The Birthday Tortoise & The Hare Piñata
The initial motivation for creating “The Birthday Tortoise & The Hare Piñata” was part of my second attempt to reach out to greeting card companies. The first set of illustrations focused around the “Get Well” concept. I wanted this second greeting card series to highlight an event anyone can celebrate no matter what season. I settled on the Birthday theme. While I thought about different concepts I stumbled upon a twist on a classic fable. I wanted to bring the turtle (or tortoise) front and center. I also wanted it hitting a piñata like any child celebrating their birthday would, while his friend cheered him on. As I rendered one of the earlier sketches I wondered: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the turtle was striking up a natural enemy? Almost like beating up a toy representation of its predator.” I couldn’t think of any animals until the image of a bunny dominated my brain. I went further and conjured up the following backstory: The birthday turtle’s father is vicariously enjoying the son whacking away at a paper version of his cocky nemesis, the hare. Yes, I’m aware that eventually the tortoise won the race at the end, but he never forgot the constant ridicule the hare put him though. I admit, my imagination can get a bit dark sometimes.
Switching From Photoshop to Illustrator
As you may have noticed from the earlier sketch to the final one, I changed the tree’s position from right to left. This was done mainly because the previous piece in the series prominently featured a tree on the right side. I wanted “The Birthday Tortoise & The Hare Piñata” to feel and look different.
Once all sketches were done I intended to digitally paint the final sketch in Photoshop, like my previous “Get Well” greeting card series. However, a submission page from a greeting card company compelled me to change course. One of the requirements was submitting finished vector artwork. Vector. Meaning flat, sharp shapes. What could I do to make my art look similar to the digital work I had done in Photoshop? Then I remembered the vector illustration book I meant to read, but was collecting dust and figured it was about time I actually start reading it. Von Glitschka’s book “Vector Basic Training” 2nd edition, were loaded with his examples of the style of vector art I gravitated towards. Von’s bold illustrations have much depth and smooth color and opacity transitions, the kind of style I’ve always wanted to do in Illustrator.
Using The Gradient Tool and Clipping Mask
One of the toughest things to balance is how the gradients will blend with each other especially with curved shapes. Making multiple gradients that produce highlights and shadows on different parts of a curved shape can be tricky. You want the transition of color to be as smooth and seamless as possible. Avoid having sharp changes in color that could make the gradations look odd. The greatest challenge was making the piñata. Each piece had to have its own gradation, yet the gradients had to flow together as one objects. It was a several part process using clipping masks. I had to adjust that gradients that needed to be darkened for the shadowy parts.
I selected the blue stripe and only changed the colors of the original gradient
Each stripe has a different color but the direction of the gradient remains the same.
I’ve learned so much after this piece was finished. I became more confident in using the Gradient tool for more complex illustrations and prepared me to create more detailed concepts in Illustrator. The artistic transformation was well worth the extra time to familiarize myself with different tools and techniques
