 9th, 2007 at 6:33 am
hey i think you do have a great mind for abstract, and i like the way tell your story.the designs are most fabulous.my friends and i in Nigeria really love your work.be happy bro.
April 8th, 2007 at 6:05 am
Nice work!
simply amazing.
but unfortunatly I dont have Illustrator :(
April 7th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
awesome job!
i tried it but it was too hard for me=[
ahwell.
i just wanted to know though, where’d you get all those awesome flower brushes?
cheeeeeers!
xxx
April 7th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
hello… that the brilliant job…
April 7th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Incredible. I absolutely love your style and work. The tutorial was very interesting to read.
April 7th, 2007 at 12:21 am
I love the whole site you own here, and I love all your graphics. Currently I am using your WP Theme GlossyBlue 1.3 until I can create my own! So far I think it goes great my site, and I just love the gfx! Thanks again!
April 5th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Nik, you are loved the world over - you just blow us away everytime - love you man.
Team Mana Media
April 5th, 2007 at 3:38 am
We love all your work. your website is one of our favourite site. great design, fantastic portfolio.
many regards from germany.
mike