Tutorial for Calligram in Illustrator

My calligram for Illustrator was to make the letters of my last name look like a dog. Using a combination of small, half opaque strokes of the paint tool, it made the letters look like they had different colored fur running down their sides.

I then followed the instructions to create the dog nose, whiskers, tail, and the claws for the paws. I made these using the pen tool and coloring them in with the paintbrush tool.

I learned how to make the calligraphy on photoshop seem like it has fur, to make drop shadows to make it look like the letters are floating, to create 3-D effects by using the pen tool to outline some of the features like the tail and dog nose.

I did well with the fur and to make it look like it was flowing in a certain direction and to have a bit of shading to the fur.

What I could do differently is to improve the quality of the nose, as it was difficult to make the nose look realistic.

I want to research how to make scales next for my next lesson in Illustrator. That way I could create maybe a scale-like look for my personal logo.  I love animals and I feel inspired by them, so I feel like the should be a part of my logo.

http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-furry-calligram-in-illustrator--vector-3965