Astute Graphics

Very excited by this review of AG plugins by Theresa McLellan Jackson​ in Signs of the Times magazine! 'Astute Graphics’ Suite of Illustrator Plug-ins' - our growing suite is officially too big for one review - exciting times! 

'The Magic of Wacom Tablets' - if you didn’t manage to catch it, Sally Cox hosted a Adobe Connect UG, feat. Carlos Garro on Illustrator, Sebastian Bleak on Astute Graphics & Jesus Ramirez on Lr and Ps – what a night!

View recording here: https://experts.adobeconnect.com/_a204547676/p224yzyp082/…

It's February... Which means it's time for another Product of the Month! This month is none other than Phantasm! We're giving you heaps of learning material FREE so you can get to grips with this awesome Illustrator plug-in.

Join us for our Pop-Up Webinar - The Grass is Greener with Phantasm! Thursday, 5 Feb, 8am PDT, 11am EST, 4pm GMT, 5pm Mainland Europe

Sebastian will demonstrate how to use Phantasm, February’s Product of the Month, to create a grassy vector texture within Illustrator using the Transform & Distort effects and Phantasm Halftone.

Read more and register: http://www.astutegraphics.com/grass-greener-phantasm-illustrator/

Michael Doret

Los Angeles based artist Michael Doret runs a small design and font foundry studio in Hollywood, California. With a flair for lettering, illustration and graphic design, he has built up an impressive portfolio of clients, providing design solutions that include logos, album covers and signage for companies such as The NBA, Major League Baseball, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, TIME Magazine and Warner Bros.

Check out these articles about Michael's workflow and the tools which assist him in creating such graphically-pleasing artwork: http://www.astutegraphics.com/blog/?s=michael+doret  

Daryl Boothe

Jamaica-born artist Daryl Boothe shows his interesting style and talks about his workflow in interview: http://www.astutegraphics.com/artwork-daryl-boothe/

He uses a variety of tools to create his illustrations - a Sketch book, pencil, inking pen and a Wacom Cintiq. He uses Adobe illustrator, along with the addition of a plug-in or two;

"I started using Phantasm in 2011 after I noticed that Illustrator was limited to certain color features that were present in photoshop. Phantasm helps a lot with the final enhancements of my work, I mainly use the hue and color manipulation features that the plugin offers. The plugin helps me to achieve a dynamic and unique presentation."

Daryl now lives in New York as a professional Illustrator and he specialises in Illustration and Apparel design.

Great piece of patriotic artwork using Adobe Illustrator and InkScribe, a plug-in from Astute Graphics which has been described as 'the Pen Tool on steroids'! 

By Sean Ferguson (who, come to think of it, is American...), this piece is named Britannia 60 and was created in celebration on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee back in 2012. 

Perfectly symmetrical artwork using MirrorMe in Adobe Illustrator. Create beautiful designs like this one by Iaroslav Lazunov and save time by mirroring your artwork.

More artwork by Todd Lauzon, an amazing Canadian animator. His distinctive style is very popular, with clean designs and fun characters. In Todd's workflow, he uses Adobe Illustrator paired with Astute Graphics plug-ins. 

These designs are using MirrorMe, a plugin which does what it says - mirrors artwork, saving you time, work and repetition! Choose from a single line of symmetry or use multiple and create some truly unique patterns.

These 'Super' animations are by Todd Lauzon! Created using Adobe Illustrator, along with DynamicSketch, a plug-in for Ai which makes drawing as easy as pen on paper (especially when used with a Wacom device). Allows for a more natural, fluid experience.

Rose pattern created by Iaroslav Lazunov. This textured effect was formed using Adobe Illustrator, along with plug-in Phantasm. 

Phantasm is Illustrator's answer to gaining Photoshop-like color controls. Includes all the essential adjustments such as Brightness, Contrast, Curves, Levels and Exposure. You can also quickly create a perfectly scalable halftone effect based on any underlying artwork. 

Last few days to SAVE on Product of the Month, Rasterino!

Learn how to truly crop in Adobe Illustrator with these tutorials: http://www.astutegraphics.com/category/rasterino/

Say hi/hola to Mr Carlos Garro himself, featuring in his very own artwork. This is a great example of line art in Adobe Illustrator and how you can use Astute Graphics plug-ins to get creative and mix it up! 

Check out this article, where Carlos explains how he achieved this and his workflow: http://www.astutegraphics.com/featured-artist-example-artwork-ws2-carlos-garro/