Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
YAP
Brian Yap
Illustrator & Adobe Ideas
Brian Yap began this illustration on his iPad using Ideas, a vector-based Adobe
Touch app for iOS devices. He began with a photo reference layer of the shoes,
drawing the linework with a NomadBrush Compose stylus on the layer above that.
He next added other layers to develop the colors for the piece. To further enhance
the image in Illustrator, he emailed the file to himself (he could have used the
Creative Cloud to sync with his computer instead). Ideas produced an Illustrator-
compatible PDF, which Yap then opened in Illustrator. Every stroke he made in
Ideas became a filled object with no stroke (similar to the Blob Brush, but without
the ability to merge strokes). To simplify and merge similar paths, he selected all
strokes of the same appearance, clicked Pathfinder> Unite, and then used Object>
Path> Simplify and the Smooth tool to clean up paths and get rid of excess vector
points. To finalize the image for silkscreen printing, Yap also took advantage of
Illustrator's robust color editing and transparency tools, adding gradient fills,
applying blending modes, and adjusting transparency. Because Ideas runs on his
lightweight, portable iPad, Yap can begin conceptualizing images wherever
inspiration strikes, and then later use Illustrator's advanced tools to bring his initial
Ideas concept to fruition.
