Assignment: Digital illustration of Abraham Lincoln
Craft:
Process- In order to complete this project I started by using the Adobe Illustrator program to begin creating the layers toward the back of the photograph and then continued to add layers on top of those until the vector art piece was completed.
Technique- I was able to improve this piece very easily because if I created a layer that I was not completely satisfied with I was able to delete that layer and redo it without altering the other layers that I had already done. For example, it took me several tries to get his eyes to look the way that I wanted them to. I was able to improve my work by going back and deleting the layers of his eyes and starting over on just that specific section of his face.
Composition:
I chose this photograph because I wanted to work with one that showed more of his body than just his head. I chose these colors because they were the closest ones that i could find to the actual colors in the photograph that were also able to put a unique spin on the picture. I arranged the contents of the piece in the way that I did because it was easier to start the piece from working with the layers from the back of the photo and then creating layers on top of those ones in order to show more detail in the photo. For example, for his jacket I first started with the basic outline of the jacket, and then I was able to create the unique details of his jacket such as the buttons or the creases in the jacket over the basic layers that were previously created.
Concept:
After carefully studying Lincoln's facial expression in this portrait, I think that he should be placed in an office setting. It is apparent to me that he is deep in thought, and it would make sense to me to place this portrait of him in an office setting because that was most likely where he was deepest in thought and made the difficult decisions regarding our country.
