Blending/Shading Question

I have been absent from this forum for about a year or so due to a medical condition... but I still try to keep my hand (and mind) in the graphic design area....

My question: I watch some of the "Speed" creation of realistic vector art. They show making a shaping and then doing some sort of magic to it which shades/blends it into, let's say a face or other item that needs subtle shading or blending....

Could someone tell me how or what is necessary to do this please.... It's driving me crazy, which some may say is a short trip for me...

Any sort of instruction or direction in this would be most helpful...

 

Thanks in Advance.

J Peter Mock  aka Tazz

  • Hello JP; Do you think they maybe Power Clipping them/

    George

  • The subtle blends that you see, especially in the face or other skin, is probably due to the use of the mesh tool.

    HERE is a basic tutorial about the mesh tool.

     

    • Sure didnt look like the mesh tool... I never saw the grid the mesh tool makes.... It was almost like maybe a Macro of some sort because it took no time at all to make it happen

       

    • Sounds like they're using the Blend feature. It can create rather realistic shadings but is sometimes a bit difficult to control.
      Make sure both master objects have the same node count and that the curves run in the same direction. Sometimes node mapping helps creating a better result.

      • It's not that simple at least no from my point of view

        I have tried to reproduce with the blend tool those two pictures from Vlad Sokolovich  not easy at all.