Whole Lotta Shaken Goin On

For my abstract triptych letterform composition in Adobe Illustrator, I started with the word EARTHQUAKE in all capital letters using Myriad Pro font.  After creating outlines around the letters in three 4X4 spaces, I used the Distort and Transform tool to twist the letters at a 10% angle.  Using the Direct Selection and Pen tools, I transform the letters into abstract shapes which allowed me to cross the outline boundaries and create positive and negative space. After appropriating and placing  an image of a city ravaged by an earthquake, I changed it from raster to vector based and moved it to the background.  From there, I transformed the image to a traced black and white outline.