Week 1: Snake

In class this week we learnt to create texture brushes in Illustrator by using a seamless texture or around 50x50 pixels.  We also experimented with rotate and repeat and the width tool.  The width tool was particularly useful for our homework, as we had to create a snake.  

The snakeskin texture used in this image was created by roseenglish on deviantart.

I used the pen tool to draw the shape of my snake and applied the snakeskin texture brush.  Then I used the width tool to manipulate the shape, resulting in the image below.

Figure 1:  Base Snake

The texture brush in Illustrator is useful but imperfect, as the textures do not quite line up properly.  

I saved this image then opened it up in Photoshop.  To fix the texture gaps I used the clone tool. 

Next I added detail to the snake with shadow and highlight layers, and finally gave the snake eyes and a tongue.  

   

Figure 2: Snake Design