Today, we have a special guest author Todd Lauzon joining the AG Blog to lead us through his creative process in creating the wonderful cartoon character shown above.

As a professional illustrator (you can read more about Todd at the end of this article), Todd makes full use of AG’s Illustrator plugins, VectorScribe, DrawScribe and Phantasm CS. If you don’t make use of these time saving creative tools already, you can follow this article by downloading the full 14 day trial versions from here…

This article is not intended to be a step-by-step guide to creating this artwork, rather an overview especially for those with some level of familiarity with Illustrator.

Note: many of the images were captured full-size. Due to the level of detail on the design work, each image may be clicked on for a full-resolution version!

Going vector

I started this character as a sketch outside Illustrator. Sometimes I use a pen or pencil and scan in the sketch, whilst other times I work with Sketchbook Pro or Photoshop on my Wacom Cintiq.

I place my cleaned up sketch on an Illustrator template layer with the image dimed at around 20-30%. You know the deal!

Click on image for large version

Bring on DrawScribe and its Dynamic Sketch tool! I first click the drop down menu in the Dynamic Sketch panel (Window > DrawScribe > Dynamic Sketch) and select Stylus pressure. I activate the gesture trimming function along with the Pressure (non-linear) on the profile. I then just start inking away.

Click on image for large version

For longer strokes, I tend to use the InkScribe tool (part of DrawScribe) for more control. I then combine that with the pre-built line profiles in the stroke window and the width tool.

Click on image for large version

For the smaller details in the face I also resort to the powerful tools withing InkScribe. I’ll sometimes use VectorScribe for tweaking but most of the time, I can manage doing what I need with the InkScribe options. For building shapes I just use the old-school and trustworthy Pathfinder tools.

Click on image for large version

Oops! Don’t forget to save, kids!

Click on image for large version

I continue inking with the Dynamic Sketch tool. Again, I love the gesture triming option because I can focus on getting the line I want and then just cutting away what I don’t need afterwards.

Click on image for large version

I often switch back and forth between Dynamic Sketch and InkScribe to tweak my lines and move the points when it’s not exactly what I want.

Click on image for large version

Here I just continue away inking with Dynamic Sketch along with the Gesture Trimming functionality.

Click on image for large version

Click on image for large version

We’re getting there! Here’s where we’re at now. I inked the arms using the same techniques I used previously. Slapping down some lines and trimming away what I don’t want.

Click on image for large version

Weaving the web

Using InkScribe, I move along to inking the webs under her arms. I’m still getting used to this feature but I often forget you can just slap down your points and worry about your curves afterwards. It’s a huge time saver because you’re not playing around with beziers trying to get that swoop you want. You can just move the line the around by hand which is a much natural way to work. I use a cintiq so this is great because I’m less of a slave to my keyboard! To get the thick and Thin look i just slap on a default line profile again.

Click on image for large version

Click on image for large version

Here I use a combination of InkScribe and Dynamic Sketch tools to get the detailing on her suit done. I then expanded the lines to tweak them but I realize now that I should have just used Gesture Trimming to cut out the overlaping lines. Looks like I’m learning on this article myself!

Click on image for large version

Click on image for large version

Coloring

Click on image for large version

Looks like we’re done with the inking. Now let’s move on to colour!

Firstly, I duplicate the line work and copy it on the a layer on top. I then lock the layers so that I don’t select it by accident.

Next, select the original line art and remove the colour information on the inked lines and I convert it to a live paint objects. Following this, I apply some colour flats to my character.

Click on image for large version

Click on image for large version

I then unlock the copied ink lines and convert them to outlines so that I can add colour holds to them. I use the Draw Inside feature and the Blob Brush inside of Illustrator.

I find the Draw Inside workflow to be kind of wonky, so I’ll explain the way I do it in a more detailed manner.

1. Select the shape you want to paint
2. Activate the Draw Inside feature on the tool bar or by pressing Shift-D twice (once brings you in the Draw Behind mode)
3. Click off the shape to deslect it
4. Select the Blob Brush tool
5. Select the colour you want to paint with
6. Paint in the shape
7. Activate the Draw Normal feature on the tool bar or press Shift-D once
8. Move on to the next shape

It helps to create a swatch list of the colours you use for quicker access. It can get frustrating to have to add an eyedropper tool step in the process above and it can get pretty difficult picking colours from a masked shape (Draw Inside shape).

Click on image for large version

Click on image for large version

I move along with painting in some shadows and colour holds on the ink lines using the technique mentioned above. I also used the Phantasm CS plugin here to run a Hue/Saturation and Levels operation to tweak the colours at this point.

Click on image for large version

Next, I decide to move along in doing the Kirby Krakle effect for the background. Contrary to my basic circle in the beginning I felt it would be more appropriate to have this because it would reflect our superhero’s venomous powers.

I originally experimented with the Halftone feature in Phantasm CS to make the Kirby dots but although the results were interesting, they still looked a little too “calculated” to my liking and it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

So I then opted for a more simple approach by making myself a set of Scatter Brushes made with a simple circle or oval. They scale pretty nicely too!

The brush set created is present in the downloadable file at the end of this article.

Click on image for large version

Texturing

On to texturing… At this point I realize that I forgot to add some shadows in the face area. I also brought down the opacity of the blue webbing shape.

To add a little “organic” flare to my illustrations, I started using some paper textures on a colour burn blending mode. I add these on a seperate layer then lock them so they don’t interefere if I need to go back to the artwork. The end result is subtle but it’s just enough to remove a bit of sterilty that can attributed to vector artwork.

As you can see I incorporated my signature to the Kirby Krakle!

Click on image for large version

Conclusion

If you’ve moved on to Astute Graphics’ plugins, I assume you have a good grip of Illustrator and that’s why I wasn’t aiming at making a “recipe” type tutorial but more an inside look at the process I used to make my Spider Woman illustration using some of Astute’s tools. I hope you enjoyed my tutorial! Don’t hesitate to cantact me for any questions regardarding this article.

Cheers from Montreal!

Download the artwork

Click here for Illustrator CS3 and CS4

Click here for Illustrator CS5 and above (also PDF compatible)

About Todd Lauzon

My name is Todd Lauzon and I’m a children’s illustrator based out of Montreal, Québec, Canada. I grew up in rural northern Ontario on a steady diet of comic books, cartoons, and movies which inspired me to draw… and I’ve never stopped since (well maybe for a little bit when I hit puberty and started liking girls).

I’ve dipped my hands in many mediums but I do most of my creating digitally now. I love the flexibility it gives me and lends itself very well to experimentation. I’ve always liked Adobe Illustrator but I now I LOVE it even more with the addition of Astute Graphic plugins!

You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or just visit my website toddlauzonillustration.com

In this tutorial we will learn how to create random vector sand and pebble textures. It is not difficult to do if you have Phantasm CS. Of course, it could not be done without some magic, but I will generously share all the secrets with you. Find out more…

Step 1

Let’s start our tutorial with creating the texture of sand. Firstly, this tutorial is based in the RGB color mode File > Document Color Mode > RGB Color.

With the help of the Rectangle Tool (M) create a rectangle and fill it with a linear gradient, which consists of two shades of yellow.

Now create another rectangle in the bottom of the background and fill it with grey color (black = 50%).

Step 2

Take the Mesh Tool (U) and by clicking on one of the sides of the grey rectangle, create 4 horizontal Mesh lines.

Replace the color of the nodes a and b with a darker shade of grey, and color of the nodes c and d with a lighter one.

With the help of the Mesh Tool (U) create 3 vertical Mesh lines.

Moving mesh nodes with the help of the Direct Selection Tool (A), transform the mesh to the view shown in the following picture.

Step 3

Using the previous technique, create two similar meshes.

Select and group-up all the gradient meshes. Keeping this group selected, apply the Overlay blending mode to it.

There was a good reason why I had the exact value of grey color in the first step. The fact is that the grey color (black = 50%) becomes transparent if we apply to the Overlay blending mode to the object.

Step 4

We proceed directly to the creation of the sand texture. Copy the group with the Gradient mashes and paste it in front (Cmd / Ctrl + C; Cmd / Ctrl + F). Open the Appearance panel and add a new fill, then apply the linear gradient from white to black to it. The gradient direction corresponds to the direction of the light.

Apply the Multiply blending mode to the fill.

Step 5

Deselect the fill in the Appearance panel.

Now go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone… and set the effect parameters in a dialog window.

Of course, your parameters may be different from mine, we are creating a random texture, so any experiments are welcome.

Go to Effect > Transform & Distort > Tweak…. The parameters of this effect are shown in picture below.

Step 6

Move the Tweak effect to the bottom of the list in the Appearance panel. As a result of these actions, the effect will be applied to each element of the Halftone pattern.

I also decided to change the shape of the elements, and therefore I applied the Roughen effect (Effect > Transform & Distort > Roughen …).

Now our texture looks like this (the visibility of other objects is off for clarity purposes). As you can see, thanks to Phantasm CS, the texture takes into account the differences in light.

Apply the Overlay blending mode to the entire group.

Step 7

Let’s give the sand texture a more random appearance. Select a group with gradient meshes and go Object> Expand Appearance, then ungroup the resulting objects (Cmd / Ctrl + Shift + G).

Do not deselect the object, but follow Object > Transform > Transform Each… and tick both Random and Preview, then apply with the settings in the dialog box.

Group the texture objects (Cmd / Ctrl + G), then apply the Overlay blending mode to the group.

Step 8

Let’s take a look at another way of creating a random texture. Create a new rectangle and fill it with a radial gradient which contains two grey sliders.

Go to Effect > Stylize > Scribble….

Apply the Phantasm CS Halftone.

Apply Twist (Effect > Transform & Distort > Twist …) and Roughen effects.

Apply the Overlay blending mode to the object. Effects should be located in the Appearance panel, as shown in the picture below.

Step 9

As is the case with the first texture, let’s mess it up a little bit more. Go to Object > Expand Appearance, ungroup all the objects, then go to Object > Transform > Transform Each….

Now group up the elements of the second texture and turn Overlay blending mode back.

This texture will represent dark sand grits.

Step 10

Create the third texture, similar to the second one. Add to the group with this texture fill with a linear gradient and apply the Screen blending mode.

This texture will represent light sand grits. The texture of the sand is ready, now you can use it as a background for your design.

Step 11 – starting the pebble texture

Now let’s create a pebble texture. With the Pen Tool (P) create the shape of the rock. Using the Mesh Tool (U) create a simple grid. Color its components in different shades of cream.

Using the Pen Tool (P), create the shape of the glare. Fill this object with a black and white radial gradient, then apply the Screen blending mode to it.

Step 12

Select the gradient mesh and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow….

Select all the objects of the rock and save them as a symbol in the Symbols panel.

Step 13

Create a few more rocks and save them as symbols.

Create a rectangle filled with neutral grey color, select the first symbol in the Symbols panel and go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone….

Now apply the technique that we used for the texture of the sand. Select the halftone pattern and go to Object > Expand > Appearance. Ungroup all the elements and go to Object > Transform > Transform Each….

Step 14

Applying this technique, create two more rock textures using the previously created symbols.

Now we need to mix our rocks evenly. Thanks goodness my friend writes scripts! Iaroslav Tabachkovsky (“Yemz”) developed a script, which you can download here Free Script for Adobe Illustrator — Random Order.

More information about Yemz’s script may be found on my vectorboom website.

Select all the rocks and run the script.

The rocks are mixed in a few seconds. A great little vector mixer! One note: all objects or symbols have to be ungrouped.

Step 15

To create a realistic pebble I created 10 rocks that were saved as symbols.

Also, after all the manipulations all the rocks stay as symbols.

This fact gives us the ability to edit a symbol, and these changes will be immediately displayed on all the stones corresponding to this symbol. For example, I decided to add some texture to the rock. Double-click on the icon of the symbol in the panel. This will send us to symbol editing mode. Add a new fill to the symbol in the Appearance panel, apply the Mezzotint effect to it (Effect > Pixelate > Mezzotint …), then apply the Multiply blending mode and reduce opacity to 30 %.

Now we can exit the symbol editing mode and the rocks instantly display this texture.

Conclusion

I hope you will find where to apply these techniques in your work. Vector work containing textures always looks rich. This way you can create falling snowflakes, leaves, the leaves of the tree and general background textures of simple or complex elements. To get the variety, you can combine multiple textures, and set different Blending Modes for them in the Transparency panel. Experiment and you too will achieve excellent results.

Download the wonderful vector texture artwork

Click here for the sand texture in Illustrator CS3/CS4…

Click here for the sand texture in Illustrator CS5 and above (also PDF compatible)…

Click here for the pebble texture in Illustrator CS3/CS4…

Click here for the pebble texture in Illustrator CS5 and above (also PDF compatible)…

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

Phantasm CS Studio and Publisher allow editing of embedded images by opening them directly in Photoshop. You can also relink one or a selection of embedded images using this plugin. Find out more at the jump.

Editing of Embedded Images

Embedded images are raster (or “bitmap”) images placed into the working space of the current document (File > Place…) and then embedded into it. They can also be raster effects that you produced in the process of work, such as using the Photoshop Effects (Effects > PhotoShop Effects).

Phantasm CS Studio and Publisher allows the editing of embedded images, opening them directly in Photoshop, and then updating them in Illustrator. Let’s see how this is done on the example of raster effects.

The original object for editing will be background with a raster texture. I added a new fill of gray color to the rectangle and applied the Note Paper Effect (Effect > Sketch > Note Paper…).

A drop shadow will be the second object (Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow…), I applied to the text.

Select all the created objects, then go to Object > Expand Appearance. Now our document contains embedded images. You can verify this by opening the Layers panel or Links panel.

Select the embedded image and go to Edit > Edit Image. The Edit menu contains this and two additional re-link entries if you have the Phantasm CS Studio or Publisher installed.

As a result of this action, the embedded image opens in Photoshop (or your currently set photo editing software set to open .PSD Photoshop files automatically).

Of course, it is more convenient to edit raster images in a photo editor, which is specifically designed for that. After applying a few filters and effects, the texture looks as shown in the following picture…

Save the achieved result in Photoshop (File > Save), then go back to Adobe Illustrator. Now, without deselecting the image, in order to update the embedded image go to Edit > Update Image.

Do the same with drop shadows. Open and edit them in Photoshop (Edit > Edit Image).

Save the changes (File > Save) in Photoshop and update drop shadows in Adobe Illustrator (Edit > Update Image).

Relink Embedded Images

With the help of Phantasm CS Studio and Publisher, we can easily convert Embedded images into Linked images. Select all the objects of the current document (Cmd / Ctrl + A) and go to Edit > Link images. Phantasm CS finds all embedded images in the selection and opens a dialog window where we can see the information about the image and its preview.

Here, we can rename the image and change its location.

We are able to switch between embedded images (Next button), to skip the image leaving them embedded (Skip button), or Relink all the embedded images (Link All button).

Either way, the image will be converted to a a linked image and saved in the specified place in the .PSD Photoshop format. This format is used due to it’s technical ability to cater for all image types which may be found embedded in Illustrator – right from simple monochrome to multi-ink with masks.

You can also edit the linked images. To do this, select it and click the Edit Original button in the Links panel, which will open the image in Photoshop. Edit and save changes to Photoshop. When returning to Adobe Illustrator, you will see a warning window prompting us to update the image. Click Yes.

Hopefully, after reading this brief article, you will have discovered a much more convenient and flexible way to work in Illustrator.

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

It is with some relief that we are now in a position to start rolling out the Windows/CS6 versions of our plugins. It’s been a long wait, but worth it! A big thank you to all those who have patiently waited.

Phantasm CS is our most popular product and is the first to be made available for Windows/CS6. The plan is to release our testbed plugin, SubScribe Designer, next week with finally VectorScribe and DrawScribe completing the CS6 conversion process in a few weeks.

Download now

Simply visit the Phantasm CS download page and click on the “Phantasm CS (BETA), for Illustrator CS6 (Win)” button to download.

For the first time for Windows users, the ZIP file contains both a 32bit and 64/32bit installer catering for all Windows XP, Vista and 7 systems. Please run the appropriate installer for your system.

Note that this installer is only for Windows/CS6. For Illustrator CS3-CS5.1 on Windows, please use the alternative button found on the download page.

Licensing

If run on the system for the first time, you will have started the 14 day full trial period which provides access to all Phantasm CS Designer / Studio / Publisher tools. At the end of this period, you will need to apply a Phantasm CS (CS3-CS6) license key. If you own a license key for CS3-CS5, it will be necessary to upgrade your key.

Beta status

As with the earlier Mac OS release of Phantasm CS for CS6, we are officially releasing this software initially as “Beta”. It has now undergone a good level of testing, but if you do find any further issues we do ask that you contact us. Please refer to the “!Read Me” text file located within the downloaded ZIP archive.

From way back, Adobe Illustrator had an Actions feature — unfortunately it is rarely used. This really powerful tool is capable of making complex and routine tasks automatic, saving you a lot of time. In today’s tutorial we will learn how to create an action on the example of a complex text effect. To broaden the action options, we will be using the filters found in the Phantasm CS plugin which is also available to download as a FREE 14 day full trial.

Step 1

Create a new document.

Please note that we will first be working in RGB color mode. You will learn how to create this effect for the CMYK color mode at the end of this tutorial.

Now we need to create an object with which we will be working. Take the Type Tool (T) and create some text.

Step 2

Open the Actions panel (Window > Actions).

We can see the Default Actions list, and optionally remove it from the panel by selecting Clear Actions in the fly-out menu.

Choose the New Action command.

Then click the Record button in the open dialog box. Action recording has started. You can always stop the action and think on the next stages before committing to the next step.

The buttons to resume recording, and start/play action are in the lower part of the panel.

Step 3

After having stopped the action, you can rename the Set and Action by double-clicking on their names in the panel.

With the preparatory work done, proceed to the creation of the action. Click on the Record button, then go to Select > All. The entire text will be selected and the new entry will appear in the Actions panel.

Step 4

Convert text into regular vector objects. To do this, go to Type > Create Outlines.

In the next steps we will be using the text outline as the Clipping Mask, so ungroup it (Object > Ungroup) and convert the text into Compound path (Object > Compound path > Make). By doing this, you can use shortcuts for command completion (Cmd / Ctrl + G, then Cmd / Ctrl + 8).

Step 5

Copy the Compound path copy and paste it in front (Cmd / Ctrl + C; Cmd / Ctrl + F). The upper path will be later used as a Clipping path, but for now turn off its fill in the Tool Bar, so that it does not get in the way of seeing further changes.

Step 6

Now we need to work on the lower object. If you simply select it with the help of the Selection Tool (V), then this action will not be recorded in our action. You can only create the action by using Adobe Illustrator’s menus. So go to Select > Next Object Below.

Our text should have texture. To create texture, go to Object > Filters > Phantasm CS > Halftone… and set the parameters shown in the picture below.

I would like to note here that live Effects are not suitable for action recording — you should use Filters instead. This is the case for both default Illustrator and Astute Graphics tools. Unfortunately, recent Adobe Illustrator releases do not have filters which restricts the possibilities of actions. Fortunately, Phantasm CS retains filters variants of its color tools.

Step 7

The achieved texture resembles the mesh; let’s add some variety to it.

Ungroup objects of the texture 2 times using the menu entry for this on each occasion.

Turn off the Edges of the objects (View > Hide Edges) so can see better what will happen next. Then go to Object > Transform > Transform Each… and set transformation parameters in the dialog box.

Now group the objects of the texture.

Step 8

Fill the texture objects with a yellow color. To do this, go to Object > Filters > Phantasm CS > Shift to Color…. Click on the Color icon and set the numerical values of the yellow color (C = 0; M = 0; Y = 100; K = 0) in the Color Picker dialog box.

Move Shift slider to 100% mark. For getting the right color you can certainly use the Color panel. But in this case, any moving of the color sliders will be recorded in the action. So why do we need to complicate such a simple process where you can also use the color swatches from the Swatches panel? The primary reason is the issue if this panel does not have the required color swatch in the current or new document — the action will fail. In my opinion, the benefits of the Phantasm CS Shift filter to Color are obvious.

Step 9

The edges of the letters, in my opinion, do not look neat enough. Select all the objects (Select > All), then go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make.

All of the actions continue to be recorded to the action.

Step 10

Duplicate the achieved result. Go to Object > Transform > Move… and set the horizontal and vertical offset value, and click the Copy button in the dialog box.

Apply the Multiply blending mode to the copy in the Transparency panel.

Step 11

Fill the objects of the new group with red color. Go to Object > Filters > Phantasm CS > Shift to Color… and set the numerical values of the red color (C = 0; M = 100; Y = 100; K = 0) in the Color Picker dialog box.

Step 12

Duplicate the text again (Object > Move …).

Fill objects of the new group with blue color (C = 100; M = 0; Y = 0; K = 0) with the help of the Phantasm CS Shift to Color filter.

Step 13

I wanted to get black color in the areas of the three colors overlapping. But, unfortunately, I also got green color in the areas of blue and yellow overlapping.

Honestly, at this point I stopped action recording and started walking around the office in search of the right solution. Bingo! A solution was found (now you probably have an idea why I named this action Bingo). Go to Select > Next Object Below (two times). This will allow us to select the lowest group.

Now go to Select > Inverse. This action selects two upper groups.

Group them up.

Step 14

Tick Isolate Blending in the Transparency panel for this group.

We got rid of the green color.

Step 15

We only need to complete the action. Go to Select > All, then group up all the objects.

I decided to make italic text. Go to Object > Transform > Shear… and set the inclining angle in the dialog box.

Cancel the selection (Select > Deselect) and you can now click on Stop recording.

Step 16

Let’s test the action performance. To do this, create a new text object and press Play.

We only have one stop within action when we apply Transform Each command.

You are offered to modify the transformation parameters. If you want the action to work non-stop, click on the Toggle Dialog On / Off icon in the Actions panel.

Now the action is working non-stop.

Step 17

I created the action on the example of the text that is pretty big in size (305pt). If you need to apply the actions to the fonts of different sizes, you can always change the parameters of the applied commands. To do this, turn on Toggle Dialog On / Off icons of the commands which parameters you want to edit. Now, when the script is running, you can set the new parameters.

Step 18

Now let’s take a look at how to modify the action for use of this text effect in CMYK color mode. If we switch to CMYK color mode (File > Document Color mode> CMYK color), we will not see any black color at the overlapping of the three colors.

Go back to the RGB color mode (File > Document Color mode > CMYK color). Duplicate the action created earlier and rename the new one that will be modified.

Step 19

Delete the last line Deselect All in the new action.

Select the group with the text, then click on the Record key.

Step 20

Now go to Object > Flatten Transparency… and move the Raster/ Vector balance slider to the right end.

Go to Select > Deselect and click on the Stop key.

Now, if we switch to CMYK color mode, the black color will not be lost.

Most likely that you will need to work more on colors before printing due to over-saturation of inks, but that is beyond the scope of this tutorial. There is plenty of pre-press material to be found on this blog.

Conclusion

Peculiar features of actions:

• Text must contain at least two letters.
• If the current document contains objects other than text, then they should be locked in the Layers panel.

Well, that’s probably it. Now you can create a fairly complex text effect with one click of the button. The combination of actions and Phantasm CS makes magic work in just seconds!

You can download a further collection of amazing actions following the Phantasm CS Actions link or by looking in the Phantasm CS installer download.

Download the artwork and Illustrator actions

Click here for Illustrator CS5 and above (also PDF compatible)…

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

The big day has finally come — somewhat appropriately on our US cousin’s Thanksgiving day… Astute Graphics has released all its plugins for Illustrator CS6. That’s now for both Windows (XP, Vista and 7) and Mac OS (10.5+).

These releases include Phantasm CS, VectorScribe, DrawScribe and the FREE SubScribe!

Download VectorScribe and DrawScribe for CS6 (Windows) now

VectorScribe and DrawScribe for Illustrator CS6 (Windows) were the last additions to this marathon conversion drive throughout 2012 by Astute Graphics. And you can download each by visiting our Downloads page…

For the first time for Windows users, the ZIP file contains both a 32bit and 64/32bit installer catering for all Windows XP, Vista and 7 systems. Please run the appropriate installer for your system.

Note that the VectorScribe, DrawScribe and Phantasm CS installers for Illustrator CS6 (Windows) are only for CS6. For Illustrator CS3-CS5.1 on Windows, please use the alternative button found on the download pages.

Licensing

If VectorScribe or DrawScribe (including previous versions) are on the system for the first time, you will have started the 14 day full trial period which provides access to all tools in each product. At the end of this period, it is necessary to apply a VectorScribe or DrawScribe (CS3-CS6) license key. If you own a license key for CS3-CS5, it will be necessary to first upgrade; obtain an automated license key reminder with upgrade link by clicking here…

Beta status

We are officially releasing CS6 software initially as “Beta”. It has now undergone a good level of testing, but if you do find any further issues we do ask that you contact us. Please refer to the “!Read Me” text file located within the downloaded ZIP archive where any known issues are detailed.

“Thank you!”

Finally, we wish to thank the thousands of users who have waited patiently (…ish ) for these releases to be made available. The time frame did slip more than intended, but we hope you agree that the level of quality in how these tools have been integrated into CS6′s new look is darn impressive. Even if we say so ourselves. Enjoy!

Now for all the exciting new stuff we had to hold back…

The day is drawing near for the release of WidthScribe — yet another ground-breaking all-new vector design toolset. But beforehand, we wish to announce the culmination of over a year of frantic work with the release of new updates for the ever-popular Illustrator plugins DrawScribe, Phantasm CS, SubScribe and VectorScribe. These updates are freely* available for all DrawScribe, VectorScribe and Phantasm CS version 2 customers!

We have now refined all CS6 upgrades even further, ensuring that all products are officially out of “beta” status and mirrored on both Mac OS and Windows. But there are also some important additional improvements that go beyond core tool functionality that will be welcome to many now and in the future, including:

• Security-signed installers on both Windows and Mac OS for easier and safer deployment
• Now Windows 8 compatible
• Unified 32/64 bit installers for Windows
• Improved Windows installer checks for installed Illustrator location(s) on master hard disc and beyond
• New “Window > Show All Astute Graphics Panels” menu entry to quickly access all VectorScribe and DrawScribe tool panels
• Bug fixes including SubScribe startup issues with Illustrator CS6 (Mac)

These updates are thoroughly recommended for all existing Illustrator CS4 to CS6 users.

Unfortunately due to the ever-increasing number of systems catered for and very low demand, development for Illustrator CS3 has now been dropped. We will continue to support Illustrator CS3 customers in the immediate future.

*Note that upgrade charges may be available if attempting to use on later or alternative versions of Illustrator than the original license was purchased for. Please use our automated license key reminder system to gain information of your current license state and links for upgrades.

How to upgrade existing installations

Following successful downloading of the appropriate software…

Mac OS users

• Quit Illustrator
• Open the downloaded .DMG archive and run product installer
• Follow the instructions in the installer (you are required to enter your administrator password in the process)
• Restart Illustrator

Windows users

• Quit Illustrator
• Use Windows’ uninstall systems to uninstall any previous version of the plugin
• Open the downloaded .ZIP archive and extract the product installer before running it
• Follow the instructions in the installer (you may be required to enter your administrator password in the process)
• Restart Illustrator

Licensing notes

If, upon upgrading, you find that your license is not functioning when operating Illustrator CS6, or by applying a license key it instructs you that you have a license for “0″ users, you will first need to upgrade your product license to be CS4-CS6 compatible.

Please first check that your current license is for CS3-CS5, or earlier. To do so, use our automated license key reminder system to gain information of your current license state and links for upgrades.

Following last week’s update releases across all products, two issues were discovered with Phantasm CS that affected a small number of users:

• Users with Phantasm CS Designer activated on Mac OS could experience a crash when opening Illustrator > About Phantasm CS
• Windows XP users were unable to run the Phantasm CS installer package

Both issues have now been resolved and Phantasm CS version 2.8.1 issued. Please download and install from the Phantasm CS download page…

Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Want to learn more about your Astute Graphics plug-ins? Then join us on Wednesday, 6 February at 5pm GMT (London time) / 9am PST / 12am EST for a 10 minute live webinar training session with Nicholas van der Walle. This bite-size session looks at the vector Halftone tool with images from the Phantasm CS plug-in.

Places are limited so will be issued on a first come, first serve basis. Join the link at https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/5186303237912828160

The meeting is operated using GoToTraining. It may be necessary to install GoToTraining software (Mac or Windows) to participate, so we advise that you join the meeting slightly early.

Featuring the Astute Graphics Phantasm CS’ vector Halftone tool plus some embedded image editing and VectorScribe Dynamic Shape functionality resulting in truly flexible pure halftone effects within Adobe Illustrator.

Direct YouTube HD movie link: http://youtu.be/isGJ_mtgBCs

Recorded 6 February 2013

If you wish to attend future FREE Astute Graphics live webinars, please follow us on our AG Blog RSS feed, Twitter or Facebook pages.

In this tutorial we will take a look at all the processes of creating a realistic vector feather, starting from a deigital sketch and finishing with a detailed result. Throughout the tutorial, we’ll be using DrawScribe’sDynamic Sketch and InkScribe Tools, which will speed up the process of creating of complex shapes. We will also learn how to manage shadows with the help of the Phantasm CS Publisher.

Creating a sketch with the help of the Dynamic Sketch Tool

Step 1

Begin our tutorial with a creation of a sketch. Rarely designers create a sketch in Adobe Illustrator, preferring to rely on Photoshop, Sketchbook Pro or similar pixel-based packages. I think it’s just a matter of habit – one that can be broken. We can create a sketch directly in Illustrator. To do this, we will be using Dynamic Sketch Tool, one of the tools within the DrawScribe plugin, and aptly named!

Choose this tool, then open its panel (Window > DrawScribe > Dynamic Sketch Panel). Turn on the “edit or continue existing paths” function in this panel. Set the amount of Accuracy and Smoothness levels. The higher the amount of Accuracy, the more precise the created path will follow the sketch input. The higher the Smoothness level is, the smoother the path. These amounts depend on the size of your sketch, and you can manage them during the drawing process. In addition, all the paths created with the help of the Dynamic Sketch Tool are dynamic, that means that their parameters can be changed at any time. You can set the relationship between the width of the contour and the selected parameter, for example, the pressure on the (Wacom) stylus or cursor speed.

I chose “None”, that means the path will have a constant width. So, draw a feather and shape of a drop shadow.

To configure the tool, you can also use the Dynamic Sketch Preferences dialog window. To open it, double-click on the tool icon in the Toolbar or press Enter/Return if already in the tool.

Creating vector shapes with the help of the InkScribe Tool

Step 2

For the next stage, we need to create vector objects that we will fill with color. A feather shape is a fairly a complex one, so we’ll be using the InkScribe Tool (DrawScribe plugin). This tool is more flexible than the Pen Tool (P), which we’ll now prove. Group up all the elements of the sketch and lock them in the Layers panel. Take the InkScribe Tool, then open its panel (Window > DrawScribe > InkScribe Panel).

Since the shape will contain a lot of corner points, select this corner type in the InkScribe panel or annotation. Create the first curved segment. As you can see, its endpoint is a corner point. The InkScribe Tool tells us the type of point when you hover the cursor over it.

To control the handles of the point we do not need to change to the Direct Selection Tool (A) as all the manipulations are done with the InkScribe Tool.

If you have a need to change the type of the point, then click on the appropriate option in the InkScribe panel/annotation or simply double-click on the point or its handle.

This allows us to create a complex shape without switching between the tools and using the shortcuts. This, as you know, saves time and does not irritate as much!

Creating the feather’s stem and detailing the shape using the Dynamic Sketch Tool

Step 3

To create a stem of feather, take the Dynamic Sketch Tool and set the relationship between the width of the path and the pressure on the stylus. You also need to set the minimum and maximum amount of path width. Now, create the path, as shown in the following picture.

Since we’ll be filling the shape of the stem with different fills, convert it into a closed path. To do this, go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

Step 4

Create a few curved paths using the Dynamic Sketch Tool, as shown in the following picture.

Select all the paths and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke, then go to Object > Compound Path > Make (Cmd / Ctrl + 8).

Select the shape of the feather and the Compound Path, and then click on the Minus Front in the Pathfinder panel.

If you want to make the path more “pure” by reducing the number of points, then use InkScribe for the Smart Point Removal function. To do this, select the function’s button in the tool’s panel. Alternatively, just click on the points that you wish to smart remove holding down the Opt / Alt key at the same time.

Coloring the feather

Step 5

Fill the shape of the feather with a linear gradient, which consists of three shades of brown color.

In order to change the distribution of light reproduced by this fill, we need to convert it into a gradient mesh. To do this, keeping the object selected, go to Object > Expand…, then tick Gradient Mesh in the dialog window.

As a result we get a Gradient Mesh, which is limited with the help of the Clipping Mask. Lock the Clipping path in the Layers panel for convenience. Now you can easily manipulate the nodes of the gradient mesh, achieving the desired effect.

Step 6

Create a circle with the help of the Ellipse Tool (L) and fill it with a radial gradient, which consists of yellow and two blue gradient markers. To the far right, an additional blue gradient marker should be specified with 0% Opacity.

Now go to Object > Expand …, then tick Gradient Mesh in the dialog window.

Go to Object > Clipping Mask > Release, then to Object > Path > Clean Up….

As a result we got a gradient mesh without clipping path.

Step 7

Take the Warp Tool (Shift + R) and “blur” the gradient mesh on the surface of the feather.

You can add new lines to the gradient mesh and recolor its nodes using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and Eyedropper Tool (I).

Step 8

Copy the shape of the feather and paste it above the gradient mesh. Fill this shape with white color.

Select the white shape and gradient mesh, then choose Make Opacity Mask in the fly-out menu in the Transparency panel.

This action will hide the part of the gradient mesh that extends beyond the profile of the feather.

Fill the stem of the feather with radial gradients which represent its color.

Step 9

Create a circle with a radial gradient fill from red to black.

Set the Screen blending mode in the Transparency panel for this circle.

Transform the circle into an ellipse with the help of the Selection Tool (V), then rotate and place it on the top of the stem of the feather.

Thus, we have created a highlight.

Creating feather barbs

Step 10

Using the InkScribe Tool, create curved segments on one of the parts of the feather. Apply the first elliptical default profile in the Stroke panel to these paths.

Select the paths and go to Object > Blend > Make, then to Object > Blend > Blend Options… and set the required number of steps.

Set the Screen blending mode for the blend object in the Transparency panel.

Step 11

Now go to Object > Blend > Expand. So we end up with a group of curved segments.

Take the Scissors Tool (C) and cut the paths at the points of their intersection with the contour of the feather. Parts going beyond it should be removed.

Using this technique, create barbs along the remainder of the feather.

Step 12

In order for the barbs to look more natural, apply a “Pencil – Thin Art Brush” brush, which you can find in the Brushes Library.

After that, you need to apply again the Width Profile 1 in the Stroke panel, in order to restore the shape of barbs.

Creating fuzz

Step 13

Take the Polar Grid Tool and create the group of paths shown in the picture below.

The parameters of this tool are not really important. Now go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

Take the Scallop Tool and move horizontally over the group of objects from left to right, holding down the mouse button.

Repeat this action several times, in order to get something similar to the shown below.

Step 14

Place the fuzz below all the objects and fill it with radial gradient from brown to white color. White will soften the ends of the fuzz.

Duplicate the fuzz and place the copy above all the objects created. Fill this group with a radial gradient, which contains white, light brown and dark brown color with 0% opacity.

Add a few more hairs with the help of the Dynamic Sketch Tool.

Creating the Drop Shadow

Step 15

Fill the shape of the shadow (created at the start of this tutorial) with a light-blue color, then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur… and set the blurring radius in the dialog window.

To control the blur, use the Phantasm CS Publisher. So, go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Curves…, select the Alpha Image Channel and change the shape of the curve, watching the resultant changes.

You can move the blur deeper into the object.

Or move the blur beyond it.

And even get a glowing effect around the edges of the shadow.

In other words, with the help of the Phantasm CS Publisher you achieve complete control over the shadow.

Time to sign off with this tutorial! I hope you found some helpful tips along the way.

Download the feather artwork

Click here for Illustrator CS4 and above (also PDF compatible)…

Click here for Illustrator CS6 and above (also PDF compatible)…

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

In this tutorial we will create an abstract background with a dancer’s body using the Phantasm CS and VectorScribe Studio. The combination of the Dynamic Sketch Tool (DrawScribe) with a new feature of gradient on stoke in Adobe Illustrator CS6 can really improve your creative potential. Learn about it after the jump.

Step 1

We begin our tutorial by creating an abstract background which will represent the dance floor lighting. Please note that we will be working in RGB color mode (File > Document Color Mode > RGB color). With the help of the Rectangle Tool (M) create a rectangle filled with black color.

Keeping the rectangle selected, go to Object > Create Gradient Mesh… and set the number of columns and rows in the dialog box.

Select the central mesh points with the help of the Direct Selection Tool (A) and color them with dark shades of blue, purple and yellow.

Step 2

In this step create a few circles with the Ellipse Tool (L) that will have different fills and blend modes. This process is shown in the pictures below.

Step 3

Create a star that has 46 rays using the Dynamic Shapes Tool (VectorScribe Studio). I prefer to use this tool as it allows to dynamically change all the parameters of the shape using the panel (Window > VectorScribe > Dynamic Shapes Panel).

Fill the object with a linear gradient that contains a blue, two black and one yellow slider, then apply the Color Dodge blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Create another similar object, fill it with a linear gradient from black to a dark red color, apply the Color Dodge blending mode and reduce opacity in the Transparency panel.

Step 4

Create a circle, fill it with a radial gradient from black to dark green color, then apply the Screen blending mode to it.

Copy this circle and paste it in front (Command / Ctrl + C, Command / Ctrl + F). Apply the Normal blending mode to it and fill it with vertical linear gradient from white to black.

Select both circles created in this step, then click on the Make Mask button in the Transparency panel.

This is how we create an Opacity Mask. Duplicate the created object, reduce its size, rotate and place it in the left side of the background. Folks, we are creating an abstract composition, and of course, you can use other objects and place them in a different manner. I’m simply describing the process of creating my artwork.

Step 5

Using Adobe Illustrator CS6, we are able to apply gradients to the stroke. For smooth transition of color in the rectangular stroke, I have used a linear gradient across the stroke with one transparent slider.

To darken the part of the background, create an ellipse filled with an elliptical gradient with one transparent slider and apply the Multiply blending mode.

Use the Screen blending mode for bleaching.

Step 6

Create a rectangle filled with a radial gradient containing two shades of gray color, which will completely cover the background.

To obtain a lot of luminous objects, use the Phantasm CS vector Halftone effect. Keeping the rectangle selected, go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone… and set the parameters shown in the following picture.

Apply the Color Dodge blending mode to the rectangle.

Step 7

At this point the background creation task is complete. Hide parts of the objects that go beyond the background. Create a rectangle of the same size as the lower gradient mesh.

Select all the created objects, then use Command / Ctrl + 7 shortcut to create a Clipping Mask.

Step 8

Proceed to the creation of the dancer’s body. For this purpose, I used a stock art vector silhouette.

You can find similar silhouettes onlines at all-silhouettes.com. To create the dancer’s outline, we will be using the Dynamic Sketch Tool (DrawScribe). Open the panel of this tool (Window > DrawScribe > Dynamic Sketch Panel), choose the option to “Edit or continue existing paths” and create an outline based on the vector silhouette.

Choose Accuracy and Smoothness levels parameters in the process of work. These parameters influence how detailed the resultant outline will be. In addition, the paths that we created with the Dynamic Sketch Tool are dynamic — that means that their settings can be changed after the creation of the outline. Make sure that the dancer’s outline was closed. Ignoring this will make it impossible to execute steps 11 – 13. After creating the outline, the original silhouette object may be deleted.

Step 9

Now create glares of light on the dancer’s body. Combining the Dynamic Sketch Tool with the feature of the Gradient on stroke in Adobe Illustrator CS6, we can achieve the effect of drawing with a brush with soft edges. Let’s set up the tool for the following work. Set the relationship between the Stroke width and the pressure on the stylus in the Dynamic Sketch panel (in the future work we will be using a graphic tablet such as a Wacom Intuos).

Now open the Dynamic Sketch Preferences dialog box (to open it, just click on the Enter/Return key when the Dynamic Sketch Tool is selected) and turn off the New Paths Have Basic Appearance option.

This is to done ensure that all the newly created paths have the parameters that we set before work. Select the Round Cap in the Stroke panel option so that the ends of the paths are rounded.

Finally, set the gradient for the stroke. It should be a linear gradient, which consists of two gradient markers of the same color, one of which has 0% opacity. You also need to choose the “Gradient across stroke” option in the Gradient panel.

With the settings done, let’s create a test path using the Dynamic Sketch Tool.

As you can see, one side of the stroke is blurred. And it is 100% vector object! Think about the drawing potentials that are open for you!

Step 10

Using all of the above and the Dynamic Sketch Tool, I created glares on the dancer’s body.

It is better if these are colored glares matching the colors of the dance floor. I would like to mention that you can control the stroke width using the Width Tool (Shift + W). For more advanced variable stroke width control, please take a look at WidthScribe Designer.

This will allow you to create the strokes of the desired shape.

Step 11

Now we need to hide extra parts of the glare. Select the white outline, then go to Object > Expand Appearance. Combine the outline into a single object by clicking the Unite in the Pathfinder panel. As a result we got a Compound path.

Select the path, then go to Object > Path > Offset path… and set the amount of the offset.

Step 12

Keeping the new path selected, go to Object > Compound Path > Release.

Remove the white object between the head and hand of the dancer and the bottommost object.

We will use the rest of the objects as Clipping Paths.

Step 13

Select the glares that are on the dancer’s trousers (“pants” for all our American cousins!) and a white object inside their outline, then go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make or use Command / Ctrl + 7 shortcut.

Apply this technique to the rest of the dancer’s objects.

Using the techniques described in this tutorial, I also created a light wave.

Hopefully, you have learned something new and learn how to combine Dynamic Sketch Tool with gradient on stroke feature. This combination is only limited by your imagination!

Download the Dancer vector artwork

Click here for Illustrator CS6 and above (also PDF compatible)…

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

In this tutorial we will learn how to create a seamless pattern, combining tools of the Phantasm CS plugin with the new Pattern creation feature in Adobe Illustrator CS6. Using these wonderful tools, you can create amazing genuine textile patterns prints.

Step 1

In this tutorial I’ll use the photograph Red Rose (credit to deviantART user ~ Melissa-tm). Paste this image into the current document (File > Place…)

To create the textile print effect, we will use Phantasm CS‘ vector Halftone function. Go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone… and set the parameters shown in the picture below.

Step 2

Copy the Linked Image and paste it in front (Cmd / Ctrl + C; Cmd / Ctrl + F). Open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance panel) and click on the effect’s entry.

Change the parameters of the Phantasm CS Halftone effect, as it is shown in the picture below.

Apply to the upper Linked Image the Darken blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Group up both Linked Images (Cmd / Ctrl + G).

Step 3

For recoloring the objects we will be using a different tool within Phantasm CS. Duplicate the new group, and then, keeping the new group selected, go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Hue / Saturation…. Now tick “Colorize” in the Phantasm CS Hue / Saturation dialog box and through the controlling sliders, recolor the group with a yellow tone.

Duplicate the group with a red rose again. This time, recolor it with blue tone using Phantasm CS Hue / Saturation effect.

Step 4

Let’s proceed to the creation of the seamless pattern. Select all the created groups, then go to Object > Pattern > Make. We are in the Pattern Creation mode.

This is a new feature of Adobe Illustrator CS6, which allows you to create seamless patterns with the help of the Pattern Options panel. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Linked Images were automatically converted into regular vector objects after the Pattern Creation Mode changeover.

Step 5

Choose the Tile Type: Brick by Row and Brick Offset: 1/2 in the Pattern Options panel.

You can also change the size of roses and their position with the help of the Selection Tool (V), thus your seamless pattern will change dynamically.

Step 6

Duplicate groups with flowers, then reduce their transparency in the Transparency panel and increase their size with the help of the Selection Tool (V).

The seamless pattern is ready.

Step 7

Click Done on the top bar. This action will exit us from the Pattern Creation Mode. Now we can create any object and apply the established pattern that was automatically added to the Swatches panel.

Our tutorial is over. If you are wondering how it may be applied to clothing or interior design, I will try to help visualise one example…

Download the Rose Pattern artwork

Click here for Illustrator CS6 and above (also PDF compatible)…

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad that I finally found the job in my life that I can share my knowledge and experiments with you in my tutorials.

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook or visit my blog Vectorboom.

In between the major new product releases, Astute Graphics continues to continually develop its existing products — both long-establishing and recently released.

The following releases bring additional functionality (ColliderScribe), tweaks and important improved stability (VectorScribe and Phantasm CS). And they are all FREE to download today!

ColliderScribe version 1.1.0

• Up and Down arrow keys change collision spacing while dragging – step determined by Illustrator’s preference “Keyboard Increment” value
• Corner point collisions now taken into account when self-colliding
• Improved detection and snapping to collisions involving the endpoints of straight segments

VectorScribe version 1.8.1

• Fixed crash when recording the changing of a Dynamic Corner type or creation of Dynamic Shape in an Action
• Fixed indicating corner type in Actions panel
• Fixed problem when playing back an action which changed the Dynamic Corner type (“The object VectorScribe is not currently available.”)
• Collaborated with Esko to resolve fatal clash with Esko Deskpack plugins for Illustrator CS6

Phantasm CS version 2.8.2

• Fixed critical bug which could cause Illustrator to crash when using certain Filter and Effect tools
• Minor user interface improvements for Illustrator CS6

Download and install

To download these versions, simply visit the product download page…

Installing on Mac OS 10.5+

• Quit Adobe Illustrator
• Run the installer and follow the instructions
• Start Illustrator

Installing on Windows XP/Vista/7/8

• Quit Adobe Illustrator
• Remove any previous installation of Phantasm CS, VectorScribe or ColliderScribe via Windows’ Control Panel > Remove Programs (XP) or via Windows’ Control Panel > Programs and Features (Vista and above)
• Run the installer and follow the instructions
• Start Illustrator

With the announcement of the product line-up changes at Astute Graphics, the following information is to help existing Phantasm CS Designer / Studio / Publisher customers with licenses up to Illustrator CS5 with their future upgrade options.

When you are ready to upgrade, click here to start the process.

You may also request a reminder of your existing license key (along with links to upgrade options) by clicking here.

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Designer v2 (up to CS5) customers

Purchase Phantasm v3 and Rasterino upgrade via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £51

Purchase Rasterino and InkQuest via the normal purchase route for a discounted bundle price of £107

Purchase Phantasm v3, Rasterino, InkQuest upgrade via the upgrade page for a discounted cost of £129

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Studio v2 (up to CS5) customers

Purchase Phantasm v3 and Rasterino via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £35

Note: Phantasm v3 plug-in will not contain separation and overprint tools currently in Phantasm CS Studio. When upgrading to Phantasm CS4-CS6 compatibility you will need to purchase InkQuest to retain the separation and overprint tools.

Purchase Phantasm v3 and InkQuest via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £74

Note: Phantasm v3 plug-in will not contain the embedded image tools currently within Phantasm CS Studio. When upgrading to Phantasm CS4-CS6 compatibility you will need to purchase Rasterino to retain these tools. Rasterino also contains additional embedded image tools.

Purchase Phantasm v3, Rasterino and InkQuest via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £83

This bundle retains all the tools featured in Phantasm CS Studio and Phantasm CS Publisher in addition to new embedded image functionality in Rasterino and CS4-CS6 compatibility.

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Publisher v2 (up to CS5) customers

Purchase Rasterino, InkQuest & Phantasm via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £15

This bundle retains all the tools featured in Phantasm CS Publisher in addition to new embedded image functionality in Rasterino and CS4-CS6 compatibility.

With the announcement of the product line-up changes at Astute Graphics, the following information is to help existing Phantasm CS Designer / Studio / Publisher customers with licenses up to Illustrator CS6 with their future upgrade options.

When you are ready to upgrade, click here to start the process.

You may also request a reminder of your existing license key (along with links to upgrade options) by clicking here.

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Designer v2 (up to CS6) customers

Should you wish to purchase a new Rasterino product for embedded images then please follow the normal purchase route on our products page. As no embedded image editing functionality exists in Phantasm CS Designer, there is no discount on Rasterino unless purchasing in bundle.

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Studio v2 (up to CS6) customers

Purchase Rasterino and InkQuest via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £58

Upgrade options for Phantasm CS Publisher v2 (up to CS6) customers

Purchase Rasterino via the upgrade page for a discounted price of £15

Astute Graphics’ longest-established plugin has just been updated to version 3.0 and renamed from Phantasm CS to simply Phantasm.

You can read about our announcement of the product line-up changes here but what changes are to be found in Phantasm v3?

Phantasm now concentrates purely on the color adjustment tools including Brightness/Contrast, Curves, Hue/Saturation and the ever-popular vector Halftone tool. However, Phantasm now gains as standard the ability to control spot and alpha (transparency) channels in the Curves and Levels tools, which was previously the preserve of Phantasm CS Publisher! Also, advanced options and Halftone tool presets are now installed as standard due to popular demand.

Direct YouTube HD movie link: http://youtu.be/i-XnRR4S6lA

What other changes are there?

The embedded image editing tools found in the previous Studio and Publisher editions have been moved to Rasterino which also adds new Crop, Trim and Resolution functionality.

The other pre-press tools previously found in the Studio and Publisher editions have moved to InkQuest.

I’m an existing Phantasm CS v2 customer. What do I do?

You can learn about your options by clicking on the relevant link below:

Phantasm CS v2 Designer / Studio / Publisher customers licensed up Illustrator CS5

Phantasm CS v2 Designer / Studio / Publisher customers licensed up Illustrator CS6

Availability

Phantasm v3 is available today!

Download full 14 day trial

Buy instantly online for £49 +VAT (approx. $76 / €58)

Note: the trial period expiry for previous installations of Phantasm CS v2 may result in an inability to trial Phantasm v3 on the same machine. This is to allow existing customer licenses to continue to operate fully and as the total color adjustment functionality has not altered. However, it is possible to trial Rasterino and InkQuest fully regardless of previous Phantasm CS installations.

Can I still buy the previous Phantasm CS Studio / Publisher toolset?

Yes! The following bundles are for you — and they are now more cost-effective!

Phantasm + Rasterino (embedded image editing) for £73 +VAT

Phantasm + InkQuest (pre-press tools) for £124 +VAT

Phantasm + Rasterino + InkQuest for £148 +VAT
This is the equivalent of Phantasm CS Publisher v2 with additional embedded image editing tools found in Rasterino.

Update 2 July 2013

A permanent fix has now been offered in Phantasm v3.0.2 upgrade. Please click here for full information.

Since last week’s releases a number of customers have encountered the issue of persistent “About” windows appearing for some Astute Graphics plugin when attempting to use the tools.

The following reliable cure is recommended: quit Illustrator and reset your Illustrator preferences. Details of this may be found here:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/illustrator/cs/using/
WS714a382cdf7d304e7e07d0100196cbc5f-630ca.html

We would recommend that you do this by moving the “Adobe Illustrator Prefs” file out of the setting folder to ensure a true resetting of the preferences.

Since the launch of Phantasm (v3), a number of users have experienced the issue of a persistent “About Phantasm” window appearing. Following a temporary fix, we have now released Phantasm version 3.0.2 for Mac OS and Windows, Illustrator CS4, CS5, CS6 and CC(17) users which permanently cures this annoyance. There is no charge for this upgrade to those with Phantasm (v3) valid license keys.

To upgrade, simply download Phantasm version 3.0.2, quit Illustrator and run the installer. There should be no need to re-apply your license key.

Apologies to all who experienced this problem. We hope you can now enjoy Phantasm’s color control tools once more in peace!

Alexander Beleschenko is a glass artist who lives and works in Swansea. His bespoke glass artwork can be seen throughout the world in Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, USA, Japan and the United Arab Emirates and he has twice been awarded the Art and Architecture Award from the Royal Society of Arts.

University of Exeter, England

Alexander makes large-scale architectural glassworks which occupy a range of outdoor and interior locations, from busy sites such as bridges, concourses, bars and offices to places of quietude and reflection including libraries and churches.

Private home – Zurich, Switzerland

His glass artwork sculpts light: edges refract, layers absorb and crazing scatters its rays. Alongside the experimental use of sandblasting, acid etching, engraving, bevelling and chipping, Alexander has been instrumental in devising new printing methods such as raised surface silkscreening and a laminating technique to sandwich antique glass between sheets of safety glass in his pieces of work.

We visited Alexander in his Swansea studio and were amazed by his extremely unique and distinctive style. Although some of his glass artwork might look fairly simple at first glance, on closer examination the intricate detail is truly outstanding.

Neuenbeken Tower detail – Paderborn, Germany

Alexander discovered Astute Graphics several years ago and constantly uses our plug-ins in his work. A current piece of glass art in progress has made extensive use of Phantasm with the filter effect being “a life saver”.

Baker Street detail – London, England

“I have been working in the field of art for quite some time. It’s never the same thing. One day it is a catastrophe, the next, a victory. I love that and especially with my chosen art form of working with glass in architecture. The more I do of it the wider its horizons for creative expression become. As an art form it poses immense challenges due to its relationship with light. It is a material that can test your skills to the limit but it generally gives back what it sometimes takes away. That is, an unforeseen mishap often becomes a new start to explore new possibilities.”

Alex is an Honorary Doctor at the University of Exeter, Honorary Fellow of Swansea Metropolitan University, the Royal Institute of British Architects and The Royal Society of Arts.

Baker Street – London, England

All photos and artwork on the page copyright Alexander Beleschenko
www.beleschenko.com

The post Case Study – Alexander Beleschenko appeared first on Astute Graphics.