critique my work - The Vector Doctor

[ddarlak]

eric,

you are the best at what you do, not even a close second. by asking for critique, you will get the gambit of answers.

you don't need to ask us what the price will be, simply put a price out there and we will pay it.

when you need it done right either do it yourself or send it to the vector doctor.

have confidence in your interpetation, it is as close to 100% as can be expected.....

i understand you will have people who say, make this like this or change this - simply state that photo to vector conversions are completely interpetational and stand by your interpetation!

 

[Fred Weiss]

eric,

you are the best at what you do, not even a close second. by asking for critique, you will get the gambit of answers.

you don't need to ask us what the price will be, simply put a price out there and we will pay it.

when you need it done right either do it yourself or send it to the vector doctor.

have confidence in your interpetation, it is as close to 100% as can be expected.....

i understand you will have people who say, make this like this or change this - simply state that photo to vector conversions are completely interpetational and stand by your interpetation!

A good, good, good

 

[artbot]

using color range

i still think that a straight threshold never gives you the controllable highlights that going back and forth between color range and burning and dodging. this isn't that great, but it illustrates the difference from the threshold.

 

[TheSnowman]

If it was mine...I'd be happy. I'm not sure what you'd charge...but I would probably be able to tell a customer something like $50 on this job I suppose...but I'd have to sell them that it's virtually impossible to take a photo and do this, and expect the EXACT same thing. I think you did it justice though.

 

[sjm]

i still think that a straight threshold never gives you the controllable highlights that going back and forth between color range and burning and dodging. this isn't that great, but it illustrates the difference from the threshold.

Thinking you are being a tad too harsh. First time I saw Jack Nicholson's characture cut in vinyl on a man's john, I immediately recognized him. My girlfriend did not.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

It is quite interesting to see everyone's take on this. One thing I am seeing from the 2 b/w versions posted is the eyes became too dark. He did say he wanted less of the blackened shadows shown on my 2nd posting mid way down

I did in fact use the saturation/brightness tools after converting to grayscale. The color photo was the starting point

I took far too long and did not charge enough for this. As I do more of these, if I chose to do them, I will get quicker and hone my skills.

Giving me a price helps. If someone says they would pay $100 I know I can take the time to tweak it just right. If they say $10-15, I know that I can either decline or do a quick photoshop adjustment and trace without too much concern for detail

I don't tweak logos, I trace them right the first time. This type of job is different

 

[sjm]

Dude, do you feel you made a difference? That to my mind is what counts.

 

[Stealth Ryder]

I think it ROCKS!!!! Great Job....

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Dude, do you feel you made a difference? That to my mind is what counts.

He said that his artist had this artwork for several weeks and you see what he got back. I was able to provide him the artwork he wanted on the first try and within a day.

What matters most is he is able to meet his deadline to produce a product for the grieving family.

He owns some sort of marketing business and was a friend of the parents. I earned his respect and future business and said I was very professional

 

[Dave Drane]

I think you're right about the tweak this, change that sort of opinions. It's tough to go over it from that viewpoint. It's not a bad job so long as the customer likes it. After all, the customer is likely more familiar than any of us with the real person.

Something I would suggest for this or future work of this kind would be to open the pic in Photoshop. Click on "Image > Mode" and change it to Grayscale.

Then create an adjustment layer by clicking on the Yin/Yang looking button at the bottom of the Layers pallette. From the pop up menu choose "Threshold..." That will change the image to stark black and white and a dialog box opens with a slider that allows you to adjust the threshold level.

Slide it back and forth until you get the most important (to you) areas as detailed as possible so that you can work with it.


The image I've attached would be where I would start were I doing it because it details the eyes and mouth pretty well.

You could save this as a different file name and then reopen the same image making a new threshold adjustment layer only this time focusing on a different aspect of the image to bring into detail.

I'd would do this because it's difficult for me to arbitrarily guess the distinction between the light and dark areas that would give me the best detail and likeness and this method give a decent starting place.

That trace is brilliant. definately on the right track for realism in perspective to the original.

 

[ddubia]

Dave Drane, thank you for your kind words.

Just to clairfy, that black and white I posted is not a trace. It is merely the result of using the threshold adjustment. Just takes a few seconds. It is a work file I would use to start a trace.

 

[Dave Drane]

Dave Drane, thank you for your kind words.

Just to clairfy, that black and white I posted is not a trace. It is merely the result of using the threshold adjustment. Just takes a few seconds. It is a work file I would use to start a trace.

But a trace from clean black/white copy like that is simply a breeze. Also then some of the background, like someof the stripes could also easily be removed.

 

[Jillbeans]

First off, what a tragedy.
Can't imagine how horrible this is for his family.

Secondly, I like what you are doing so far.
The hair is my biggest beef, it needs to be spikier and have more white spots added to make it look lighter. Like DDubia did.
The nose needs a bit of work too.
And the back of the neck has a bump which in his pic is actually the end of his hairline.
You did a great job on the teeth, in my opinion always tricky.
One crucial thing, is always put a bit of white in the eyes.
Eyes are wet and if you give them a highlight the person looks alive.
Love....Jill

 

[Marlene]

ditto with Jill's suggestions. if the family saw the fist version, I am sure they would love so if you do nothing, it still will be something that will mean a lot to them. great job making it into a simple black and white while keeping that smile as nice as the photo. you captured it in a simple line drawing.

 

[The Vector Doctor]

Ok, so the consensus is the hair which I could easily remedy in the future. What I am still undecided on is whether or not I want to pursue these. Some of you would be tickled with this while others want changes

Would you take my file and then add on your own finishing touches or would you want me to make those changes? Those of you that would pay $100 or more would likely get a much better version than the ones expecting to pay $20 or less. What if my interpretation of the hair or any other facial features is still not what you had in mind?

Remember I am used to recreating mostly logos and clipart with little or no interpretation. The myriad of answers here has not given me alot of confidence to take on too many of this type of job

another request I get alot of is car drawings. How do you handle the various shadows, highlights, creases, details, etc etc

Recreating a logo is a no brainer

 

[Tim Aucoin]

The customer was very happy.

What do you think and what would you pay for this job?

Priority #1 is to make the customer happy... you succeeded! And you did a tremendous job on this. People who know this fellow will recognize your rendering without a doubt, regardless of the detail in the hair! And that is really all that matters, isn't it? If this were an image in a random clip art collection... who cares if it looks like the original... it still looks great and it's either what I'm looking for, or it's not!

I think you are the best I've seen at what you do Eric... and I say that with all sincerity! What would I pay? I'd expect to pay somewhere between $50 and $100 for this... but it does depend on the time you put into it. In this case, with the unfortunate tragedy of this young man... I'm sure the grieving family would pay $200 to have it look good... but I know you wouldn't take advantage like that!

Great work Eric. You should be proud.

 

[Marlene]

The myriad of answers here has not given me alot of confidence to take on too many of this type of job

to me, you captured the smile and the look in his eyes in simple black and white. adding details could make it more like the photo but I really think it is enough as is. just put that little speck of white in the eye like Jill suggested to give them the same twinkle they have in the photo. the whole thing comes down to an appreciation of simple lines or wanting a more realistic representation. one isn't necessarily better than the other, it's all in which you prefer.

 

[wildhock]

Eric,

I personally think 75-100 for your original rendition is more than fair. Again as previously stated, you can easily recognize the young man from your rendition. If you were to add additional detail to the hair and features, I don't think anyone would blink at 150-200.

Nice job!

Jon

 

[Gino]

Eric………

It sounds to me like you’re debating if you are good enough to do these quickly and for good profit.

For most sign shops, I don’t think they could improve upon what you are already doing for them, so if they don’t see the image exactly as you have it… won’t have the capability to enhance it any further which would mean an eventual downturn in sales.

I would either go for perfection all the way and give your best try on the first one with one follow up... or not at all. Most people will feel if you charge for the follow up it will be a scam… so I would offer the follow up for free [thus the higher end renditions… along with price].

You have to ask yourself a very important question…. how well can you draw on your own ??

• Can you draw the human body and appendages realistically ??
• Can you create surreal type art ??
• Do you fully understand perspective ??
• Do you fully understand light source ??
• Can you from scratch do Realistic type art ??
• From your minds eye, can you doodle vehicles or other objects ??
• Can you do these things without the use of a computer, software, screen and mouse ??

If you can do these art forms, then you will know how to reconstruct various things on the fly and recognize what you need to fix in order to meet your customers’ demands.

Joe Diaz seems to have a real knack for this kinda thing. Perhaps a talk with him would give you a few tips that could help you decide. The price thing…. well, that will happen in due course as you make this your own and it just pours from your fingertips.

From what I’ve seen… I think you can do it.

 

[mountainmang]

most, if not all, of my customers would be thrilled with your result and interpretation of the photo i mean, what else are they going to get and who else would they get to do it for them? your fee has never been a hindrance to me, i simply add whatever into the price and am done with it; if the customer balks at it then the job is not done.