Photographic base image

Working with Layers

I started with a photo from a regional fair in Northern Michigan

My intention is to create a vector (line are image) from a photo (pixel map).  The advantages of a vector are no noise and scalability— a vector can be scaled to any size without losing resolution.

Clipping & Layering

Starry Background

Background Rides

I cut the image up into layers: Foreground, Zipper Banner, and The Ride.  I did this because different areas need different kinds of work.  The ride and the banner are already bright.  The foreground and the people need to be brought up

Spinning Ride

separately.  Also, some areas need less detail, which translates into less file size.

3 layers were also added: I created a starry sky background as the base layer; I also wanted a background layer with more rides, so I chose them

Zipper Banner

from another picture and scaled them to fit; the last layer was a drawing layer where I added highlights to create more depth in the final image.

The layers themselves have no background.  I added a black background to each of the images used so they can be seen in context.

Peopled Foreground

In PhotoShop, I traced each layer to bring out color and detail.  I also stylized the faces and changed body shapes and sizes to eliminate resemblances.

Drawn Highlights Layer

Finally in PhotoShop, in the draw layer, I added highlights to various objects to strengthen the sense of depth.

Next I moved to Adobe Illustrator.  Using the ‘Auto Trace’ tool, I traced each layer individually.  This is because some layers need less color and detail which reduces the overall file size.

Vectorized Version of 'Zipper'