Assignment #4 Backgrounds

I'm ready for ski season so my backgrounds are ski and snow themed.
Blend Tool: I used a snowflake!

Artistic Effects: I used the sponge tool on both the background and the snowflake.

Background using text: I imagine this being used for a ski resort ad by adding the resort name and logo in the lower portion of the page.

Monocolor background:

Wood Grain Background:  This can also be used to color objects with a wood grain by adding it to the swatches.

Assignment #5: Wired Postcard

Landscape Assignment Part 2: Martis Valley at Dawn

Inspiration Photo

Landscape Assignment Part 1: Tokyo City Scape

I was inspired by a photo of the Tokyo Skyline.  My focus is on the Tokyo Tower.  I kept the lines of the background and foreground buildings at 90 degree angles in order to make the Tower stand out more.  The skyline of Tokyo often looks very flat because of the clouds, fog, and rain; especially during the winter.  I always enjoy seeing the bright red lights on the tower shining through the blue gray fog.

Illustrator Assignment #2- Animal Drawing

Next assignment was to draw another animal.  This time I drew a bird.

I based my drawing from the one below.

Illustrator Flag

I decided to practice some more with the blend tool.  The heart is a symbol and I found out that Illustrator would not let me replace the spine with an object that started out as a symbol or compound path.  I had to redraw the heart outline using the pen tool.  I'm not sure why the heart spacing doesn't look quite right; it may be because the shape is not symmetrical.

Assignment #1 Flag

The first assignment for Illustrator Advanced class: the European Union Flag.