Celtic-Arabic Abbreviation: Street Art Initials
Vector artwork created in adobe illustrator.
Coloured pencil on cartridge paper, A3
This is one of those projects that started life as a doodle, and then became a practically obsessive concern.
There was no purpose or objective, other than that I appreciate both celtic knotwork and arabic script. I wanted to do something moving from that inspiration pair, whilst at the same time not trying to directly and literally represent either tradition. It quite naturally acquired a street art twist, and I have wondered what it would look like sprayed on a wall, although I confess that’s an insanity too far!
If drawing this was hard, then translating that into vectors in Illustrator was somewhat bonkers. It was only achieved through sheer bloody- mindedness. Vectors are completely unforgiving of any sort of misshapen curve: every flattening off visually screams its clumsy existence.
The letters themselves, STDN, were picked just because that’s one of the ways I abbreviate my otherwise fairly long name.
Coloured pencil on cartridge paper, A4 landscape.
Project Highlight
Notice the (almost!) endless weave of line that's a signature of celtic knotwork, alongside some free-standing decorative strokes lifted from Arabic script, both given a street art twist.
Skillset
This project demonstrates the application of Lettering Adobe Illustrator, and Drawing. Follow the links to see more projects using these skills.