Woman uses Adobe Illustrator to create family portraits

Kelsey Sargent, a 28-year-old graduate designer from Fargo, North Dakota, has found a fun and creative way to provide families with portraits of their loved ones. According to The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, Sargent uses Adobe Illustrator to create cartoon pictures of people, pets and possessions most valued by the client.

Sargent starts by collecting information from interested individuals, such as their photographs, favorite hobbies and interesting facts. From there, she works her digital magic by creating a virtual representation of the person or couple based on info gathered from a questionnaire. In addition to using the application to form the portrait, she employs a number of different resources.

"I use Adobe Illustrator and combine elements from different photos, like if I like their hair better in one photo and their outfit in another," Sargent explained to the source. "Sometimes I look on Pinterest to see their style. I put a last name on them as well and incorporate some element that defines them, like a globe because they travel or books if they're into books."

Sargent began by merely creating these portraits as presents for friends and family members, but realized that she could charge money after receiving such positive feedback. She added that while this is not her full-time job, she has a great time integrating creative practices into her everyday life. 

The Fargo resident may have a unique side business, but she is not the only digital artist to use this application to transform real-life pictures into illustrations. The software has a number of features ideal for any user looking to replicate faces and objects, or for more adventurous artists who wish to create their own cartoons from scratch. American Graphics Institute offers Adobe Illustrator courses that go over these tools and how to best use them when creating alluring illustrations.