This Maya tutorial shows how to create a 3D envelop, skin and structural elements from hand drawn curves or data generated curves. The 3D shape is lofted and extruded from curves drawn in Photoshop or Illustrator.

In Photoshop, go to Layers > create separate layers, draw shapes that will be later connected together
Select the white area above the curve with the Magic Wand tool. Go to Paths > create a path.
Go to File Export > Path to Illustrator, save as an Illustrator file.
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