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Next: Work Faster Using Essential Illustrator Shortcuts, Part 1
Creating Photo-realistic Vectors in Illustrator
In this advanced-level Illustrator tutorial, you can achieve photo-realism in a vector format by using the Mesh tool. The quality of the vector you’ll produce is probably going to be as good as the photo you use as a reference, so you may want to fix it up in Photoshop before you start to use it in Illustrator.
Next: Work Faster Using Essential Illustrator Shortcuts, Part 1
Also remember to use a photo that you have permission to use (or relevant model release if it is of a recognizable person), since the vector produced is going be a derivative work. For this reason I’m going to use a 3D render of a model because I’m clueless about photographing people. However, this technique will work with any reference image, be it photo or render.
Creating a Template Layer The first and most important step is to place your image into a template layer. To do this, click on the menu File > Place, then in the dialog box that appears, select the image file you are going to use. Mine is titled Reference Image.jpg. Check the Link and Template boxes, and click OK.
If you open up the Layers panel you will see a new template layer created. Double-click this to bring up the Layer Options dialog box and uncheck the default Dim Images setting so we have a bright image to work with. Click OK.
Eyedropper Preparation We’ll be using the Eyedropper Tool extensively, so double-click it to bring up the Eyedropper Options dialog box. Make sure that Appearance is unchecked in the Eyedropper Picks Up settings, but that everything else is. (Whenever you want to use the Eyedropper tool, simply press I to switch to it instantly.)
Planning Plan how you are going construct your image with different mesh boxes. To do this, create a new layer in the Layers panel and simply draw unfilled rectangles with the Rectangle tool over the image, wherever you think you might need a mesh object to represent it. Remember that smaller, less complex mesh objects are better than large meshes because they redraw faster and are easier to edit. Here I am going to have different meshes for almost every section of the model’s body – her arms, torso, swimwear, head and neck are all going to be separate meshes.
Build up from Boxes I advise starting with rectangle-shaped meshes because they are predictable. You can then add anchor points and mesh points to these meshes and adjust them to reshape each body part accordingly. I do not recommend tracing around shapes from the reference image and then converting them into mesh objects, because traced shapes are not as easy to work with as simple boxes. Let’s select the right upper arm rectangle we created during the planning process. Using the Eyedropper tool, click on the reference image to fill the rectangle with a solid color. Then, using the Mesh tool (or by pressing U), click anywhere inside the rectangle. This will convert the whole rectangle into a mesh object while simultaneously creating a new mesh point.
Alternate Between Preview and Outline Views Now, press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Cmd+Y (Mac) to enter Outline view. Using the Eyedropper tool, click very close to the side of the mesh point you’ve just created. Since we’re working in Outline view this will pick up the color from our reference image and assign it to the selected mesh point. To get as close to the mesh point as possible, you may want to zoom in with the Zoom tool. Press Ctrl+Y (Windows) or Cmd+Y (Mac) to exit out of Outline view and come back into normal Preview. Add more mesh points with the Mesh tool, then return back to Outline view to again use the Eyedropper tool to pick up colors adjacent to these newly created mesh points. Continue doing this to build up your mesh object, almost like sampling or scanning the reference image a bit at a time.
Follow the Flow Once you think you have enough mesh points in your mesh object, all that is required is to simply shape the mesh lines. You can do this by either adjusting the mesh point handles or by adding anchor points onto the mesh line to recreate how the colors should blend and flow. That is, look at which directions the color blends and flows in your reference image and try to shape the mesh lines to mimic this. Also, shape your rectangle to the same shape of the arm by moving the mesh points that sit on the edges of the mesh object. Remember that switching between Preview and Outline views can help during this process. Once you’ve completed one mesh object, you can convert the other rectangles into mesh objects and build these meshes up by doing the same process over again. In many areas, you’ll see that two mesh objects meet, such as the elbow or shoulders. Try to pick up the same colors from your reference image and assign them to the mesh points on the edges of where they meet. The similarity in colors will make the two meshes appear seamless and indistinguishable from the many different parts that construct the whole image.
Sooner than you think, you’ll have almost an exact copy of your reference image but in vector format. Since you’ve used the Eyedropper tool to pick up the colors from the image itself, you can trust that it’s as close a match to the original image as it can possibly be. Give it a try! You can view Sheila Pen's (Diamond_Images) gallery here. For more reading on mastering the Gradient Mesh in Illustrator, see the following Tips & Tricks articles:
Painting with the Mesh Tool in Illustrator - Part 1
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