December 2014 - Tips and Tricks - How to Draw a Jelly Bean

How To Draw a Jelly Bean -December 2014 - Tips and Tricks

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You’d think that drawing a jelly bean was about as hard as drawing a football that’s been kicked a little too often, eh? How about the shading? And the highlights? And a logo? and being able to coax control points into making perfect curves?

Don’t be a has-bean: get hip to the techniques for creating lifelike, editable and edible shapes in this month’s Special Bonus tutorial that Gary Bouton has cooked up. Read More...

Show us your beans in this thread.

I'm open to seeing what's bean on your mind at any time, folks.

-g

Hey, Mikey likes jellybeans! Thanks G&B

Here's my quick effort. Used an envelope on the logo. Used named colors, altered color, made bitmap copy, rinse, repeat.

Thanks again, Mike

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Ack, the shadows didn't get selected so didn't export...

:) Fun stuff, Gare!
Well, I did the tute so here's how that turned out...then I made one in my favorite flavor = Pear! :D

Thanks for the tutorial, somehow I lost with the fractals they became different size, the second try will be better

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Anyway for a non-english (or weakly) speaker european ears the jelly bean associates max the Android version :D, had to search in Google so they are sweets then, good to know :)

@ csehz—

I think there is a file in the Zip download file called "cheat sheet" where my finished drawing is. If you ungroup the piece and then select the fractal transparency using the Transparency tool, I think it will indicate what setting I used. What I can say is that the plasma is really really small and I think I rotated it a little to avoid the obvious repetition.

And I am sorry I used only the American slang for the sweet candy. I did, however, mention that this shape is also a kidney bean and a Lima bean...sort of :).

@ Maya, once again, you not only nailed it one, but you drew it better than I did. Yeah, I know the pear ones. They do have Splenda versions, but they are expensive and limited in the flavors. I'm partial to Buttered Popcorn. They got the flavor down, right to that Flavocol crap they bring in by the keg to movie theaters.

@ Mike, ambitious, sport. I'm more concerned that I don't see Blend steps in the shading than not seeing the shadow. You bent the text nicely.

@All...you want to do your own logo, make it a good one. Make it small, with a lot of contrast, and keep the line spacing very tight. They have manufacturing machines that actually can print using food dye that is about the size of an insect!

-g

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gare

...@ Mike ... I'm more concerned that I don't see Blend steps in the shading than not seeing the shadow. You bent the text nicely...

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Well, you know me. It's difficult for me to stay within the lines.

:) A gift of jelly beans in December = chilly beans!

Expect me to ask you how you approached drawing the cellophane bag, Maya. Its surface properties are unlike glass and other common semi-transparent, reflective and specular materials.

There's a tutorial in there somewhere!

(Probably next to the pear ones).

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Well. Gare, I probably should have made up a plastic bag of some beans or something similar and then used it for a model to look at while drawing the bag but I didn't. I just wanted to put a quick bag shape around the jelly bean group I made up of resized jelly beans I made from the tute directions. I just drew a bag shape around the bean group, colored the fill of the bag a light gray and used a linear transp. on the shape. I gave the outside line a light gray to start and duplicated the bag a time or two each time changing where the linear transparency was directed and the amount of transparency on the slider. I varied the outside line of the bag to white one time and a dk gray another. I varied the line width with white being a bit thicker. I drew over these bag shapes a few other lines in white and given linear transp. and in gray the same way to indicate some more shaping to the bag around the middle and gathered at the top where the tie goes. I used the shape tool to adjust the shape of the lines here and there, and sometimes also scaled the lines and used the feathering slider on them. I used a diamond shaped transparency in white of the bag shape and scaled the shape to make some shaded highlights here and there. I placed a few extra copies of the jelly beans separately to bring them more forward in the bag. The shadow of the bag was just an ellipse shape made transparent and feathered then placed behind everything and brought forward through the shapes and lines until I liked where it appeared. That's about it. :) I put a clipview on the layers to export without losing any of the transparencies and shadows.

Okay, I just looked at your file, Maya, and I get what you did, in a round-about way...not completely understanding your source of inspiration, but accepting what I can understand of the very good results.

Perhaps we should collaborate next year; you walk me through some questions I have about the procedure, and I'll write it and do the screen caps.

We could put a goldfish in the bag :)

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g

I really enjoyed this one.
I tried to keep to the tutorial, but, couldn't help making a few changes!
Hope you don't mind?!

Used linked colours, so it was easy to make the different colours.

Sure, Gare! I'll be glad to explain it away so you can explain it far better...you can make a tute out of it if you'd like. :) I'm no good at explaining things.

P.S. Fun beans, Rik!:)

Rik, I love what you did with faked depth of field. It really makes the composition great!

Maya, we can continue this in PM. We're finally getting this month's video tute up. Should be live and advertised in less than 2 hours.

-g

First I love that plastic bag Maya has drawn and I like all the beans posted so here's my bog standard bean :D

Stygg

=D> Great bean, Stygg! All these jelly beans around here are making me hungry! ;))

@ stygg—Excellent work and I'm glad you sought out a typeface that is compatible with the theme of the illustration!

I'm trying to invent a device that will remove Arial from all artist's computers.


:)


Good deal!

-g

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rik

I really enjoyed this one.
I tried to keep to the tutorial, but, couldn't help making a few changes!
Hope you don't mind?!

Used linked colours, so it was easy to make the different colours.

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That composition looks really extra good