This project presented the challenge to turn a regular photograph into a stylized, geometric portrait in Illustrator. 

Using the pen tool, I outlined the larger blocks of color and shadow in the photo. To get a smoother transition of color in certain areas, such as my face or arm, I created "halos" of color radiating from the central block. I applied this method throughout the whole image, adjusting the amount of detail as needed. To color the sections in, I closed every section off, making the sections part of one mass shape. I selected all of the line art and used Live Paint, making all the sections able to be filled in with the bucket tool. I eyedropped a single color in every section and bucket filled that section with its respective color.

The background color I chose, the very dark grey, was eyedropped from one of the portions on my jacket. I went through various colors, such as purples and teals in the reflection of my glasses, because I really wanted those colors to pop out of the glasses. In the end, I decided for the dark grey, as it both compliments the red lettering on my shirt and brings out the purples and teals in my sunglasses.

I feel I have lots of experience in Illustrator, however this project made learning many more keyboard shortcuts as second nature. After a point I was using my mouse solely for creating lines, saving me much time from clicking on and switching tools.