While I have a lot to learn with these tools, I found it interesting. Adobe has come a long way with the 3D tool feature in Illustrator. I remember when it was first introduced, it was BAD. Like…I would use it at work for quick signage renderings because they were small enough that I could get away with it and no one would know the difference. If anything, my non-designer colleagues would throw their hands up and shout, “Perfect!” and send it off to the client.
My favorite part of this is the integration of textures. The textures, from what I saw, are pre-set, but they’re actually really nice.
For the cake part of the donut, I wanted something donut-y. Sand was too rough, and the copper was too metallic. I saw a cardboard option and really liked the way it looked. For the frosting, I couldn’t figure out how to map the art onto the donut, so it became a die-cut piece of hand-made paper with too much Elmer’s School Glue (dries clear!) using some sort of paint or concrete texture. It looks a lot like papier maché, so it worked out.
The jimmies are a lost cause for now.
What I like about this look is it reminds me of crafts you would do as a kid with paper towel and toilet paper rolls. It’s got that same childish, school-made-project-for-some-dumb-holiday feel to it, but almost a little nicer. All it needs is my signature in a poorly sharpened, probably flat Crayola crayon that’s been broken and half and somehow melted on one side, covered in bits of snot and playground mulch from the kid who thinks washing his hands will peel off his skin.
It’s a red crayon, by the way.
I think I’m going to explore the 3D tool more. As for the frosting, I believe that is going to have to be a handmade venture using meshes, various steps of color for shadow and light, and a handful of artistic exaggeration somewhere in the process.•
