My objectives for this project were to create a photorealistic watch using only vector art and to become comfortable with the necessary techniques. I used Adobe Illustrator for most of this project, though I developed a detailed texture using Photoshop. 
I started the creative process by first looking at photographs of watches online. Once I found some pictures that I liked, I began to narrow them down until I had selected one. After that, I started drawing. I drew thumbnail sketches of different elements I saw in the watch. My goal was not necessarily to create a good drawing but to experiment with shading and shapes before starting in Illustrator. I had to do the sketching process twice since I decided to change my photo reference halfway through the project. 

After my sketches, the first thing I did in Illustrator was to create guides. I imported the picture of the watch and locked it into its layer. Following that, I made guides as a reference for the watch I was about to create. These guides helped me ensure that my shapes were proportional to the ones in the original photo. 

My drafting process began with spotting and recreating shapes. I experimented with some gradients and blurrs. However, I focused primarily on creating the correct shapes and dimensions. 

After getting critiques from mentors and peers, I started my refinement process. I removed most of my gradients and instead stacked opacity and blur settings to get a more accurate rendition. One of the last things I did was add texture. To do this, I found a Creative Commons image of leather texture. I imported it into Photoshop to turn it black and white and change the threshold. Then I imported the image into Illustrator, did an image trace, and put a mask over my original watch band. I wasn't able to match the photo as closely as I would have liked, but I feel it turned out well, considering the experience and time I had. 

One of the most important things I learned from this project was how important it is not to cut corners. A free-form gradient would take less time, but I needed to make multiple layers and use multiple opacity settings to get the desired results. Through this creative process, I was able to reach both of my objectives. My watch may not be an exact replica of the reference picture, but it still looks photorealistic. The learning process also helped me become comfortable with settings I hadn’t used before. Using a subject as complicated as a metal watch required that I learn a lot in a short amount of time.