I draw tribal-style animal designs for a living. My clients usually commission these artworks in order to use them as tattoos or logotypes. Here is a step-by-step guide on how I made my latest drawing—a Maine Coon cat image, which is intended to be used as a logotype.
First, I start with a rough sketch.
At this point, my client asked me to change the eye shape.
Next, I draw the tribal pattern.
When the patterns are all finished, the last step is to convert the image to curves in vector graphics.
I use CorelDRAW. First, I use the “Freehand” tool in order to draw straight lines.
Next, I use the “shape” tool in order to bend each line.
Notice that three of the nodes are selected here. I use the “Smooth node” tool in order to, well, make said curves smoother.
This image is mostly symmetrical. This means that I have to draw half of the image and then copy and flip it so as to make sure that everything I want to be symmetrical really is the same on both sides.
As you can see in the following image, I don’t just draw the curves by feel, I construct them. Notice the overlap between purple, blue, and green curves—each overlapping shape is drawn on its own, because this way I can ensure that these shapes adhere to each other smoothly.
Afterwards, two objects can be fused together with the “Weld” tool.
Here is the finished curves with all the nodes selected. After drawing each shape separately, everything is fused together into a single curve with the “Weld” tool.
Here is a closeup of the head.
And now, the finished image. This artwork © Crystal Cosgrove, my client who commissioned this image in order to use as their logotype.
Happy everyday！