Vector Icons of Items used for Swimming
I decided to create icons of something that I love, and that is swimming! I did competitive swim for all four years of high school. It was a big part of my life and is still one of my favorite activities.
Brainstorm:
The very first thing I did for this project was come up with a list of all the items I used to swim, or were found in my swim bag. After I wrote that list down I picked the twelve most important items, then I sketched six of them.
Draft:
Once I figured out what I was drawing it was time to draw them on the computer. I struggled at first because I am new to Adobe Illustrator, but after many many failed attempts I came up with these lovely icons.
As you can they are a little rough. Especially, that Speedo backpack. If you have never seen a speedo backpack just know that they are a weird shape and when you see one from the front they are very “frumpy” and not easy to draw. Click here to see what I’m talking about.
Anyways, I kept drawing and added a few more items. I was too overwhelmed to fix the backpack.
I finished drawing all twelve and then I went back and fixed a few problems. This included the colors, the arrangement of the items. I then realized there were problems I didn’t know how to fix, as in the backpack, the towel, and the fins. So I went to my professor Cory Kerr to ask for help. He gave me some great advice, and I knew what I needed to do. He told me to add shadow to my icons, and I think it helped. I also came to the conclusion that I couldn’t draw the backpack so I decided to change it to a speedo instead.
Final:
Overall I’m really pleased with how these turned out! It was hard work but now I know how to use most of the tools in Illustrator. For all of you non competitive swimmers out there these are Fins, Kick Board, Shampoo & Conditioner, Towel, Hand Paddles, Pull Buoy, Womens Competition Swimsuit, Water bottle, Flip Flops, Swim Cap, Goggles, and a Speedo.
I originally posted this at http://vectorpaths.com/swim-gear-icon-set/
