I've recently been contacted for some vector fashion illustrations and I noticed that I don't really have a strong portfolio in that area. So I needed to make a portfolio piece.
First step along the line was making a sketch. I decided to create an image of a woman in the water looking at the viewer provocatively. For vector work like this I enjoy composing directly in Illustrator so I just did a quick sketch to make sure placement and layout was proportional and so I had a basic framework to work with.
After the sketch is in place I dropped in the basic shapes in Illustrator, making sure to add areas for shadow and highlights. Here is the outlines view of the project.
Then it comes to color. I chose a nice color harmony based on the color of the water and added in her hair, skin and the rest. Most of the elements are colored with gradients, which colors a bit more subtly than solids.
Finally here is the image.
