Experimentation: Part 1

The Prompt

For this assignment, I have to select a fruit and create artwork across different types of media. My fruit of choice is Dragon Fruit, due to its unique shape and vibrant colour combination. This post will be showcasing 3 out of 5 mediums; Stock Image, Ai and Vector Illustration. For clarification, consistency is a very important aspect to this entire assignment. Because of this I start off with finding a good stock image to use a base to follow for the other mediums.

Stock Photo

Fortunately, a long time ago I bookmarked a website that uploads free stock images for graphic designer’s to use. Out of the handful of images I had to choose from, one of them caught my eye as it displayed both the whole fruit and slices. 

Website Used

Credit: Photographer

AI Generation

This medium requires 2 generated images from two separate AI assisted programs. For both I used the same prompt to keep things consistent:

“Birds eye view, whole dragon fruit still life with vibrant colors, high detail, realistic, whole dragon fruit on sliced dragon fruit, rich red and green tones, natural lighting, high quality, vibrant colors, detailed texture, realistic, dragon fruit still life, whole fruit on slices”

The first program I used was TensorPix.ai. With this program it only took two attempts before I got something I was satisfied with, here are my results:

The second program I used was OpenArt.ai. Unlike the first program, I had to do a couple generations before it presented an image I could be happy with. Here are the final results:

Honestly, this was my first time using AI to generate art. While I couldn't create exact replicas of my chosen stock image, I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I'm still unsure if I like using AI-assisted programs, as it's hard to judge while I'm still learning how to use them.

Vector Based Software

There are various vector based software I could choose from to complete this medium. However, I decided to stick with what I know and use Adobe Illustrator. As mentioned in previous blog posts, I am still learning to master the pen tool. Creating this illustration allowed me to put those skills to the test.

To begin, I used the eyedropper tool to pick the vibrant pink directly from the stock photo. Then, using the ellipse tool I created a circle the same size as one of the slices.

Afterwards, I did the same thing but in white for the ‘inside’ of the slice.

Next, I used the eyedropper tool again to pick the colour of the seeds and proceeded to use the pen tool to create a seed-like shape. Then I copied and pasted the seeds, rotating them at different angles to mimic the natural random layout of the seeds in the real fruit.

Once that was done I selected all created elements and formed a group which would equate to one slice. After this, I copied and pasted the slices into the same positions as in the stock photo and customized their shapes so that each slice would have a more organic/natural shape instead of just a circle.

To make it clear that the slices were stacked on top of each other, I added the drop shadow effect on all of them.

When creating the whole dragon fruit, I initially planned to use the pen tool to outline the silhouette. However, I realized this approach made it look very one-dimensional. To add depth, I decided to construct the fruit in sections. By adding a drop shadow effect to each section, I ensured the fruit wouldn't appear as a flat shape with green spots.

Final Look: