Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

43
Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photographs A Tutorial on the Simple Power of the Illustration Program, Expressions By Tony Laidig www.publicdomainblog.com www.tonysyardsale.com

description

Since sharing about the killer illustration program, Expressions, in my "More Photoshop Tricks" report, I've received numerous e-mails requesting that I create a tutorial that shows how I use Expressions to turn Public Domain photographs into new, original illustrations. Expressions version 3 is available as a free download and is well-known for its "skeletal strokes" technology. So I sat down recently and wrote a Case Study tutorial where I created a brand-new illustration from a Public Domain photograph of a Grumman F4F "Wildcat" Fighter airplane.

Transcript of Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Page 1: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Creating Original

Illustrations from

Public Domain

Photographs

A Tutorial on the Simple Power of the Illustration Program, Expressions

By Tony Laidig www.publicdomainblog.com

www.tonysyardsale.com

Page 2: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

LEGAL NOTICE © 2008 – Tony Laidig. All rights reserved.

The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this report, notwithstanding the

fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing

nature of the Internet.

While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Publisher assumes no

responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific

persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional.

In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made. Readers are cautioned to

reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances to act accordingly.

This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to

seek services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance fields.

You are encouraged to print this book for easy reading.

Page 3: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Creating line illustrations from Public Domain photographs is a fairly simple process using the awesome program,

Expressions, now from Microsoft. If you can trace, you can create a great looking illustration. Since I first introduced

Expressions as a product creation tool in my popular report, “More Photoshop Tricks for Product Creation,” I’ve received

numerous requests from subscribers asking that I produce a tutorial that showed, step-by-step, how I used Expressions

with the photographs to create illustrations like the ones I shared in that report. So for the sake of this Case Study, I

decided to create a brand-new illustration based on a Public Domain image of the WWII aircraft, the Grumman F4F

“Wildcat” Fighter. The photograph I chose came from the Naval Historical Center website. Here is the exact page from

where the image was download: http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/ac-usn22/f-types/f4f.htm.

If you don’t currently have a copy of the Expressions software (which you will need for this tutorial Case Study), you can

download a copy of it for FREE here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creature_House_Expression. Just look for the following

Page 4: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

entry: “[2], direct link to above file, does not require registration” and click on the number “2.” Once you have downloaded

the software and installed it, you’ll be ready to begin.

The first thing you obviously need to do is launch the program, and then create a new palette: File => New. Your screen

should look similar to the screen on the following page. I’m not going to give you a tour of every tool and technique

possible with this program—there are plenty of books, online tutorials and forums that can help you with that. What I am

going to show you with this tutorial is simply what I stated earlier—how to create illustrations from photographs.

Okay, let’s begin. Once you have the new document ready, the first thing you’ll want to do is have the photograph you

plan to use for your illustration ready to import. In my case, I’m using the plane I downloaded from the site I shared earlier.

To import the image, I chose File => Import Bitmap. Figure 1 shows how this should appear. I selected the photo I

wanted to use and clicked “Okay.” Figure 2 shows the plane illustrated imported into Expressions.

Now, in order for us to be able to trace over the photograph, we need to reduce the opacity level of the photo, similar to

laying a layer of tracing paper over top of it. In order to accomplish this, I chose Objects => Set Opacities (see Figure 3),

and then set the Fill Opacity for the photograph to 40% (see Figure 4). Apply the setting.

The last setting we need to adjust for the photograph is to lock it so that, as we begin to draw our lines, the background

image will be unselectable. Trust me, you do not want to skip this step. To lock the background image (Figure 5), Right-

Mouse Click on the photograph. When the dialog box comes up, click on, “Lock Object.” Once you apply the lock, you’ll

notice that you will not be able to select the photograph by clicking on it.

Okay, you’re ready to begin drawing the lines!

Page 5: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

FIGURE 1

Page 6: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

FIGURE 2

Page 7: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

FIGURE 3

Page 8: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

FIGURE 4

Page 9: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

FIGURE 5

Page 10: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

BRUSH TOOL

SKELETAL

STROKE

COLOR

STROKE

We’re going to begin our tracing by starting with the large wing, primarily because it’s the

largest foreground object. Expressions provides a number of methods for drawing, but for

most of this tutorial, we’ll

just use the brush tool.

So you’ll want to select

the brush tool, choose

“skeletal strokes” as a

Paint Style, set a line

width, line color and

choose an actual stroke

from the Strokes menu.

I’ve highlighted these

areas along with my

choices. When you draw

your first line, you’ll

notice points along the

path. These are edit

nodes that allow you to

shape the line (Bezier

curve) however you

ENDING POINT OF LINE EDIT NODES STARTING POINT OF LINE

need to shape it. I’ll share more on them in a few minutes. I also want to mention here that

because the lines are always fully editable, you don’t have to worry about perfection. You

can change all the attributes of every line at any time, including the shape, stroke,

thickness and color (which is why I love this program.

FIGURE 6

Page 11: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next, I finish the outline for the wing. It’s okay if the lines don’t match the contour perfectly,

because we will go back and edit the nodes and curves exactly how they need to be. NODE

TOOL The thickness of the

lines can also be

adjusted under the paint

style setting.

To edit the shape of the

line, choose the “Node”

tool and then click on

one of the nodes. You’ll

see the editing

adjustment control

appear. Left-mouse click

and drag the control to

change the shape of the

line to fit the line you

want to trace. You will

also see a control point

on the trailing edge of

LINE THICKNESS ADJUSTMENT

EDIT NODE ADJUSTMENT CONTROL

the line. This control adjuster changes the thickness of the line. This is the same thickness

adjustment as in the Paint Style dialog box.

FIGURE 7

Page 12: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Here is the wing once I’ve finished adjusting the nodes. One thing I usually do is delete all the nodes

in a line except for the beginning and end ones. By using just the end nodes to shape your line, you

can achieve a much smoother curve or straight line. You’ll also notice that the line thicknesses are

different. The main edges of the wing are 10 pt, while the edge at the plane’s body is 7 pt.

DELETE EXTRA CONTROL NODES USING THE NODE SUBTRACT TOOL

S03 BRUSH WITH A THICKNESS OF 10PT

PERFECT FELT BRUSH WITH A

THICKNESS OF 10PT

POINTED LEAF BRUSH WITH A THICKNESS OF 7PT

FIGURE 8

Page 13: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next, I trace the tail

section and delete all

the unnecessary

nodes. Then I adjust

the control nodes to

fit the contour of the

tail. For now, the line

passes through the

tail wing. We’ll fix that

when we create the

tail wing in a later

step. You’ll also

notice that I used a

5 pt. line since the

tail section is further

back on the plane. NOTICE THAT THE ONLY EDIT NODES

THAT REMAIN ARE THE ONES AT

EACH MAJOR CURVE

FIGURE 9

Page 14: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

To draw the back

section of the

fuselage, I switched

back to the S03

Brush, keeping it at

5 pt. to match the

tail fin. I used this

brush because I

wanted to begin the

fuselage line at the

wing line and then

trail off at the back

of the tail.

NOTICE THAT I BEGAN THE LINE IN THE WING LINE

AND THEN TRAILED IT OFF AT THE END

FIGURE 10

Page 15: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

HERE IS THE

COMPLETED

TAIL SECTION.

FIGURE 11

Page 16: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next, still using the brush tool, I draw the bottom fuselage line, beginning forward near the wheel assembly

and extending to the back of the plane. You can see the nodes that resulted from drawing the line

freehand. I ultimately deleted all the edit nodes except for the ones at the ends of the line and the node at

the bend at the back of the tail section. I then shaped the line using the Node tool to match the contour of

the fuselage.

FIGURE 12

Page 17: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

I zoomed into the

tail section of the

plane to make

sure that all the

lines converged

into one point. If

your mouse has a

center wheel

(commonly used

for scrolling), you

can use the wheel

to easily zoom in

and out. You’ll

also notice that

the lines remain

sharp regardless

of how much you

zoom in or out.

This is one of the

great benefits of

working with a

vector-based

program.

FIGURE 13

Page 18: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

TURN OFF “OUTLINE” HERE

TURN ON “FILL” HERE

SET “FILL COLOR” BY LEFT-CLICKING

ON THE COLOR YOU WANT HERE

I drew the tail wing next using a similar approach to the one I

used for the lead wing. With this wing, however, we need to

block out the line from the tail fin. To accomplish this, I drew

a second shape using the Polyline tool, being careful to

make sure the lines were trapped by the wing outline I

previously drew. For this shape, I didn’t need the outline, but

needed it filed to “White,” so I turned off the “Outline” and

turned on the “Fill.” When I filled the shape, it filled at a 40%

opacity because of my setting the background at 40%. I

changed the by clicking on Objects =>Set Opacities.

FIGURE 14

Page 19: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Once I’ve changed the opacity to 100%, I need to move the

filled shape behind the outlines for the tail wing, but still on

top of the tail fin line. Everything drawn in Expressions is on

it’s own “Layer” and it’s position in the layer stack can be

easily adjusted. Think of the different objects as a stack of

pancakes. You can move any line or shape “up” or “down”

in this stack by selecting it and then pushing the “Page Up”

or “Page Down” keys on your computer. In this case a

pushed the “Page Down” several times until the shape was

beneath the tail wing outlines.

FIGURE 15

Page 20: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

You can also use the Menu command for moving your

outline or shape, as shown here. You can see the end

result of our move.

FIGURE 16

Page 21: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next, I moved onto drawing the lines

for the nose section of the fuselage

using the same brushes and

drawing techniques as before.

FIGURE 17

Page 22: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

After drawing the line for the

rounded nose section, I deleted all

the edit nodes except for the end

nodes and one in the middle of

the rounded shape. Next, I used

the remaining edit nodes to

reshape the line to fit the nose

section on the photograph.

FIGURE 18

Page 23: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

You can see the finished

result here along with how

the edited nodes appear.

FIGURE 19

Page 24: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next comes the

plane’s other wing.

Notice that I have the

line thickness set to

3 pt. since the wing is

more distant than the

leading edge wing.

You can use this line

thickness method to

easily convey depth

and perspective in

your illustration.

FIGURE 20

Page 25: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

THE “OBJECT SELECT”

TOOL

THE REAR LANDING GEAR ASSEMBLY

IS MOVED BEHIND THE FUSELAGE LINE.

With the rear landing gear, I used the same technique for blocking out the “Wheel” as I used with the tail

wing. Once the landing gear assembly was drawn, I used the “Object Select” tool to select all the elements

that make up the assembly (hold the left-mouse button down and then click in the objects you want to

select) and then move them behind the fuselage outline using “Page Down.”

FIGURE 21

Page 26: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

After drawing in the cockpit area, the basic design of the airplane is finished. This is what

the F4F looks like so far. Next, I’m going to begin adding details.

FIGURE 22

Page 27: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Using the same outline and fill

techniques I’ve used for the other

sections of our drawing, I drew the

propeller assembly. You’ll also

notice that I filled the rounded nose

outline to black, and all the motor

assembly pieces to white to

achieve the “look” I was after for

this section.

FIGURE 23

Page 28: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Next, using the various shapes available in Expressions, I re-created the star emblem on the leading

wing. The box in the emblem was outlined using the S21 stroke. I also needed to transform the shapes

of each object so that they would match the photograph. This can be easily accomplished using the

Transformation Tools. In this case, I used the “Rotate” and “Shear”

tools to shape the individual objects as needed.

SHAPES TOOLS

SHEAR TOOL

ROTATE TOOL

FIGURE 24

Page 29: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

I continued adding details to the airplane by drawing the

wheel assembly, and by emphasizing prominent

features on the wing and fuselage. The wheel itself is

simply a series of ovals stacked on top of one another

with varying degrees of line thickness or fill.

FIGURE 25

Page 30: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

To add the fuselage emblem, I had to draw each shape freehand so that it would match the

curve of the airplane’s body.

FIGURE 26

Page 31: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

THE TYPE TOOL USED FOR ADDING THE NUMBER “1”

After adding

additional various

details, including the

number “1” that was

shown in the

photograph, an oval

to represent the

propeller, and

additional details on

the wings, we have

our completed F4F

illustration. I could

have chosen to add

more details, but

didn’t feel it was

necessary for this

illustration.

THE FONT STYLE AND SIZE ARE CHANGED HERE

FIGURE 27

Page 32: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Now that our illustration is complete, we no longer need the photograph. So I right-mouse clicked on the

photograph and chose “Unlock Object” from the dialog box. That made the photograph selectable again,

so I then deleted it. By the way, as a side note, make sure you save your project as you’re working on it.

I’d hate to se you lose all your hard effort from a computer or software malfunction.

FIGURE 28

Page 33: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Here is our completed illustration. Once finished, it needs to be exported from Expressions in a format that

can be used by other programs. I typically choose to export the file as a PDF.

FIGURE 29

Page 34: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

To export the illustration as a PDF, I clicked on File => Export => PDF Export….

FIGURE 30

Page 35: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

The PDF Export dialog box offers several setting choices, I always choose the

maximum settings for both “Rasterization resolution” and “Bitmap Strokes

Vectorization.” I also make sure all the boxes are checked except “Bitmap strokes.”

FIGURE 31

Page 36: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

I imported the illustration into Photoshop and added some description text (which could have easily been done in

Expressions as well) to finish our “original” Grumman F4F “Wildcat” Fighter illustration, pictured here.

Page 37: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Here you can see the original

photograph together with the final,

completed illustration. The end result

turned out great!

What’s really exciting about this

illustration method I just showed you, is

that the possibilities for creating original

illustrations in this manner are nearly

limitless, limited only your imagination

and the number of Public Domain

photographs that exist (which are in the

tens of millions). Of course, you can also

use this same method with your own

photographs as well!

On the next page, I’ve included some of

the various illustrations I’ve created

using this method (some of which were

then colorized in Photoshop).

Page 38: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

All the illustrations in my Bulliana Jones comic (including me)

were drawn in Expressions and then colorized in Photoshop.

Both the eagle and the bear above were drawn in Expressions

as well. The biggest difference with these illustrations was my

choice of brush. Rather than use the smooth, line brushes I

used in the F4F illustration, I used the “Scribble” brush for some

of the lines to give a rougher, hand-drawn appearance.

Page 39: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

All the illustrations here are based on

photographs. The top two illustrations were

drawn from Edward Curtis photographs from

the Public Domain. The bottom two dancers

were based on photographs I took…the first

of my daughter dancing fancy shawl at a

powwow and the second of a good friend of

mine dancing at a community fair event. I

used all the same techniques for these

illustrations that were used for the F4F

illustration. The one exception is the custom

brush stroke I created for the eagle feathers.

There are plenty of help files and tutorials

online for you if you want to create your own

brushes. The gold accents were added in

Photoshop.

Page 40: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

I hope this tutorial has helped and encouraged you to experiment with these techniques in

Expressions. Perhaps you’ve never considered yourself an artist, or couldn’t draw a

straight line with a ruler. This process makes it easy because if you don’t like how

something looks, you can always edit it. You also may be think, “How is this going to help

me in my business?” Well, perhaps it won’t directly, but it’s always interesting to see what

a little creativity can do with tools and techniques, such as those I outlined in this tutorial.

Personally, I’ve used the illustrations I’ve created for successful lines of greeting and

Christmas cards, posters and t-shirts. But I’ve also begun using these types of illustrations

in my marketing strategies. The Bulliana Jones cartoon is one example of that. So it’s up to

you. I mean, think about it, I just handed you a method for creating hundreds of original

illustrations in nearly any niche imaginable, and you don’t even have to know how to draw.

The plane illustration took me (without doing the screen grabs and documentation) about

10 – 15 minutes. With some focus and determination, you could easily create a whole

series of related illustrations based on Public Domain photographs in just a matter of

hours. I can picture new clipart CDs for eBay, content for microstock sites like iStockPhoto, postings on social networking sites

like Flickr and more. Use your imagination, and above all else, have fun!

Page 41: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

EXPOSED! One of the Most Overlooked, Untapped Sources for MASSIVE Amounts of FRESH Content on the Planet!

This SECRET source has been TOTALLY off the radar until NOW!

Of the estimated 200,000 magazines, journals and periodicals that were published in the United States between the years of 1923 and 1964, only around 1,300 ever RENEWED their copyrights on issues of their magazines. What that means is this:

EVERY issue of ANY magazine whose copyright was not renewed in the 28th year of first publication is NOW in the Public Domain!

That amounts to MILLIONS of issues from magazines, journals and periodicals

ALL in the Public Domain!

Learn how to tap into this massive amount of content at:

www.publicdomainmagazinesecrets.com

Page 42: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

Discover How a Frustrated, 40-Something Average Joe ACCIDENTLY Discovered a KEY to Making Thousands of Dollars Using a Simple

"Anyone Can Do It" Product Creation Method

Directory Cash BlueprintYour Blueprint to over 50 Ways You Can Turn Boring,

Ordinary Information Into Extraordinary, Best-Selling Products

In Directory Cash Blueprint, you will learn:

• 8 Methods for obtaining specialize information for your product

• 54 different types of lists that you can use to create your cash-pulling profits

• My secrets to repurposing content over and over again

• The methods I use to add value to every product I create

• Actual ideas for products you can begin to create today

• Case study examples of how I personally use and format list information

• How to maximize your use of different delivery mediums

• And Much More!

www.directorycashblueprint.com

Page 43: Creating Original Illustrations from Public Domain Photos

“You have been the only person that has consistently performed and

your PD toolbar helps me on my book almost on a daily basis.”

“I love the Public Domain toolbar! Thanks so much!”

“…it’s a great tool, and I’m only just scraping the surface.”

“Got the toolbar. Great Tool!! Thank you!!”

“I purchased your Public Domain Expert Toolbar and WOW. I initially thought I was falling for another e-marketing pull-in but was I ever wrong. This toolbar is top notch. I can see you put a lot of time

and thought into developing this. It just boggles my mind to see what you have done.”

“I LOVE THE TOOLBAR.”

“Thanks again for a great tool...if only I had time to execute all the ideas that are flowing from this!”

“Very cool tool!”

Get Yours Today!

http://www.publicdomaintoolbar.com