Playing around with vectors to create red post box for London post card

i really liked the line work of these exsisting vector postcards above, they show detail that i would usually aim for and show in my hand made word. 

i also like these designs, though they are more simple and use block colour to portray the shape of the objects they are still very realistic and recognisable, which is something i also like to aim for im my own work. 

experimenting with scanning in and using illustrator to create a vector. 

firstly i tried to us the pencil tool to draw the outline- this was very unsuccessful as it did not allow me the same preciseness and steadiness i get when using a real pencil and paper. 

i then tried using the pen tool, though this didn't allow me to draw fluidly like a pen, it allowed me to draw accurate straight lines which was ideal for drawing the box shape of the post box. 

from my past experience of using the pen tool, i have always struggled to understand how to use it correctly, though it frustrated me when it went wrong, the more i played around with it, the more i understood. the illustrator workshops also helped me learn how to use it to my advantage. 

once i had designed the line vector, i played around with its positioning and duplicating it. this is a advantage of using illustrator to draw vectors as you do not have to redraw the same thing to repeat the pattern, unlike drawing by hand. 

here i have experimented with using the colours of the post box in a abstract way. i wanted to add colour somehwere as before the line drawing looked to boring, dull and unfinished. 

reverting back to 1 post box. here i have just used photo reference to add the correct colour to go for a more realistic approach. i have used a gradient of pinks in the window instead of white to show the reflection of the red from the post box and to represent the show areas. 

duplicating coloured postbox.