Merge vectors with photographic imagery

  • Software Photoshop and Illustrator CS3 or later
  • Time needed 1-2 hours
  • Skills-Creating 3D vector shapes-Work with layers and shadows-Merge vectors with photographic imagery

At certain times in your career you'll be handed a brief that gives you the chance to take a more abstract approach to creating an image. In this tutorial I'll show how you can merge a few found images, and mix them in with vector shapes to create a unique editorial illustration.

For the purposes of this tutorial, let's say we've been given a brief to create an illustration for a magazine article on the tricks and techniques that a designer or illustrator can have in their arsenal of skills. In this case, we'll use a small 'box of tricks' placed on the palm of a hand. With a few Photoshop and Illustrator skills, you can create the effect of the blocks of colour bursting out of the box, all on a backdrop of an abstract ray of light.

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The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq. 

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