Step 1

Draw a circle with the Ellipse Tool (L) 100 px by 100 px. With the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the bottom point of the circle and move it down about 40 px. Copy (command/control + C) and Paste in Front (command/control + F) the shape. With the Rotate Tool (R) selected place the anchor point at the bottom point of the duplicated shape, hold down Shift, then drag the top end of the shape until it locks into a 45 degree position.

Step 2

With both shapes selected, go to the Pathfinder Palette and select the Unite function. Now Copy & Past in Front, like in step one. Again, with the Rotate Tool (R), place the anchor point at the bottom point of the duplicate shape and rotate the shape until it is just barely overlapping the first shape. Repeat this once more until you have something like this.

Step 3

Select all three shapes and hit Unite in the Pathfinder Palette. You should now have one clover shaped path. If your path has a small whole in the middle, just select it with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and hit Delete. Reduce the clover shape’s size by going to Object > Transform > Scale. Set the Uniform option to 65% and click OK. Your shape should look something like this.

Step 4

Give it a green Fill. Open the Appearance Palette. Click the Palette Option Button located at the top right of the palette and select Add New Fill. Give the new Fill a color of light green and place it underneath the first Fill in the Appearance Palette’s stacking order. With the new Fill attribute selected from the Appearance Palette, go to Effect > Convert to Shape > Rounded Rectangle. Select the Relative option and set the Extra Width and Height to 40 px and the Corner Radius to 30 px.

Step 5

Now give the shape a 10 pt Stroke with the same color of dark green as the top Fill. With the Stroke attribute still selected, give it the same Rounded Rectangle effect as in Step 4. (Note: when adding effects to a single attribute of a shape be sure to have that attribute selected in the Appearance Palette otherwise the effect will apply itself to the entire shape and not just the one attribute.)

Step 6

Create a new Stroke in the Appearance Palette. Place it under the first Stroke and give it a color of light gray. Set the Stroke to Dashed with a Dash Size of 4 pt and Gap of 6 pt. Set its size to 2 pt and give it a Rounded Cap.

Step 7

With the new Dashed Stroke attribute selected, go to Effects > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset to -4 px and the Joints to Round.

Step 8

Add another Stroke similar to the one in Step 6. Give it that same Rounded Rectangle Effect as in Step 4. Then offset its path like in Step 7, but this time set the Offset to -12 px.

Step 9

Give both gray Strokes a Drop Shadow (Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow). Set the Mode to Overlay, Opacity to 100%, X Offset to 0 px, Y offset to 1 px and Blur to 1 px. Remember to have the Stroke attribute selected from the Appearance Palette before adding the effect.

Step 10

Now, with the original dark green Fill selected from the Appearance Palette, go to Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Set the Mode to Normal, Opacity to 30%, X Offset to 0 px, Y offset to 1 px and Blur to 1 px.

Step 11

Now, select the light green Fill from the Appearance Palette, go to Effects > Stylize > Inner Glow. Set the Mode to Normal, Opacity to 30%, Blur to 20 px and make sure the Edge option is selected.

Step 12

With the entire shape selected, go to Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Set the Mode to Normal, Opacity to 30%, X Offset to 0 px, Y offset to 2 px and Blur to 2 px.

Step 13

To finish off the badge, add one more Fill in the Appearance Palette and put it right to the top of the stacking order. Give it a Rounded Rectangle Effect like in Step 4, but set Relative Height and Width to 45 px and Corner Radius to 35 px. Give it a Linear Gradient at 90 degrees with black at both ends. Give the black swatch on the left an Opacity of 0%. Then set the Transparency mode of the new FIll to Overlay.

Conclusion

In order to make the styling of this shape reusable, simply drag the shape to the Graphic Styles Palette, create a new shape, select the style from the palette and there you have it Ð a reusable dynamic badge effect. It will even work on editable text. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, enjoy!

• Tutorial: How to Create Vintage Vector Bottle Caps In Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How To Make an Olympic Gold Medal In Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator

Although I have been working in design for over a decade now, I have only been writing and teaching for the past 8-10 months. I knew I was a decent designer, but to have others validate this for me means so much more. It’s an honor to be included in any best of round-up, but to be included in this one was especially nice. Vectips.com was one of the first blogs I had subscribed to and I continue to enjoy their content.

Thank you very much Ryan.

• I Am Now A Tutorial Writer For Envato
• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator
• Tutorial: How To Create A Vector Wacom Tablet In Illustrator

Other than that, I will continue to keep you posted with new articles and tutorials. If you guys have any requests, I’d love to hear them.

• I Am Now A Tutorial Writer For Envato

Check out the full tutorial at Vectortuts.com

• Tutorial: How To Create A Vector Wacom Tablet In Illustrator
• Tutorial: How To Make an Olympic Gold Medal In Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator

Check out the full tutorial at Vectortuts.com

• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator
• Tutorial: How to Create Vintage Vector Bottle Caps In Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How To Make an Olympic Gold Medal In Adobe Illustrator CS4

Enjoy this free seamless pattern created by yours truly in Adobe Illustrator. Included are two patterns. One that is a solid single shape, and the other, a group of shapes. In order to create the gaps and wholes in the patter that you see in both the post’s thumbnail and the example (included with download), use the grouped version to create your pattern (drag grouped object to the swatches palette). Apply the patter to your shape. Then go to Object > Expand Appearance. Now start deleting the unwanted numbers from the pattern, and there you have it – simple as 1-2-3… pun intended!

This is the first of, hopefully, many to come, so keep your eyes peeled. I hope you all enjoy.

Download Freebie
.zip includes the following: .AI (CS4) & .EPS

• Vectips.com – Best Of 2009
• Tutorial: How To Create A Reusable Dynamic Badge Effect In Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator

Tip 1: Placing An Image (Using Link)

Illustrator is an amazing program. Being able to create vector graphics that can be enlarged to any size without loosing quality is definitely something all designers should have in their tool bag. Having to combine these vectors with raster (pixel based) graphics, like those made in Adobe’s Photoshop or taken from a digital photograph, is definitely something you will come across if you already haven’t.

Let’s start by explaining how to bring your raster files into Illustrator. There are many ways to do this, the most popular of which is the Place method. Under the File menu, you will see the Place option. By clicking this you will be given a dialogue box. Here is where you will select the image you want to use. In this case I will use a picture I took while in Cuba of a stray dog.

By default you will notice the Link check-box in the bottom-left corner has been selected. Leaving this option selected and clicking Place will seem as if the image has been brought into Illustrator when in fact it only appears as if the file has been brought in. What is actually happening is that a preview is being generated by Illustrator from the external image which is placed into your Illustrator document. You can tell an image has been Linked by the ‘X’ through the image while it is selected.

Tip 2: Re-Linking An Image

When using Linked images, all the working files (your Illustrator document and raster photographs) need to stay in their corresponding places on the hard drive. If the files get moved there is a chance Illustrator will loose the connection with the original image. If this happens you must re-Place the file using the action Relink in the Links window.

When working like this, I like to gather all the images I will be using into a folder and keep that folder with my Illustrator document. That way if I need to move the file I know that the images folder has to move with it, much like when designing a website.

The benefit of working like this are easily seen when looking at file size. Linking images will not increase the size of your document the same way Embedding images will.

Tip 3: Placing An Image (Without Using Link)

When Placing an image with the Link check-box unselected your image will appear in Illustrator the same as before, but you will notice a few differences. First, there is no ‘X’ across the image when it is selected, and second, there is a small icon present beside the thumbnail of the image in the Links window. The other thing you will notice is that the file size of the Illustrator document has now increased.

The benefit of working this way is that your Illustrator document will now be completely self-contained and moving the file will not be destructive. There are many debates about which of the two methods are best, but when it comes down to it, it’s usually a matter of preference unless requested by the end-user.

Tip 4: Embedding A Linked Image

If for some reason after you have placed an image using the Link function and now need to Embed it, the easiest way to do this, I find, is to go to the Links window, select the image you want to Embed, click the panel’s drop-down menu, and select Embed. As an alternative, while the image is selected, click on the blue text labeled ‘Linked File’ in the Options Bar at the top left (unless you have moved it). Clicking this will show you the Links window. At this point follow the same steps as above.

Tip 5: Using Photoshop vs File > Open To Import Images Into Illustrator

Bringing in images directly from Photoshop may seem like an easy and quick way to speed up your workflow. But knowing how the crossover affects your images is something you need to know, or the result might mess you up and make what seems like a simple process take even longer.

Copy & Pasting or dragging a file from Photoshop, at a glance, looks like a cinch, but have you tried moving your image after the fact? Does some or all of the image disappear? This is something I have seen happen to people countless times, and it’s all due to a simple Clipping Mask. Clipping Masks are great if you have used them intentionally and know how to use them. If not, they can be a nightmare. Photoshop automatically puts your image into a Clipping Mask when Copy & Pasted or dragged into Illustrator. I like to remove the mask before I continue so it doesn’t mess me up later.

Another way to get our image into Illustrator is the good ol’ fashion File > Open method. This will open the file into an Illustrator document which you can begin working on. Or you can then Copy & Paste the image from this document into one you have already started. This method will not put a Clipping Mask on your image, and both of these methods will automatically Embed your image.

Tip 6: Working with Transparencies

Images with transparencies can be a bit trickier. As you can see in the image below, one of the pictures has a transparency while the other does not. This is dues to another one of Photoshop’s cross-platform quirks. What I did was quickly take out the background of our image in Photoshop then tried the Copy/Paste or drag method from before. As you can see, it didn’t work. Illustrator replaces the transparent pixels with white. In order to get around this problem you must save your image in Photoshop first as a .psd or a .png. At this point you can Place or Open the file in Illustrator with the desired transparency in tact.

Tip 7: Using Illustrator’s Built-in Raster Effects

The final tip I will leave you with for today doesn’t necessarily have to do with raster images, but does deal with the built-in raster effects within Illustrator.

A friend of mine once asked me, “How come when I zoom into my artwork the shadows and blurs all look like sh*t”. Some of Illustrator’s Effects such as Stylize > Drop Shadow and Blur > Gaussian Blur are raster based effects. Applying them to a vector path or object at 100% will look great. But once you zoom in, the effect will loose quality while your shape maintains its crispness. Don’t fret, your effect will still look good at 100%. Just make sure you have set you projects resolution to at least 300 dpi if it’s going to print, other wise it will look like ****!

Conclusion

That’s it for now. I know I’ve just barely scratched the surface, but I don’t want to cram to much into one lesson. If anyone has any other tips and tricks, please feel free to post them in the comments section. I hope this helps open your minds to the endless design possibilities when combining raster graphics with vector designs.

• Tutorial: How To Make an Olympic Gold Medal In Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How to Create Shiny Vector Dice in Illustrator
• Tutorial: How To Create A Vector Wacom Tablet In Illustrator

PS. I have attached a little Freebie for you all. It’s an iPod/SmartPhone wallpapper my buddy Ken from the band Nonpoint made. It’s of his band’s logo. Check it out and enjoy.

• FREEBIE: Vector Numbers Seamless Pattern

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a set of vector dice using Adobe Illustrator and the Gradient Mesh Tool. The Gradient Mesh Tool can be tricky to get the hang of, but hopefully this tutorial will shed some light on this great little tool.

Check it out!

• Tutorial: How To Create A Vector Wacom Tablet In Illustrator
• Tutorial: How To Make an Olympic Gold Medal In Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Tutorial: How to Create Vintage Vector Bottle Caps In Illustrator CS4