My vector dude

[Flame]

Alright, so got a job that's not great, but would make a good weekend project. Turn 3 guys pics into a caricature looking artwork. Like a vector photo, ya know?

So, never really played with caricatures, this is my first attempt... your thoughts?

 

[Rick]

Kinda need to see the photo you are working off of...

 

[Flame]

Well yeah but I know I need to touch stuff up..... just not sure where to start.

Original pic attached. ugh, poor quality.

Appreciate you taking time to check it out Rick.

 

[TheSellOut]

I think you have a good start, but that guy has some big eyes which you might try and emphasize! Could you change the black to a brown? it seems like his hair is brownish.

 

[Steve C.]

Hey Flamey, If you keep you past isues of Signcraft...check out an article
by Joe Diaz on converting and image to high contrast illustrations.
July/Aug, 2007.

 

[Rick]

When I do an illustration like this, I try to lay down a foundation of the person using the image in it's simplest form to catch the essence of the persons face, then build layers on top of that. You got the idea, just started with a poor foundation.

I might use Photoshop, make the image black and white, then use some filters (in this case photocopy) to get the basic form of the persons face... and hopefully that persons character shows through. This person has distinct eyes, nose and mouth features that are not showing through on your illustration. I actually thought your illustration was Lance Armstrong.

If you have not seen this....

http://www.illustrationclass.com/2009/06/20/stylized-portrait-illustration/

The image below is probably where I would have started...

 

[Flame]

Thanks guys, gonna keep tweaking him.

 

[Flame]

Better?

 

[Rick]

Not capturing the guy at all, the nose, the eyes the chin...

I played with it for around 15 minutes using the image I posted as a base to do a quick sketch on tracing paper then traced it on my vector program. The thing that stands out on this guy is his smile, healthy shnoz and eyes... You are not capturing it.

 

[ddarlak]

RICK

 

[GAC05]

You guys are trying to hard.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Rick]

Hmm. Must be a Guam thing... isn't the point of being in Guam is to not try that hard?

 

[GAC05]

When he said he needed to do a caricature of 3 guys it was the first thing that popped into my head and in all the 40+ years of living here we have never had a Pep boys.

Rick your drawing looks good but when I hear cartoon caricature I think more of John Deaton's style of drawing.
Drawn over photos that still look a little too photo-like start to have that creepy "Uncanny Valley" effect.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Rick]

If he said Cartoon Characature, then I would agree.. he seems to be working on a characature like a vector photo..., that could be interpreted as the illustration class example that is popular nowadays...

wiki describes it ad " A caricature can refer to a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caricature

so any style drawing can be a characature... thats why I mention the guys shnoze eyes and mouth... they are prominent enough to enhance them a bit.. vector illustrations done right look great, but they can get a little creepy looking too.

 

[Steve C.]

When I think Characature I think Cartoon also. I struggle with them, but once
in a while I'll get it right. Here's my attempt just tracing with the bezier tool
over the photo with a posterized version. Your photo is not a very good one
for this.

 

[signmeup]

Corel X4 quicktrace.....30 seconds.

 

[Rick]

Another thing I do is place the original image on top while I am going along, and make sure the person comes through in the drawing. I don't want exact, just catch the person's recognizable feature.

For the heck of it I played with it more. the animated gif shows how the picture turns into the vector image...

Give it a second to load. http://iamglak.com/vector-dude-3.gif

 

[Steve C.]

Very Cool Rick! Heres a pepboy kinda quicky.

 

[signgal]

reminds me of the Megan Fox post from the other day! Might aid for inspiration

 

[Patrick46]

Steve's got it heading in the right direction now!