Introduction

This artwork is my humorous take on the "Why do aliens abduct cows?” question. The illustration is a vector art completely done with Abode Illustrator CS2. Here I am going to explain the techniques I used in the creation of "Jamukha, Got Milk?”, in full detail.

Let's Start

The first stage was to trace the outline (Fig.01). I then colour-filled the drawing; this was to be the colour direction for the illustration (Fig.02). I made this tutorial in three parts; the first part discusses the creation of Jamukha, the second part covers the flying saucer, and third the background…Enjoy!

Part 1: Illustrating Jamukha

Note: Before applying any effects to your object, be sure to always make a copy of the original drawing in separate layers; this is handy for whenever you need to use the same shape again!

The first thing I did was to remove the black outline from the drawing. I then started my image with the eyes, which I normally do in all my portrait drawings. For this one I chose the Mesh tool (shortcut key "U”). I applied a white highlight to both eyes, as shown (Fig.03). 


I applied a radial gradient, from black to blue, for the iris (Fig.04). Black was then added for the pupil (Fig.05). And finally, a specular highlight of a white circle was added for the finishing touch – and the eyes were done (Fig.06)! To set the eyes in place on the face, I created a dark pink to light pink gradient for the eye-bags. You can also save the gradient by dragging the colour fill onto the swatch window (Fig.07).