Vectortuts+

Create an Embroidered Patch Style with Adobe Illustrator – Tuts+ Premium Tutorial

LoungeKat — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:00:25 +0000

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, learn to bring a little bit of nostalgia to your designs with a set of embroidered patch style pictograms. In this tutorial you will learn how to layer fills, strokes and special effects in the Appearance Panel to create a complex embroidered patch image using just one circle and a few shapes. If you are looking to take your skills to the next level then Log in or Join Now to get started!

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Quick Tip: Creating a Custom Brush Illustration with Sketchbook Pro and CocoaPoTrace

Krishna M. Sadasivam — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:52 +0000

In the following video tutorial, you will learn how to customize Autodesk Sketchbook Pro’s pencil tool to develop a nice, streamlined brush that you can use for digital inking. Next, we’ll take digital line art from a raster-based Photoshop file and quickly convert it into a vectorized format using the freely available CocoaPoTrace application.

Tutorial Assets

CocoaPo Trace

25+ Illustrator Tutorials for Creating Vintage Graphics and Retro Illustration

Sean Hodge — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:16 +0000

If you’re looking to improve your vector design skills, learn how to use Illustrator on a deeper level, and discover how to create vintage vector graphics, then you’ve landed on the right article. We’ve assembled a collection of tutorials that show you how to create vintage illustrations, and retro graphics using Illustrator effects and a variety of professional workflows.

These tutorials will teach you how to create retro characters, add a vintage textural look to your vector work, combine text with graphics for timeless vintage branding, make retro design items to add to your portfolio, such as 50′s era posters, and more. Build your vector vintage design skills with this collection of tutorials that will help you build up your portfolio with custom, retro style work.

Retro Graphics and Vintage Illustration

Create Retro Graphics in Illustrator

In this beginner retro design tutorial learn how to combine woodgrain and halftone textures with basic shapes in Illustrator to compose a vintage vector graphic illustration. Ryan Brinkerhoff shows you how, step by step in this tutorial over on Computer Arts. If you’re just getting started with vintage vector artwork, then jump over to this tutorial to begin.

Vintage Vector Textures

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to give your illustrations a handprinted, misaligned feel so common in 50s and 60s animation and illustration. Ben Steers shows us how to start with a solid sketch, then build our basic vector shapes, and then walks us through how to create wonderful vintage vector art textures in Illustrator.

Creating the New Retro

Graphic designer James White shows you how to give retro-style graphics a modern feel, mixing graphic aesthetics from the days of early Nintendo and late Atari, and a workflow that blends Illustrator and Photoshop tools. This retro future, funky rainbow ribbon starts as shapes in Illustrator and then is composed and shaded in Photoshop. Learn all about this vintage vector to pixel workflow in this tutorial.

Create Retro-Look Vectors

In this illustration tutorial James Wignall, AKA Mutanthands, shows how to take your sketch into illustrator to color and then give it a vintage graphic feel in Photoshop with simple effects. This tutorial is great for beginners, as it’s easy to follow, but the creation of this style of vintage vector art is deceptively complex to hit the right balance of interesting and stark visual appeal. Learn to craft your own retro vintage illustrations from sketch pad doodles.

Illustrator Tutorial: Design Retro Isometric Illustrations

Mark Oliver shows us how to create imaginative illustrations with depth using an angled grid. Follow his recipe for transforming shapes to fit a predefined isometric projection Learn to compose vintage graphic gears, panels, and other retro vector elements to bring together a classic composition. He finalizes the retro touch by bringing those vintage vectors into Photoshop to roughen them up a bit.

How to Create a Colorful Retro Style TV

In this intermediate Illustrator tutorial, learn how to create retro graphics using gradients and layers. You’ll also walk through how to create a simple background that gives this vintage graphic a modern style. This retro illustration is fun to create and full of vibrancy.

Illustrator Tutorial: How To Make 3D Vector Vintage Stars

Learn how to create vintage looking 3D stars in Illustrator. The final result is completely vintage vector art, with no raster effects used in the final retro graphic. Learn how to create a dimensional star using Illustrator’s 3D tools and then move through a solid workflow to color and craft each shape of this. In the end you’ll be able to make your own retro graphic stars in Illustrator.

Retro Car Vectors

Learn how to draw a retro illustration in Illustrator using vector brushes and a solid workflow, which uses a photograph as the basis for creating a vintage style artwork. Using vector brushes you can add loads of style, such as paint splatters, vary the vector linework, and layer the coloring. This is a versatile workflow to use for creating retro vector illustrations with loads of detail and personality.

Swingin’ Retro Look in Adobe Illustrator

In this basic tutorial learn how to construct funky retro shapes and lines to compose a vector illustration in Illustrator. This tutorial is great for beginning Illustrator users. Learn how to use shape tools to build simple retro graphics, turn them into symbols, and then spray them across your canvas to create a vibrant feel.

Turning a Photo into Lichtenstein Style Pop Art with Illustrator

Learn how to create a retro illustration from a photo. The style you’ll achieve is similar to Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art comic book artwork. Using Illustrator’s custom brushes and swatches, you can craft a Lichtenstein style of effect in this intermediate level tutorial. Give your vector work a stylized, illustrator vintage effect.

How to Create Vintage Vector Bottle Caps In Illustrator CS4

In this Illustrator CS4 tutorial learn how to create a vintage bottle cap graphic. Learn how to use basic shapes, pathfinder tools, gradients, blends, and effects to create this retro design element. With this workflow you can create a vintage bottle cap that fits the retro design you need, give it the name of the company you are promoting, and use it in an advertisement.

How To Trace a Sketch with a Vintage Comic Style

Add another retro illustration style to your portfolio. Learn how to create a vintage style comic illustration in this Adobe Illustrator CS4 tutorial. This style is used expansively, from vintage newspaper ads, to retro magazine promotions.

In this tutorial you will learn several techniques for tracing a sketch, including how to make custom brushes, how to combine shapes and brushes and how to combine multiple brushes. You will also learn how to simulate shadows with a hatching technique.

Design a Vintage Nintendo-Style Controller and Cartridge

This retro illustration brings me back to my youth. I spent way too much time playing Mario, Zelda, and all sorts of games on the Nintendo. Learn how to create a vintage graphic illustration based on this classic console system. This tutorial is perfect for the beginning Illustrator artist who wants to take their skills to the next level. Step up your retro graphic game skills.

How to Create a Vector Stamp Set in Illustrator

In the following intermediate level tutorial you will learn how to create a vintage graphic of a vector stamp set in Adobe Illustrator CS5. Learn how to build a retro graphic stamp illustration, shape by shape.

We’ll construct the stamp border vector shape, highlight the edges, create the branding, and give the vector postage stamp a vintage texture, and final illustrator stamp effect. Discover how to design this vintage vector stamp in Illustrator and then transform this into a vector stamp set.

Quick Tip: How to Create an Ornament Illustration for a Holiday Sale

In this beginner Illustrator tutorial learn how to create a modern ornament graphics with vintage flair. Use basic tools in Illustrator to create the shapes, composing your main ornament and ribbon, place your font, and then use an Arch Warp to give your message dynamic appeal. You can add vintage graphic textures and color according to your project’s needs.

Retro Logos and Vintage Branding

Vintage Badge in Illustrator and Photoshop

In this tutorial from Abduzeedo learn how to create a vintage looking graphic using Illustrator and Photoshop. Using basic shape building tools and type on a path, you can create the basic composition for this vintage illustrator work. Then jump into Photoshop to add texture to give it a vintage graphic feel.

Quick Tip: How to Create a Retro Style Textured Logo

Learn how to create a retro vector seal logo in Adobe Illustrator using simple shapes, effects, transparency masks, and a free grunge texture pack. Give your next logo design project a vintage vector feel. Discover how to stylize a logo design in classic retro vector style.

How To Create a Retro Badge/Emblem Style Logo

Learn how to create a circular, retro design style badge/emblem in Illustrator, with a bit of final vintage touches in Photoshop. All the basic shapes are created in Illustrator using simple tools, also learn how to set type on a path, and control how that type flows. This is a great tutorial for design beginners to get started with.

Making a Retro/Vintage Style Badge

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to create a vintage graphic badge that you can use to brand your next project. Discover how to use Illustrator’s Warp, Pathfinder, and Offset Path tools. Walk through each step of modifying and coloring basic Illustrator shapes, and work in the text message. The final vintage vector is finished off in Photoshop with some rough textures to give it that aged retro design feeling.

Vintage Design and Retro Layout

Create a Vintage, 50′s Style Auto Advertisement

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial Ben Mounsey takes a brief look at the quintessential aspects of 1950′s automotive advertising, the aesthetics of the cars and the portrayal of their owners. He shows us how to take this inspiration and create a vintage vector style illustration that embodies the spirit of the bold 50′s auto ads. Learn how to transform simple sketches into bold vector linework, add dotted, rough and swirling textures to add shading with retro graphic interest and more.

Create a Retro Style, Airline Destination, Travel Poster

In this Premium Tuts+ tutorial Ben Mounsey shows us more inspirational 1950′s retro influence, this time in the travel tourism field. Learn how to take vintage inspiration from these posters, such as typographic and composition qualities, then to sketch and create your own vintage vector poster. Use Illustrator’s Blob Brush Tool to draw the retro lettering and create most of the retro graphic elements with the Pen Tool, based on your initial research and drawings.

Creating a Vintage Ski Poster Design with Illustrator CS4

Neal McCullough shows us how to create a vintage vector ski poster. He starts with a rough pencil sketch and then shows us how to first create the background in Illustrator and build the retro artwork style up from back to front. Each section concentrates on a different area of the poster.

Learn how to draw and color our character, including reflection in the sunglasses, and how to shade our main “Ski” type. Discover tips along the way, such as how to add a little Art Deco glamour to your illustrations by making subtle use of the Gradient and Transparency palettes in Illustrator CS4, as well as introducing an aged paper feel with clever use of texture resource files.

How to Make a Retro RC Airplane Poster

In this intermediate retro design Illustrator tutorial learn how to take inspiration from the vintage toys around us. In this case, learn to draw a vintage vector remote control airplane. It takes quite a bit of work with the Pen Tool so make sure you’re familiar with it before beginning. Don’t worry if you’re a beginner though, this tut is not too difficult.

Create a Vintage Art Deco Poster with Illustrator’s Grain Effect

Taking inspiration from A. M. Cassandre and posters from the Art Deco movement learn how to recreate vintage pint techniques with Illustrator tools. In this tutorial you’ll first craft a retro poster design using simple shapes, and then you’ll discover how to create a grainy texture which can be used to shade objects.

You can see a similar approach explained in the tutorial by Ryan Putnam over on Vectips on Grainy Textures in Illustrator. You can see this kind of workflow applied to other retro graphic illustrations, like icons and vintage characters.

Design a Vintage Poster with Vector Pack 16

In this entry level graphic design tutorial, learn how to take quality, stock vector graphics and compose them into a retro poster design. Learn vintage design and compositional tips along the way.

Create a Retro Style Poster with Shapes, Patterns, and Eagles

This is a great tutorial for beginner Adobe Illustrator artists. Learn how to create a retro styled poster using basic shapes, photograph tracing with the Pen tool, and some path work with Pathfinder tools. You’ll also learn the advantages of the Appearance Palette, create a vintage art pattern, and have some fun with applying multiple strokes to objects.

Community Project: Customized Name Tag, Round 2

LoungeKat — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:00:57 +0000

Vectortuts+ loves Illustration and discovering new talent, so today we are proud to be showcasing Round 2 of the Vectortuts+ Customized Name Tag Project. Check it out at the jump.

Customized Name Tag Project, Round 2

We have selected designs from our Facebook Fan Pictures to showcase in Round 2 of the Vectortuts+ Customized Name Tag Project, thank you to everyone who contributed artwork, the images are amazing. We have had so many great designs added to our Facebook Group, and encourage you to check it out here.

The designs are posted in no particular order, but we thought it would be fun to kick things off with a cute water monster. Great work everyone, it’s been fun to see what you’ve come up with. Thankyou to everyone who participated, the different name tags show just how imaginative you all are, great work!

Manuel Alejandro
"Hello, my name is Manuel Alejandro, I’m big fan and of illustration and I love simple and fun drawings! Check it! fb.com/malejovergara"

Rori Johnson Rivas
"Hello my name’s Rori and I am a graphic designer in Cebu City, Philippines. I love illustrating cute and colorful characters. please visit my site: wix.com/roripuff/roripuff"

Mary Olson
"Hello! Here’s a quick vector name tag. See more of my work at doubleplusphoto.wordpress.com. Thanks for all of the great tuts!"

Esteban Ramirez
"What good? This is my sweet name tag design. This was a pretty cool idea to design on this and do something creative. I know I’ll be using this again very soon, the ideas are brewing. check out my site at ramirezdesignz.com"

Paul Hilliard
"Cranked out a quick sketch with a tablet using the pencil tool. I’m here and there: Paul Hilliard – Artist, Sculptor"

Manzur Ghozaali
"Hello, my name is manzur ghozaali. illustrator based in Indonesia. check out my work on ghozai.deviantart.com thank you "

Giselle Rosa
"Hello! I am a young Brazilian illustrator in search of my own style. See more at cargocollective.com/xlrosa "

Andee Andunx
"Hi, my name is Andee, and I’m a big fan of vector. Thanks to VectorTuts for inspiring me with good tutorial and images! Visit my blog – lemparsenyum.wordpress.com (I’m still trying to build this blog to have a good look..) "

BDinara
"Hi, I’m BDinara. Cartoon style lover, see more on bdinara.deviantart.com Thanx"

Stacey Dougal
"Raar! First time getting involved with this kinda thing but here’s my name tag: inspired by my love for all things purple and monsters ! I’m a final year student studying web and multimedia design, you can check out my portfolio at www.staceydougal.co.uk."

Samez Michail
"Hi there! There is my Name Tag, hope you like it. check out more of my works here flickr.com/samezzz"

30+ Fantastic TV Fan Artworks in Vector

Sharon Milne — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:22:26 +0000

Are you a fan of cult TV or cartoon shows? Sci-fi based or crime dramas? For every TV show there is a high chance there is some fantastic fan art to be inspired by or even reminisce over. Today I give you 30+ pieces of fantastic TV fan art created in vector.

I love fan art when it’s been created in a different style than the images of what you see on TV. You tend to get a lot of fan art out there which appears to be tracings of stills, which although they make the fan girl in me smile, I crave more creativity. On my journeys over on deviantART I’ve had the pleasure of featuring vector fan art and digital fan art in general as a Community Volunteer and I’d like to share some of my finds with you.

Don’t forget to click on the image to view the art at a higher resolution and often commentary from the artist themselves.

Fantastic TV Fan Art in Vector

Conclusion

What’s your favorite TV show of all time? My favorite at the moment would have to be the BBC’s modern version of Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. It’s been great to see an increase in fan art based on this show.

Have you created some TV fan art? Please share with us links to your work!

Quick Tip: Create a Modern Volume Bar with Adobe Illustrator

Andrei Marius — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:57 +0000

In the following steps you will learn how to create a simple volume bar. It’s a pretty simple tutorial that will introduce you to the basic tools, effect and techniques used in Adobe Illustrator. You will start with a simple rectangle and circle then using multiple fills, strokes and several simple effects along with some nice blending and masking techniques you will create your own volume bar.

Step 1

Create a 600 by 800px, RGB document. First, enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Next, you’ll need a grid every 5px. Go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid, enter 5 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. You can also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Do not forget to replace the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Unit > General. Al these options will significantly increase your work speed.

Step 2

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 20 by 410px shape. Fill it with the linear gradient shown below and remove the color from the stroke.

Step 3

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and add a first stroke. Set its color at R=88 G=88 B=88, make it 2pt wide and align it to outside. Make sure that this shape is still selected and move to the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance). Simply click on the Add new Stroke button. It’s the little black square from the bottom of the Appearance panel.

Obviously, this will add a new stroke for your shape. Select it from the Appearance panel, set its color at R=190 G=190 B=190, make it 1pt wide and align it to outside. Continue in the Appearance panel, make sure that no fill or stroke is selected and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 10px radius and click OK. In the end, the effect should be placed in the top of the Appearance panel.

Step 4

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 10 by 400px shape and place it as shown in the following image. Fill it with the linear gradient shown below, remove the color from the stroke and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 5px radius and click OK.

Step 5

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and make a copy in front (Command + C > Command + F). Select this copy and fill it with the linear gradient shown below.

Step 6

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and make a copy in front (Command + C > Command + F). Select this copy and focus on the Appearance panel. First, remove the linear gradient from the fill. Next, add a white stroke. Select it from the Appearance panel, make it 2pt wide, align it to inside and change its blending mode to Overlay. Add a second stroke for this shape and make it 1pt wide. Again, select it from the Appearance panel, set its color at R=88 G=88 B=88, align it to inside and change its blending mode to Multiply.

Step 7

Pick the Pen Tool (P), draw a 400px vertical path and place it as shown in the first image. Select it, remove the color from the fill and add a simple 1pt, black stroke. Reselect it, increase the stroke size to 10pt and open the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke). First, check the Dashed Line box and the "Align dashed to corners…" button. Next, enter 1pt in the dash box and 40pt in the gap box. In the end your path should look like in the second image.

Step 8

Reselect the path created in the previous step and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. This will create a group with a compound path and two, simple paths. Move to the Layers panel open this group and delete the two paths. Select the compound path and ungroup it (Command + Shift + G). Fill it with the linear gradient shown below and change its blending mode to Multiply. The yellow zeros from the gradient image stand for opacity percentage.

Step 9

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 20 by 165px shape, fill it with black and place it as shown in the first image. Move to the Layers panel select this black path and drag it above the shape filled with the yellow to orange gradient. Now, select these two shapes and go to the Transparency panel. Open the fly-out menu, click on Make Opacity Mask then uncheck the Clip box. In the end your yellow/orange shape should look like in the second image.

Step 10

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and crate a two, 20px circles. Place them as shown in the following image and fill them with the linear gradient shown below. Focus on the Appearance panel, make sure that these to circles are still selected and add the two strokes shown in the following image.

Step 11

For the following step you will need a grid every 1px. So, go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box. Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and focus on the top circle created in the previous step. Draw a 2 by 8px, fill it with white and place it as shown in the first image. Make sure that this white rectangle is still selected and go to Object > Transform > Rotate.

Enter a 90 degrees angle and click on the Copy button. Now, select these two, white rectangles and click on the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder). Continue with the Rectangle Tool (M) and focus and the second circle created in the previous step. Create an 8 by 2px shape, fill it with white and place it as shown in the third image.

Step 12

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 14px circle. Fill it with the linear gradient shown below and place it as shown in the following image.

Step 13

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -1px Offset and click OK. Fill the resulting shape with white then make a copy in front (Command + C > Command + F). Select this copy and hit the up arrow once. Reselect these two, white circles and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. The resulting shape should look like in the fourth image.

Step 14

Reselect the shape created in the twelfth step and add a 1pt stroke. Align it to inside, set its color at R=130 G=130 B=130 and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown below and click OK.

Step 15

Let’s continue with the background. Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a shape the size of your artboard, fill it with R=188 G=188 B=188 and send it to back (Shift + Command + Left Square Bracket). Make sure that this new shape is still selected, move to the Appearance panel and add a new fill using the Add New Fill button. It’s the little, white square icon from the bottom of the Apperceive panel. Select this new fill, make it black, lower its opacity to 3%, change the blending mode to Multiply and go to Effect > Artistic > Film Grain. Enter the data shown below and click OK.

Step 16

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and add a third fill. Select it from the Appearance panel and use the radial gradient shown below. Remember that the yellow zero from the gradient image stands for opacity percentage.

Step 17

Reselect the two circles created in step #10 along with the shape created in the second step (and edited in the third step) and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown below, click OK and you’re done.

Conclusion

Now your work is done, this is how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tut.

How to Illustrate Crocus Flowers in the Snow

Iaroslav Lazunov — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:00:21 +0000

This work is a common project created together with Iaroslav Lazunov and Alexander Egupov. Do you love flowers? We think that nobody says: “No” in answer to this question. All of us like the tenderness and elegant beauty of a flowers’ leaves and buds. We love Roses and Daffodils, Daisies and Snowdrops, Water Lilies and Lilies of the Valley, and of course, Crocuses, which spring after the snowy and frosty winter. Learn how to create Crocuses in Illustrator.

Step 1

Let’s create a crocus leaf. Take the Pen Tool (P) and illustrate the following path.

Now take the Rectangle Tool (M) and sketch a vertical rectangular path filled with apple green. Rotate it by going to Object > Transform > Rotate.

Step 2

Select both figures and apply a Clipping Mask to them by going to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Command + 7), or by using the fly-out menu. See the diagram below for reference.

Step 3

Select the apple green path in the Layers palette and go to Object > Create Gradient Mesh, then set the values as shown in the diagram below.

Now grab the Direct Selection Tool (A) in order to use it for moving the mesh nodes as shown.

Step 4

Take the Mesh Tool (U) and change the colors of the mesh nodes in order to receive the following result. You need to use plant leaf colors.

You should receive one Crocus leaf as the result.

Illustrate as many leaves as you want.

Step 5

Let’s draw a Crocus bud now the same way as we did the leaves. Illustrate a violet rectangle and the white outer contour of a bud.

Convert the rectangle into a mesh, then change the colors of the mesh nodes in order to reproduce the light distribution.

Step 6

You will receive the following result.

The stem is illustrated the same way. Follow the helpful diagrams below.

Draw as many buds as you desire.

Step 7

Now we need to create covers for the buds. Take the Pen Tool (P) and sketch the following path located from the left of a bud’s stem.

Then draw a curved path.

Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and set there the Spacing to Specified Steps and the number of steps to 3.

Select both paths and go to Object > Blend > Make (Command + Alt / Option + B). You need to achieve the following result.

Step 8

Select this blend and go to the Stroke palette in order to increase the Stroke Weight.

Illustrate the next blend the same way. Pay attention to the location of the next blend between the paths of the first one. The paths of the second blend must be thinner than the paths of the first one.

Step 9

Select the leftmost path of the two blends, copy it and paste in front (Command + C then Command + F). Extract it from the blend in the Layers palette, and then place it on the top. Repeat these manipulations with the rightmost path. After these actions you should receive both: two blends and two paths (shown with red for your convenience below) over them.

Step 10

Grab the Lasso Tool (Q) and select the top anchor points of both paths.

Go to Object > Path > Join (Command + J).

Repeat these manipulations with the bottom anchor points of the paths.

Step 11

Now fill this path with a yellowish color and set the (red) Stroke to None. Send the path backward.

Expand both blends by going to Object > Expand.

Expand the resulting paths again and fill each of them with a vertical gradient as shown.

Step 12

Illustrate a shadow on the cover. First, take the Pen Tool (P) and produce the following gray path with it.

Then select the yellowish path, copy it and paste in front (Command + C then Command + F).

After that select both paths,…

…and go to the Pathfinder palette, and click the Intersect button.

Step 13

After that go to the Transparency palette, and change the Blending Mode and the Opacity of the shadow.

Illustrate the second bud cover.

It would be wonderful to decrease the Opacity of the yellowish path.

Step 14

The shadows on the leaves are made the same way.

Moreover, you may emphasize the leaf form using the paths filled with dark green. See the diagram for reference.

Step 15

Use meshes in order to illustrate the back part of the snow. Give heed to a thawed patch in the center of the snow.

Step 16

The front part of the snow is illustrated the same way. First, superimpose the mesh on your artwork.

Now add roughness to the edge of the thawed patch using the Warp Tool (Shift + R). And change the colors of the mesh nodes if necessary. Follow the feeling of beauty.

Step 17

Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a small gray ellipse with the width about 13 or 14 pixels.

Step 18

Drag and drop it into the Brushes palette, and select the Scatter Brush item in the dialogue box.

Set the approximate values of the brush options to those that are shown in the image below.

Step 19

Grab the Paintbrush Tool (B), and while the Scatter brush is selected in the Brushes palette, sketch a path similar to the one shown.

Crop it with a Clipping path in order to place it over the back part of the snow.

Do the same with the front part of the snow.

Step 20

Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and illustrate a frame.

Crop the artwork with the Clipping path.

Conclusion

The final image is below… We would like to finish this tutorial with the words of the famous American poet of the 19th century Hannah Flagg Gould, who wrote about crocuses:

“…from my heart will young petals diverge,
As rays of the sun from their focus;
I from the darkness of earth will emerge,
A happy and beautiful crocus…”

Maira Kalman: The Illustrated Woman

LoungeKat — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:00:03 +0000

Just because you missed that awesome conference, doesn’t mean that you can’t still watch the lectures! This weekend we’re sharing an interesting talk by Author and Illustrator Maira Kalman at Ted2007. In this talk Maira Kalman talks about her life and work, from her covers for The New Yorker to her books for children and grown-ups. She is as wonderful, as wise and as deliciously off-kilter in person as she is on paper.

Create a Sparkly Female Portrait in Illustrator

Daryl Feril — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:00:36 +0000

In this step-by-step tutorial you will learn how to create a sparkly female portrait through playing with transparency and overlapping vector shapes. In this tutorial you’ll also learn to experiment with colors and just letting go of your creativity. Let’s get started!

May of 2011

Tutorial Assets

We’ll be using this stock image (provided by Tigg-stock) throughout this tutorial. What we want to achieve in this tutorial is a similar result to my vector illustration, missin___like_candy.

Step 1

Start by creating a new A4 Print Document, which is 8.5×11 inches. I use this standard size for prints.

Step 2

Now select File > Place to bring the stock photo into the background and name the layer “IMAGE.” Remember to put a name on every new layer you make to keep it organized and to avoid confusion.

Step 3

Create a new Layer above the image. Label it “BASE,” as this will be your guide in filling up shapes. Using the Pen Tool (P), start tracing the figure of the image to create a silhouette. Then you may add your desired gradient fill. Throughout the tutorial, you may go back to this layer and make changes with the colors to match with the overlapping vector shapes, which we’ll go through later.

Step 4

Now create another layer and name it “BASE2.” Start tracing the hair for the base color using the Pen Tool (P). You may also add your desired gradient to create nice effects after we start overlapping the shapes later. Just experiment with it and choose the colors that pleases your eyes.

Step 5

Create another layer and name it “LEMON,” this will be for our headphones. Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to create an oval shape for the side of the headphones.

Step 6

Now we’ll add detail to the headphones. On the same layer create shapes surrounding the oval to make it more like an orange or lemon. Use flat colors first and later you may want to add some gradients to it.

Step 7

Now we’ll start adding details to the face by creating a new layer called “FACE DETAIL.”

Step 8

Using the Pen Tool, start tracing the eyes and fill it with your desired colors. You can also make the eyelashes longer to give more emphasis to the eyes. Do the same for the nose and the lips. The reason to use your own colors is so you have your own version of this illustration, instead of creating the exact same tutorial image.

Step 9

Now, we are going to add overlapping shapes to our illustration starting with the face. Create a new layer above the “BASE” layer and name it “BASE-detail.” As you can see in the image below, I tried to create random shapes and filled them with different colors. You may select each of the shapes you created and adjust the opacity depending on your desired outcome.

Step 10

Do the same with the neck and the shoulders. You can hide the “BASE” layer to make the stock photo visible. Through this, you’ll be able to follow the light and shadows of the image. Use this as your reference in choosing your colors.

Step 11

Above the “FACE-detail” layer, create another one and name it “LIPS.” Start creating shapes following the contour of the lips, and add white for the highlights. See the image below for reference.

Step 12

Now we will add more details to our lemon headphones. Create a new layer above the “LEMON” layer. Using the Ellipse tool create circles around the headphone and create droplets. Put white highlights afterwards. You can create your own desired details for the headphones as well.

Step 13

Now we’ll add details to the hair. This might take more time to finish if you really wanted to give that hair a lot of details. Above the “BASE2″ layer, I made the “HAIR-detail” layer and started tracing the strands of the hair from out stock image using the Pen Tool (P). You may want to experiment with the colors further. In this, I tried to use pink, but later changed it to match with the skin.

Step 14

Now let’s add the background. Create a new layer below our image using the Rectangle Tool (M), which fills the canvas, and color it with a gradient of your choice.

Step 15

Now we’re almost finish with our portrait. Let’s add more details and highlights using the Pen Tool (P), and draw small shapes scattered on our image to create a glittery effect.

Final

With just a few Illustrator commands such as the Pen Tool and playing with transparencies, you were able to create a dazzling illustration. You only have to play with your imagination and let go of your creativity. Now share your work on your favorite online art community. The final image is below.

Quick Tip: Create An Alien Character Using the Width Tool

Diego Barrionuevo — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:25 +0000

In this tutorial we will be creating a little alien guy very quickly, by taking advantage of the Width Tool. We will also be using the Ellipse tool, Pen Tool and the Pathfinder panel. Let’s begin!

Step 1

It all starts with a pencil sketch. I have it saved as a JPG file. Place the image on the artboard using File > Place.

Once that’s done, double click on Layer 1, rename it as "sketch" and activate "Template", with Dim Images to 50%. This will keep the sketch on the background so we can trace it comfortably.

Create another layer to do the actual vector work on top of "sketch" and name it "artwork". Then press Control + Y or go to View > Outline to switch to this view mode on this new layer.

Step 2

We’ll start to trace this character, beginning with the Ellipse Tool (L). The shape of his head is not a perfect ellipse, so drag the top node using the Direct Selection Tool (A).

Next, the eyes. Trace them using ellipses. No node editing will be needed here, but they are slightly rotated in the sketch.

Double click on the Rotate Tool icon to bring the options window. Select an angle of -10° and click OK.

Then, Option + Shift + Drag the eye to the position of the other one in the sketch and go to Object > Transform > Reflect to create a symmetrical eye.

Be sure to group the eyes together, as well as everything that goes on pairs. It will save you a lot of trouble if you want to align everything.

Step 3

Use the Pen Tool (P) to trace the mouth. If you have the Smart Guides on (Command + U), they’ll help you to keep the shape symmetrical.

Use the Pen Tool (P) again to draw the teeth and an ellipse (L) to draw the tongue. Next, select the mouth shape, and press Command + C and Command + F. This will create a duplicate shape that will be exactly on the same place as the original. With that duplicated shape selected, hold Command and select the teeth as well.

Go to the Pathfinder Panel and select Intersect. This will make the teeth to be restrained inside the mouth shape. Repeat the same process for the tongue (don’t forget to duplicate the mouth shape again!)

Now, go for the cheeks. You could just trace it with the Pen Tool, but in order to create a curve that’s almost perfect, just draw an ellipse (L), then double click on the Rotate Tool on the Toolbar and select -15°.

Then, just delete the node on the left.

Option + Shift + Drag the shape to create the other cheek, and then, go to Object – Transform – Reflect to flip it and get a symmetrical shape.

Step 4

In this step we’ll take care of the limbs of the character. But before we do that, it’s a good time to align everything we have. Select all (Command + A), go to the Align panel and select Horizontal Align Center. Make sure you have everything properly grouped (the eyes, the freckles, the cheeks), if not, Illustrator will send everything to the center.

Now it’s time to abandon Outline view. Press Command + Y to go back to Preview mode.

Now, we’ll start tracing the arms. To do it, just draw a line using the Pen Tool (P) in the center of the arm.

From the Stroke panel, increase the value for the line. This is not an exact science, just keep increasing it until you feel the thickness feels right.
(Make sure you have the Round Cap selected in the Stroke Panel!)

Now, select the Width Tool (Shift + W) to start customizing this line. Clicking and dragging with this tool allows you to change the width of the line in certain section.

Step 5

Now that the arm looks good, we need to create the sleeve. We can do it using the Pen Tool (P), but we can reuse this same line, too! Select the arm, press Command + C and then Command + F to duplicate the shape in position. Change the color of this new shape so you don’t get confused.

Then, using the Scissors Tool (C), cut the line where the sleeve ends.

Delete the rest of the shape.

The shape of the sleeve is more straight than round, so make sure you select Butt Cap from the Stroke Panel. Use the Width Tool (Shift + W) to enlarge one of the extremes.

Now, it looks good enough, but not exactly as it was in the original drawing! So we’ll Expand that line (Object > Expand Appearance) to edit it.

Double click on it to switch to Isolation Mode. Add a node with the Pen Tool (P) and with the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift + C) make it slightly curve.
Now it looks exactly as in the pencil drawing!

Now, simply create straight lines for the fingers, using the Line Segment Tool (\).

By using the Width Tool (Shift + W), modify its thickness until you feel it looks right.

Repeat the same steps for the other arm.

Just one difference: we need to see the inside of this sleeve. Double click on it to work in isolation, select it, and press Command + C and Command + F to duplicate it.

Change the color of the duplicated shape and simply drag the node using the Direct Selection Tool (A).

Exit Isolation Mode and rearrange the shapes using Object > Arrange.

Assign the same color for all the shirt. Don’t worry, the colors will simply be temporary placeholders.

Step 6

By using the Line Segment Tool (\) we create the neck shape. Adjust its thickness as you wish from the Stroke Panel and its width with the Width Tool (Shift + W).

The perspective looks a little odd here, since the Round Cap of the line is way too round. Go to Object > Expand Appearance and drag the bottom node with the Direct Selection Tool (A) a little bit upwards.

Repeat the same process for the "snaily eyes" of the character.

As before, Option + Shift + drag to duplicate, and then Reflect to make it symmetrical.

The same thing goes for the legs, with one exception. Here we can take advantage of another trick of the Width Tool: while dragging to enlarge, you can hold Option to modify only one side of the line (the outer side or the inner side). Legs are slightly asymmetrical, so make sure you take advantage of that cool feature!

We repeat the same steps that we did to create the T-Shirt sleeves here, and of course, we duplicate and reflect to make the other leg.

Here is the character so far. It’s a good moment to look at it and make any adjustments you think it may need – remember that we are using lines to create the limbs, so everything is easily editable!

Step 7

Draw a straight line using the Segment Line Tool (\) for the feet.

Now, here’s another cool trick we can use with the Width Tool. Click and drag in a zone that’s near one of the extremes of the line. You will see that a "ball" starts to form, as if you were squeezing that line!

This is a great way to do lizard-esque feet for this character. I used the same thing to create the toe.

Now duplicate that line and drag one of the nodes using the Direct Selection Tool (A).

As usual, copy and reflect to create the other foot.

Draw a line using the Pen Tool (P) for the tail, and then use the same trick with the Width Tool (Shift + W) that you used for the feet, so we can give him a little sphere at the end of his tail.

And we’re done tracing!

Step 8

Now it’s time for you to find a color pallet that suits you. There are plenty of ways to do that: you can visit some online resources as www.colourlovers.com or kuler.adobe.com, you can help yourself with the Swatches Panel, the Color Guide Panel, etc.

I chose this color palette and aided with the Eyedropper Tool (I), I colored this guy. (Note: ALWAYS use Shift + I while working with the Eyedropper Tool, so you only copy color information and note stroke values. If you don’t, you might lose the lines you carefully created!)

Now, a little detail. The cheek lines were flat, using the Width Tool (Shift+W) make them thicker.

Since I’m not using black anywhere else in this illustration, I changed the color of those lines to the same brown that’s inside the mouth.

Step 9

Now, the final details: shadows and light. Command + C and Command + F the shape of the head to create a duplicate. Then,
Option + Shift + drag the shape of the head a little bit up, to create yet another duplicate, but in a different position. Now, select both of those duplicates, go to the Pathfinder Panel and click Minus Front.

You’ll end up with a shape that’s the shadow on the chin.
Select a slightly darker color for it. One good way to create a nice looking darker tone is to use the HSB sliders. Drag the Saturation a little bit up, and the lightness a little bit down.

Repeat the same procedure for all shapes.

Now, the projection shadows. Option + Shift + drag the shape of the head down. Command + C and Command + F the neck to duplicate it.

Select both duplicates and click Intersect on the Pathfinder Panel.

Assign a darker color for this shape. Remember that projecting shadows are usually darker than other shadows.

By using the same method you can create some nice looking lights, too.

Here, I used the mouth to create the subtle shadow on the tooth and to suggest the shape of a bottom lip. Be creative with the Pathfinder, you can create tons of shadow effects with it!

Step 10

Now it’s time to add the final details (i.e., the T-Shirt design, by using the Star Tool and the Ellipse Tool).

Select All (Command + A) and Group (Command + G). Now, Command + C and Command + F to duplicate the entire character in place.

Go to the Pathfinder Panel and click Unite.

Now, press Shift + X to switch Fill and Stroke. Go to the Stroke Panel and select Align Stroke: Outside. Make the stroke as thick as you feel it looks good.

I gave him a simple radial gradient background with a color that matches the pallet I was using. The stroke of the character was changed to a dark brown so it pops from the blue background. Here it is!

Conclusion

What I liked about this technique is that you can stop thinking of lines as just lines; they can work as shapes, too. The Width Tool is very versatile and it helps to create a character in no time, especially if it’s cartoony, with "rubber hoses". I hope it helps you and it encourages you to experiment with this tool!