Zizz Fusion

1: SETTING UP

Obtain a photo of Obama by doing an image search on a search engine or something such as Flickr. If you’re lucky enough to have seen Obama then use your own photo! Ensure the resolution is of a reasonable level to make out key features of Obama’s appearance.

Create a new A4 sized canvas in Illustrator then select File > Place to locate and insert your photo of Obama. Once inserted lock this layer by going to the Layer Window (F7). Name this layer Photo, then create one layer above called Fill and one above that called Outline.

Place a photo in the lowest layer down

2: PEN TOOL

Now select the Pen Tool (P) and set the Stroke (CTRL + F10) to 1pt coloured blue, set the Fill to [none]. If this is your first time using the pen tool then you might want to practice using it and consult the Adobe Illustrator Help File (F1).

Select a stroke colour

Working on the Outline Layer: use the Pen Tool (P) to trace round the outer edges of Obama’s body and leave the legs unbounded as shown.

Outline

Within the Outline Layer now lock the first path and move onto tracing out Obama’s face and clothing outlines but with a stroke setting of 0.5pt. Remember to lock individual paths each time you create them to prevent unintentionally linking them together.

Trace the details

3: ELLIPSE TOOL

Create outlines of Obama’s eye balls by using the Ellipse Tool (L). Use the same tool for creating Obama’s suite buttons.

Ellipse Tool

4: HIDE LAYER

Momentarily hide the Photo Layer to see how your Obama sketch looks so far and to make any amendments.

Hide Photo

5: COLOUR FILL SKIN

With the Photo Layer still locked and hidden, now also lock the Outline Layer but keep it visible. Select the Fill Layer and then the Pen Tool (P). Set the Stroke (CTRL + F10) to 0pt and set the Fill to a shade of brown from the Skintones swatch menu.

Swatch Menu

Now fill inside the outline covering all areas where Obama’s skin is visible.

Fill Skin Regions

6: COLOUR FILL OUTLINE ELEMENTS

Return to your Outline Layer, locate and unlock the eye outlines to fill them with white. Use the same process for the eye balls, eye brows, lips and the suite buttons but with appropriate colours.

Fill Outline Elements

7: COLOUR FILL & PATHFINDER

Now return to filling in colours for the rest of Obama including his hair and clothing. Ensure that you have locked the Outline Layer and set the Stroke to 0pt. If your Obama is wearing any white coloured clothing then remember to fill this in using the White swatch. Also lock individual paths each time you create them to prevent unintentionally linking them together.

If in your Obama photo an arm is placed inside a pocket then you may need to cut out the space between for transparency purporse. Return the Outline Layer, locate the area and cut & paste it to the top of the Fill Layer. Select both the space path and surrounding paths. Now open the Pathfinder Window (Shft+Ctrl+F9) and choose Subtract from shape area.

Use the Pathfinder Tool

8: OUTLINE COLOUR & EYE DIRECTION

Lock your Fill Layer and unlock the Outline Layer. Now select all of the outlines and make sure all are unlocked. Change the outline colour from Blue to Black (#000000). After this still on the Outline Layer use the Pen Tool (P) (set to White Fill and 0pt Stroke) to add a slight shine to Obama’s eye. This should determine the direction that your Obama illustration is looking in.

Colour & Eye direction

9: TRANSPARENCY SHADING

Lock the Outline Layer and return to the Fill Layer to add some shading. I find the simplest method for adding shade is to use the Transparency Slider (Shft+Ctrl+F10). Using the Pen Tool (P) (set to Black Fill and 0pt Stroke) draw out patches where shade exists in your Obama photo. You might want to momentarily hide the Fill Layer to compare your illustration against the photo.

Transparency & Shading

10: COMPLETE!

That’s it. You have now created a vector based illustration of 44th President of the USA Barack Obama.

44th President of the USA Barack Obama