Here’s an old project I never wrote about… Every now and then I just experiment with things, and this piece started with using Inkscape for an illustration of a rocket. Here it is. Pretty boring!
I ended up creating a scene for the rocket. Look, it’s going to Mars! Someday I’d like to go to Mars…
Since I tend to think of any illustration as cutting paths I tend to avoid strokes and just use solid objects, which comes in handy, especially if you decide to use digital fabrication techniques to create things.
I next took my illustration, which was essentially a two-color design on a black background) and created color separations. One for the silver, and one for the red.
I then created DXF files I could load into Silhouette Studio so I could cut stencils and paint the scene onto an 8″ x 8″ canvas. (Yes, sometimes I mess around with paint.) You might also notice I added registration marks, these are things you learn from years of working in the print industry and printmaking.
Here’s the result of cutting two stencils and spray painting them onto a black canvas. It turned out okay, but I didn’t love it. (Probably because I don’t love painting.) What I do love is the fact that with vector artwork it’s easy to scale things, so I did.
Here’s a 12″ x 12″ version of the artwork, but this time I used a piece of painted wood and just applied cut vinyl to it. I really like how this one turned out. In fact, it’s hanging in the shop right now.
Sometimes I get so caught up in creating 3D (or 2.5D) work that I forget how much I like doing 2D stuff. I should probably do more in the future.