I took Kirk Wallace's class on Skillshare: Playful Shapes: Crafting Fun Everyday Objects in Adobe Illustrator. The class project was to create an 'essentials of:' poster for your current favorite hobby or interest. I present to you, 'The Essentials of Skiing.'

I started by making a mind map of different skiing essentials. The main categories I came up with were gear (skis, poles, boots, goggles, hat, mittens, scarf), terrain (mountains, snow, trees, squirrels, birds, jumps, signage, gondola), and the chalet (apres ski, hot cocoa, fire place). 

I practiced sketching these objects in Adobe Fresco. I focused on keeping each object as simple as I could while still communicating identity. 

Next I imported my sketches into Adobe Illustrator as a template, and recrated the objects using primarily the pen tool.

After the objects were recreated in Illustrator I determined the hierarchy I wanted in my final poster: which objects would be primary, secondary, and tertiarty elements.

The next step was to add color, and then go back and add details. The details portion took the longest, since the possibilities are truly endless. 

Finally, I exported my vector image into Photoshop and used masking layers and the brush tool to add textures throughout the design. I also imported a subtle crumpled paper texture.

This project was fun. I feel that the class helped me access a whole new side of my style. The most challenging part for me was adding texture in Photoshop: knowing what looked right and when to stop. Although I could keep tweaking this, for now, I am very happy.