Vectortuts+

New from Envato: Microlancer, a Design and Illustration Services Marketplace

Skellie — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:24:56 +0000

Envato (the people behind Vectortuts+) have recently launched a new service, currently in beta, called Microlancer. It’s a place where people can sell their creative services, or get creative work done.

The difference between Microlancer and other freelance job sites is that every Microlancer service is sold at a fixed price. Services are also generally smaller jobs that take less than a day to complete. The end goal is that selling or buying design or illustration services on Microlancer feels a little like selling or buying items in an online store: fast, easy, and affordable.

What does Microlancer mean for you?

If you currently do design or illustration work for clients, Microlancer may be an excellent new source of jobs and income for you. You can choose the services you want to provide (for example, Caricatures, or Lettering & Calligraphy, or Twitter Background Design) and choose the price you want to charge. The service is offered on your terms: you choose how quickly you’ll get it done, and how many revisions will be included in the price. There’s no limit to the number of services you can offer, as long as you have the skills and time to complete each one.

If you’re a designer, artist or illustrator looking for an affordable place to get extra work done, Microlancer is perfect for outsourcing. You know how much each job will cost to get done, what the turnaround time will be, and can freely browse visual examples of previous work to make sure the quality is up to your standards.

The best way to learn more is to explore Microlancer or read about becoming a service provider.

What makes Microlancer special

Despite the stereotypes, freelancers and clients work together well most of the time. On the rare occasion that things do go south, it can be an extremely frustrating experience for both the freelancer and the client. Disagreements quickly degenerate into an unwinnable battle. One of the goals of Microlancer is to make sure this never occurs. Every single transaction is covered by a fair dispute resolution process which ensures that every Microlancer user, whether a buyer or a service provider, will be protected from bad treatment or bad work. Disputes are adjudicated by smart, fair and well-trained staff who will work to resolve things amicably wherever possible.

Because Microlancer collects payment upfront and then holds it until the job is complete, service providers are guaranteed to be paid if they meet the terms they’ve laid out for their work and complete it to a high quality standard. Additionally, because payment is held until jobs are successfully completed, buyers are able to receive a full refund if the service provider doesn’t yield the quality or timeliness of work they promise.

Microlancer aims to make nasty disagreements about payment a thing of the past for both freelancers and clients. Sometimes, parts of freelancing seem broken. We want to fix them.

It’s easy to find what you’re looking for

Looking for the perfect freelancer to do exactly the work you need done can be an extremely time-consuming challenge. We often end up settling for freelancers who aren’t quite the perfect fit, simply because we don’t have time to look any further.

Microlancer uses search, descriptively named categories and visual previews of work to make it extremely simple to find exactly what you’re looking for.

More of what you love

Any creative professional knows that for every hour spent in Illustrator, another hour is spent answering emails, pitching for jobs, updating your portfolio or giving quotes for jobs that never materialize.

One simple mantra we have at Microlancer is: more time spent doing what you love. We use our marketing and advertising techniques to bring buyers to you, so all you need to focus on is doing good quality creative work. Every service listing you create is constantly being viewed and considered by prospective buyers. Every day, thousands of prospective buyers visit the site.

Learn more about how to become a service provider on Microlancer.

What’s next?

Microlancer is currently in beta and, to start with, is focusing exclusively on design, illustration and artistic services. Next, we’ll be opening up HTML & CSS services for both purchase and sale. If you like to code as well as design, or need awesome HTML & CSS to go along with your design work, stay tuned for news on this. The best way to keep up to date with new features, categories and developments is to like Microlancer on Facebook or get updates on Twitter.

If you haven’t already, take 2 minutes to check out Microlancer, the newest service by Envato.

How to Create an Aerial View Illustration of a Car in Adobe Illustrator

Julie Felton — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:16:48 +0000

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create an aerial view of a car using Adobe Illustrator. The nice part about illustrating it from this angle is that you only have to draw half of the car! As reference, I am using a photograph I took of a diecast model MINI.

1. Place the Reference Photo

Create a New document and File > Place the reference photo onto the artboard.

Title the first layer "reference". Double-click the "reference" layer to bring up the Layer Options dialogue box. To lock the layer and keep it safe from stray mouse or pen clicks, tick the box next to Lock. Then, tick Dim Images to 50%, or any other percentage that suits you.

Create another layer above the locked "reference" layer. This will be the illustration layer. Title it "Awesome Illustration" A little self-praise before you begin never hurts!

2. Create a Dividing Line

Create a vertical line down the center of the car photo. Then, go to View > Guides > Make Guides. Be sure to lock the guide View > Guides > Lock Guides.

3. Trace Outer Edge of Car

Using the Pen Tool (P), outline the outer edge of the car’s body. Don’t worry about the headlight, door handles, or other parts that are attached to the body of the car. Also, it is only necessary to outline half of it since we will flip the completed outline later.

4. Outline Window

Using the Pen Tool (P), outline the outer edge of the window.

5. Add Window Details

It’s difficult to see on this reference photo, but since I have the actual car right beside me, I know that there are panels that divide the windows. Using the Pen Tool (P) again, draw lines for the window divider panels. These lines need to overlap the window outline. It is not necessary to draw each panel as a shape.

6. Complete Window Details

Select the two window outlines with the Direct Selection Tool (A). Then, Copy and Paste In Front to create a duplicate set of lines. Select the window and panel outlines. In the Pathfinder panel, select the symbol for Divide. The window panels are now separate objects. Before you deselect anything, give the objects a stroke that matches the others. I like to do this using the Eyedropper Tool (I). With the objects highlighted, simply click on a stroked line and the highlighted objects will take on the same characteristics as the object you sampled.

7. Delete Unnecessary Shapes

The divide tool created shapes for both the windows and the panels. Select the extra shapes with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and delete them. They are the shapes shown in blue below. The windows will be created with the original window outlines. This way, it will be one large shape rather than several small shapes. The panels will rest on top of the window shape and will give a much cleaner look to the illustration. I prefer to layer objects this way rather than trying to perfectly butt them up against each other. Also, it’s much easier to adjust one large shape than several small shapes.

8. Add Gas Cap

This detail is easy! It is nothing more than an oval created with the Ellipse Tool (L). Using the Gradient Tool (G), give it a linear fill that starts with 10% black and ends with 50% black.

9. Create Door Handle

Use the Pen Tool (P) to create the door handle as well as the concave area behind it. Fill the handle with the same linear fill as the gas cap. With the door handle selected, click on the gas cap with the Eyedropper Tool (I) and the handle will fill with the same gradient. If needed, adjust the direction of the gradient so the 50% black is on the left and the 10% black is on the right.

Since red is my favorite color, we’re going to make the car red! That means the shadowed areas, such as the concave area behind the handle, need to be a darker shade of that red. Here, I’ve used C=35, M=100, Y=100, K=50.

10. Add the Bonnet Stripe

What’s a MINI without a bonnet stripe? Boring! Draw the bonnet stripe so the it overlaps the seam where the part of the hood nearest the window opens. You will modify this in a future step.

11. Create the Hood Vent

With the Rounded Rectangle Tool, create a rectangle the width and length of the vents. Fill with black. Go to Effect > Warp > Arc and give it a horizontal bend that matches the edge of the window. I used 8%. Then, go to Object > Expand Appearance. Use the Rotate Tool (R) to align it with the arc of the window.

12. Add a Highlight to the Hood

Create a shape like the one shown below and give it a gradient that starts with C=17, M=100, Y=100, K=7 (which is the base color of the car) and ends with C=35, M=100, Y=100, K=50 (the shadow color). Adjust the angle of the gradient until you are satisfied with its position.

13. Create a Headlight

The headlight is nothing more than two ovals filled with gradients. Create the first oval over the outer rim of the headlight on the reference photo. Fill it with a gradient that goes from 40% black to 10% black. Copy the oval and Paste In Front. Use the Scale Tool (S) to reduce it to the size of the actual headlight. Change the gradient values to 15% black and 0% black. Adjust the direction of the gradients as needed.

14. Add a Bumper

This time, you’re going to draw the entire bumper rather than just half of it. Doing it this way is easier and will save time down the road. With the Rounded Rectangle Tool, create a rectangle the width and length of the bumper. Go to Effect > Warp > Arc and give it a horizontal bend that matches the front bend of the hood. I used 11%. Then, go to Object > Expand Appearance. Fill with a gradient that goes from 10% black to 30% black.

15. Add Seams

Draw the hood, door and hatchback seams. I’ve shown them here in blue.

16. Create a Side Mirror

Trace the mirror and mirror arm. Fill each shape with a gradient that goes from 40% black to 10% black. Adjust the gradient direction as necessary.

17. Add the Fender Trim

Draw the two pieces of fender trim and fill each shape with black.

18. Flip It!

Select All (Control-A). Hold down the Shift key and deselect the gas cap and bumper with the Direct Selection Tool (A). Copy and Paste in Front. Select the Reflect Tool (O), place the cross hairs over the blue guideline, hold down the Alt key and click on the guideline. When the Reflect panel comes up, choose Vertical. You know have a whole automobile.

19. Join the Two Halves

Starting from the front of the hood, work your way down the guideline and join the halves by connecting the end points of each half.

20. Color it Red

Add a little color! Fill the body of the car with a gradient that starts with C=17, M=100, Y=100, K=7 (which is the base color of the car) and ends with C=35, M=100, Y=100, K=50 (the shadow color).

21. Color the Windows

Select the window panel trim pieces and fill them with black. Next, select the outside edge of the window and fill it with a gradient that goes from C=100, M=50, Y=10, K=40 to C=100, M=75, Y=50, K=75.

22. Add Grays

Select the bonnet stripe and roof. Using the Eyedropper Tool (I), click on the gray gradient on the mirror and sample it. Adjust the direction of the gradients until you are satisfied with the look.

23. Trim Out the Windows

Select the outside edge of the window shape, Copy and then Paste in Front. Give it a stroke of 3 points. Go to Object > Expand to create a compound path. Fill with the same gradient as on the roof.

24. Finish the Seams

Select the body seams. Give them a Stroke Weight of 0.75 points. Go to Object > Expand. Fill the expanded lines with the red shadow color, C=35, M=100, Y=100, K=50. Adjust the expanded seam lines and make them flush with the edge of the car. Now, select the seam on the roof. Give it a Stroke Weight of 0.75 and make it black. Then, go to Object > Expand.

25. Add a Roof Graphic!

No MINI is complete without a spiffy roof graphic. How about a target? To do this, create a circle using the Ellipse Tool (L). With the circle selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter 0.25 inches in the Offset box. Click OK. With the new circle selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter 0.25 inches again. Repeat this process two more times until you have five circles.

26. Color the Roof Graphic

Place the target on the roof and size to fit. Fill the first, third and fifth circles with the same red blend as the body of the car. Fill the second and fourth circles with the same blend as the roof. To ensure that the roof blend and target blend match, run the blend to from one end of the roof to the other. You can also select the gray circles and the roof and adjust the blend at the same time.

27. Create a Background

Draw a box and position it under the car. Add the color of your choice. In this example, I used a blend that went from C=100, M=50, Y=10, K=40 to C=100, M=40, Y=0, K=0.

28. Add Depth

To give the illustration a bit more depth, add a Drop Shadow to the car. Select the car and Group (Control-G) it. Go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and enter values to get the effect you desire. I set my drop shadow at 90% Opacity and entered 0.07 inches in the Blur field.

Time to Motor!

Congratulations! You now have your very own vector MINI. If you want to step it up a notch, add a few more accessories, experiment with different colors, or create more gradients and highlights. Have fun!

Congratulations Sharon, You’re Officially Devious!

Ian Yates — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:29:03 +0000

If there’s one thing our beloved Vectortuts+ editor does well (aside from tweaking bézier handles), it’s taking part in the community. This month, the vector community has recognised her talents, awarding her a massive slap on the back in the form of the deviantART Deviousness Award!

The Deviousness Award is an accolade which is traditionally handed out on the 1st of every month to one truly outstanding deviant.

Head on over to deviantART now, check out more of what she does, and say hi!

And here’s a cat gif – because if ever Sharon gets hold of you on Skype, this is what you can expect.

How to Draw and Vector a Kawaii Vampire Chibi in Illustrator

Mary Winkler — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:09:09 +0000

Let’s get cute! In this tutorial you’ll learn how to build a chibi character from scratch using the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), Pen Tool (P), transparent gradients, and more in Adobe Illustrator! The idea of a chibi character is to diminish the overall form, making it cute, big-eyed, and pretty simplistic. Let’s get to it!

1. Form the Head

Step 1

Much like Voltron, we’ll start by forming the head. Draw a circle with the Ellipse Tool (L). You’ll want to hold down Shift to keep it from getting squashed. This circle is a simple line at 1pt Stroke Weight.

Step 2

Use the Paintbrush Tool (B) to draw two curved lines bisecting the circle. These will help you define the angle of the head and placement of facial features. In this case, the head will be at a 3/4 view (or thereabouts).

2. Draw the Face

Step 1

These blue lines drawn with the Paintbrush Tool (B) are for the base sketch of the face. So no worries if you want to doodle it out a bit or make several changes. Draw a large, almond-shaped eye. This one has two parts: a top arc and a bottom arc.

Step 2

Continue with the other eye. This one will be rounder, shorter, and smaller, as it’s on the other side of the face – so viewed at a tighter angle. The point of the horizontal line on the face is for eye placement. While I made adjustments in the picture below, the line itself should help indicate the place where the corners of the eyes rest.

Step 3

This step begins the shape of the jaw. Chibi faces have pretty funky jaw lines. They tend to jut out in such a way that’s more expressive than “correct” in terms of anatomy. Check out the image below for the angle of the jawline. I began the first line at the temple and ended the second line at the point of the chin, which is also where the vertical line drawn ends.

Step 4

Only one line is needed for the other side of the jaw. Since this side of the face is most viewable, a simple curve is necessary to define the edge of the head. The line travels from the chin’s point to the back of the jaw, where the ear begins.

Step 5

This chibi design skips the nose. The rule with anime-style drawings tends to be the smaller the nose, the cuter the character. Since chibi characters are pretty extreme in their design, a complete lack of a nose seems up to par. I switched colors so the mouth shape would be easily viewable. This mouth is open, with a tiny fang showing. It’s basically a disjointed capital D.

Step 6

Add simple curved lines to indicate the eyes’ irises and eyebrows. Your basic face shapes are now complete.

3. Create the Jawline

Step 1

So we’ve already sketched out our jawline, but now we need to create the final version of it. With the Selection Tool (V), select the facial features and cross lines (everything except for the brown head circle) and Group (Control-G) it together. Lock these shapes in the Layers panel.

Step 2

Using the Pen Tool (P) with the same brown color and Stroke Weight as the head circle, trace the blue jawline.

Step 3

Continue tracing the jawline and close the shape. Make sure the curve of the circle leads right into the newly drawn lower portion of the head. I reduced the transparency of the facial features sketch for easier visibility.

Step 4

Select both of the brown line shapes. Using the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), click on the circle and drag it through the three intersecting shapes.

Step 5

This has united the circle and the jaw shape into one adorable little head.

4. Draw the Chibi’s Body

Step 1

Let’s give this little cutie a body. Using the Paintbrush Tool (B) Draw a line with a slight curve from the head (a bit past the chin) down as far as you feel the torso should extend.

Step 2

These two lines, each curved toward one another, indicate the placement of the shoulders and the hips. The end of the line between them now indicates the bottom of the pelvis of the character.

Step 3

I’ve drawn a line far more curved than the others about midway between the shoulder line and the hip line. This indicates the end of the ribcage. The little lines on the hip line indicate the hip sockets and start of the legs.

Step 4

Two shapes have been drawn to indicate the shoulder sockets/beginning of the arms as well as two lines for the little chibi character’s legs. They’re slightly bowed in, have no knees or ankles, and are about the same length as the entire torso. This is done to keep them simple and maintain cuteness.

Step 5

Finally, I’ve added lines to indicate the arms (notice the lack of elbows) and two short lines to indicate the hands. This particular style lends itself to simple, mitten-like hands, versus more complex shapes.

5. Add Clothing to the Torso

Step 1

This little character is wearing a sailor-inspired school uniform, so a good place to start on the shirt is the collar. Using the Pen Tool (P), set the stroke to a dark blue. Outlines like these will remain in the image. Draw two curved shapes for the collar (it’s wide and tapers in by the knot). The knot itself is comprised of two overlapping shapes.

Step 2

Add two tails to your collar. These shapes each have five anchor points and connect behind the knot shape.

Step 3

Using the same brown from the face, draw a shape for the neck from the shoulders up to past the chin.

Step 4

For the shirt itself I chose a much lighter blue than the collar. Using the body sketch as a guide, draw the shirt down to the top of the hip socket lines. Consider where the fabric drapes or folds in your drawing.

Step 5

Complete your shape. Here’s the outlines of the shirt, sans arms.

Step 6

The arm pieces of the shirt are drawn in the same light blue. Seen below, I experimented with puffy sleeves and folds before deciding on a later, final version.

6. Add Clothes to the Legs

Step 1

For the skirt I used the same dark blue as the shirt’s collar. The skirt is pleated, so it comes in at sharp angles along a curve. I drew it with the Pen Tool (P).

Step 2

Finish off the skirt shape and make sure to join your ending anchor points. The skirt kicks up in the back and slopes down in the front.

Step 3

In the event you had wondered, the guidelines previously drawn were Grouped (Control-G) and hidden in the Layers panel for the sake of this tutorial. Using the leg lines from the body lines drawn before, I’ve formed a simple little leg and foot shape. It has no knee or ankle, the foot is stubby and small, and it curves inward. Either draw the other leg, or Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) this one and flip it over a vertical axis.

Step 4

The little mitten hand previously mentioned has been drawn now. This hand is drawn from the side and tilted upward at the wrist. It’s also small and mostly featureless, as most limbs of chibi characters are.

Step 5

In the image below you’ll notice all of the body parts have now been drawn. The guidelines are still hidden for easy viewing. The leg pieces are behind the skirt. The hands and arms are behind the skirt, legs, and collar pieces. The head has been set before all of the body pieces. Finally, the shirt piece is beneath the collar, beneath the skirt, but above the arm of the viewer’s left side.

7. Define the Facial Features

Step 1

For the sake of clarity in this section, I’ve hidden the body pieces and made the face sketch visible again. With the Pen Tool (P) I’ve carefully drawn the top arc of the eye.

Step 2

Doubling back on the arc shape, I’ve added a point that will form eyelash details.

Step 3

Another has been added. This look is similar to retro styled makeup rather than being a drawing containing individual lashes. Clear, graphic indications of details are better in such a design than realistic detailed work.

Step 4

Close the shape and switch from a stroked line to a fill. This brown is much darker than the body outline color. The top of the eye is complete.

Step 5

Here’s a closer view of the eye shape detail. I’ve added a curved shape for the bottom of the eye. No eyelash details will be added and it will not intersect the inside corner (on the left) of the top shape.

Step 6

A thin shape has been added for the eyelid crease as well as a simple swooped shape for the eye brow. How arched or detailed the eyebrow gets is entirely up to you.

Step 7

Repeat the eye drawing process on the other side. As this is a 3/4 viewing angle, simply Copying (Control-C) and Pasting (Control-V) will not work in this case. Follow the light blue sketch lines and you’ll have the correct eye shape.

Step 8

Using a light brown, trace the mouth shape from the sketch. This shape is also just a fill versus stroked line.

8. Create the Chibi’s Hairstyle

Step 1

Before we get too entrenched in facial details, we’ll focus on the basic hair shapes. I’ve hidden everything except for the head shape for this section. Using the same color as the head, I’ve begun to outline the shape of the hair from the crown of the head to the edge of the bangs.

Step 2

The bangs are choppy rather than smooth in this case. Follow along going up and down like a curved wave pattern. Note how the curve of the bangs go left until they reach the center of the face; then they curve to the right. I made some of the facial features visible again so there’s a good reference point for drawing the hair.

Step 3

Continue until you reach the side of the hair. The anchor point where this shape currently ends will be the beginning of the character’s pigtail.

Step 4

See how it indents on the right side? That is where the pigtail will be set. The indent on the top of the head indicated the beginning of the bangs. The hair, overall, has a lot of volume to create a perky look for the character.

Step 5

Using the Pencil Tool (N) I’ve drawn a cute little pigtail on the right side of the design. When using this tool, remember to close your shape by joining the anchor points (Control-J).

Step 6

Draw another fluffy little bit of hair for the pigtail on the other side of the head. This one is slightly obscured be the side of the face.

Step 7

An additional bit of hair, beneath the main hair piece, has been added to obscure the other side of the face.

Step 8

Select all of your newly drawn hair pieces and Group (Control-G) them together.

9. Coloring the Hair

Step 1

Select your hair group and set the fill color to a bright pink. Some adjustments to the hair pieces will have to be made so no gaps appear between them.

Step 2

I’ve moved the pigtail on this side inward, ever so slightly, and added two stroked lines to show hair leading into the elastic band.

Step 3

Additional lines have been added to the indent where the back of the hair meets the front.

Step 4

Finally, the additional forelock was moved upward to close the gap. Add a fill color to the head shape with whatever skin tone you’d like for your character.

10. Coloring the Clothes and Body

Step 1

Add colors of your choosing to the clothing shapes. Simply select each shape and choose a color for the fill. Since this is supposed to be a school uniform, the shirt’s sailor collar and the skirt match.

Step 2

Let’s focus on the legs. I’ve added the same fill color from the face to them and for the sake of this section placed them above the skirt in the Layers panel.

Step 3

When forming the socks, don’t worry about the shape aside from the top curve. Select both shapes with the Selection Tool (V) and using the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), select the shape outside of the intersection between the leg and sock.

Step 4

Deselect the leg and sock, select only the outside shape (it’s separate now) and delete it. your little character should have a sock that conforms perfectly to the shape of its leg. Repeat on the other side.

11. Give Your Chibi Shoes

Step 1

Using the same dark brown from the eye shapes, trace the outline of the foot with the Pen Tool (P). Unlike the sock, the shoe shape will extend beyond the main leg a bit, but not by much. The top is straight across.

Step 2

Draw a small window in the shoe shape and select both of these shapes.

Step 3

In Pathfinder, hit Minus Front to delete the small window shape from the shoe shape.

Step 4

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), draw a small yellow circle for the buckle or button of the shoe.

12. Face Details

Step 1

Add almond-shaped whites of the eyes, dark brown for the inside of the mouth, and a little triangle for the character’s tiny fang.

Step 2

The mouth has two more pieces to it: another little fang and a little pink tongue. Both of these shapes will be placed below the mouth line work and above the dark brown shape the colors the inside of the mouth.

Step 3

I drew large dark, dark brown shapes following the sketch lines for the eyes in order to create the base for the iris. We’ll detail them shortly.

Step 4

For a splash of color, try drawing a smaller shape within the iris base. I chose a bright teal color for her eyes.

Step 5

She’ll need some pupils. Two of them, in fact. You can either freehand them with the Pen Tool (P) or Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) the teal iris bits and resize them so they carry an identical contour.

Step 6

In this case I went for the Copy and Paste route and adjusted the overall shapes to meet my needs once in place. All of the eye bits are set below the eye’s line work and above the base of the face.

Step 7

Flat colors are now all set and completed. I’m not entirely sure I dig this color scheme and really think there’s something major missing in terms of accessories for this little fanged cutie-pie.

13. Add her Cute Chibi Wings

Step 1

The wings are going to hang in mid-air and be near the shoulders. Start with a line that curves up from the shoulder towards the hair or head.

Step 2

Bring that line across in a straight line and start to make your way back to the starting anchor with sever scalloped lines.

Step 3

There’s four scallops total in the finished wing. Repeat these steps on the other side.

Step 4

So I switched up the color scheme a bit. Instead of teal, the eyes are purple. The same purple has been used for the skirt and shirt color while a very dark purple is used for the outlines. A very light purple is used for the outline of the shirt and socks now. For a tiny vampire school girl, this color scheme is far more effective. It’s darker than the other one but still bright. Purples, dark browns, pinks, and reds immediately convey the idea of “Hey! I’m a scary cute vampire!” without resorting to using black.

14. Add Depth to the Hair

Step 1

Let’s get back some more more detail on the hair. This time around we’re focusing on some basic shadows in the hair. Starting with the pigtail on the left side, I’ve drawn a shape that defines the inner curve of the pigtail, shows which side is facing towards the head, and has choppy lines showing the style of hair. The color is the same as the hair outline.

Step 2

Select the hair shadow and the pigtail. Using the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M) select the shadow shape outside of the pigtail boundaries.

Step 3

Deselect the shapes and you’ll find when you select that outside shape again it’s separate from the shadow. Delete it.

Step 4

Reduce the Opacity of the shadow shape as you see fit. Continue with other portions of the hair. The next shadow helps define the chunks of hair pulled into the pigtail.

Step 5

The third shadow shape shows the separation of hair from the crown of the head between the bulk of it and the bangs.

Step 6

Finally, add a shadow to the forelock beneath the bangs.

15. Add Detailing the Eyes

Step 1

Let’s add some more detail to the eyes. Starting with the now purple irises, apply a linear gradient similar to the one in the photo. It goes from the dark brown of the pupil to the base purple color to a purple that’s slightly lighter. Set it at a 21 degree angle so the darkest parts are on the edges of the iris and the lightest are in the center.

Step 2

Repeat for the other eye. The angle of the gradient will be different than the other eye.

Step 3

Draw a shape that overlaps half of the eye. We’re adding some depth to the feature. Although this character is a stylized cartoon, adding shadows allows certain features to pop out from the picture plane. Such big eyes need to stand out from the rest of a very brightly colored design.

Step 4

Apply a gradient to this shape going from the very dark brown of the pupil to the same brown set at 0% opacity. For this eye I set the angle of the linear gradient to 49 degrees. In addition to this step, I’ve also added two small circles with the Ellipse Tool (L) in a light creamy yellow. Repeat for the other eye.

16. Detailing the Face

Step 1

It’s true: we’re not yet done with this pretty little face. I’ve broken down the steps into such stages so it doesn’t become an overwhelming endeavor. Really, many of them can be done quickly, all at once. Although no nose is drawn, I wanted to indicate some depth in that general area. By drawing a large wobbly shape set below the facial features with a radial gradient and the following settings below, you get a shadow shape that shows an indentation of the chibi character’s face. It’s sort of like indicating a little ledge, similar to what a molded plastic doll would have instead of a proper nose.

Step 2

Once again, using the Gradient Tool (G) and the Pen Tool (P) I drew a shape to show the fullness of the bottom lip. No top lip will be drawn, as it’d cause the mouth to be too large of a feature and age the character a bit. The gradient goes from a rosy peach color to the base skin color set to 0% Opacity and a 78 degree angle. this will be set behind the other mouth components.

Step 3

A light cream transparent teardrop shape was added to the bottom lip to show some highlight/shine.

Step 4

Any cutie-pie chibi worth its salt should have rosy cheeks. Similar to the process of creating the little nose ledge shape, a large blob shape can be drawn with the Pencil Tool (N) and a radial gradient applied with the Gradient Tool (G).

Step 5

Repeat the simple little cheek process on the other side and set both of them beneath the eye components.

Step 6

A couple tiny circles were added as highlights on the cheeks. Following that, an arching curve has been added with a gradient going from the same skin shadow color used on the nose area. The gradient is linear and goes from the base skin color set to 0% Opacity to the shadow color. Adjust the angle as you see fit so the shadow is between the skin tone.

Step 7

Repeat the eye crease shadows on the other side as well as the little cheek highlights.

Step 8

Another eye detail that can be added is a shape similar to the one below. It’ll be set underneath the pupil but above the iris components and has six to seven anchor points.

17. Add Shading to the Body

Step 1

I’ve hidden the hair in order to better showcase the strange large shape I quickly drew with the Pencil Tool (N). The gradient is the same as the one applied to the eyelid crease. The goal of this one, however, is to let the shadow color start at the top of the head (where it will be hidden by the hair) to the middle of the eyes. Set this behind the facial features.

Step 2

Repeat the gradient above for the neck.

Step 3

Set it behind the head.

18. Add Detailing to the Clothing

Step 1

The first set to detailing the shirt is to add shadows on the sleeves. Two shapes were made here with a linear gradient going from the light purple used as an outline to the white of the shirt itself (set to 0% Opacity again). The Opacity of the shape overall was reduced in the Transparency panel. One shadow should show the relationship between light and the inside of the sleeve meeting the body as well as the collar casting a shadow onto the sleeve itself. The other shadow shows the outer edge of the sleeve and the indent of the puff shape.

Step 2

A shadow shape was added underneath the collar’s knot tails and collar itself. The shadow is darkest nearest to the collar and lightens up the closer it gets to the skirt.

Step 3

Speaking of the skirt, let’s define those pleats with some simple gradient shapes. Each shape is a rectangle set to fit the folds of the skirt created earlier. The linear gradients are darkest near the bottom edge of the skirt and lighten up to the base color at the top. Set the base color to 0% Opacity in the gradient shapes and reduce Opacity as needed.

Step 4

Four curved rectangles were drawn to show the stripes on the collar. Initially, I wanted to use white to match the shirt itself, but it was too stark against the bright purple.

Step 5

Instead a Grey purple color was chosen so some detail would be seen but it wouldn’t dominate the design. An additional shadow shape, the same gradient color as the skirt’s pleats, has been added to show the shadows being cast from the chibi character’s giant head on to the shirt’s collar.

Step 6

I added two stripes of bright purple to the socks, mimicking athletic wear, and the same gradient color from the neck shadow to the legs.

Step 7

The socks are not yet complete without shadows showing the shape of the leg (rounded, cylindrical). Use the same shadow gradient from the sleeves to complete the socks.

Step 8

And finally, add stripes to the collar knot’s tails as well as two shadow shapes that shows how the tails have form and can fold in on themselves.

19. Add Detailing to the Wings

Step 1

For the shadows on the batwings, three trapezoids and one triangle have been drawn with the Pen Tool (P) and a linear gradient applied.

Step 2

Select the gradient shapes. Using the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M) select and drag across all four of them.

Step 3

With the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), select the bits of the shadow gradients that fall outside of the wing. Deselect and pick up the Selection Tool (V) so you can easily delete those superfluous pieces.

20. Create Highlighting in the Hair

Step 1

The final step on the hair is adding some shiny, shiny highlights. The gradient is the same creamy yellow color from the eye’s highlights and goes to the bright pink base of the hair itself. Create a swooping shape that extends from the left side (of the image) to the right.

Step 2

Add a similar shape to the pigtail on the right side of the image. The gradient goes in the opposite direction as the last one.

Step 3

To finish off the hair highlights, add a sprinkling of little creamy yellow circles with the Ellipse Tool (L).

21. Adding a Pattern to the skirt

Step 1

In order to make this little vampire schoolgirl hit the mark, she needs a patterned skirt. Start with diagonal stripes in hot pink going from the left corner of the skirt to the right.

Step 2

Unite the shapes with the Shape Builder Tool (shift-M).

Step 3

Delete the portion of the stripes that extend beyond the confines of the skirt by selecting both the stripes and the skirt with the Selection Tool (V), selecting the outer bits with the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), deselecting the skirt and inner stripes with the Selection Tool (V), and deleting those outer pieces.

Step 4

Move the stripe shapes below the gradient pleats. You can leave the pattern as a diagonal gradient or add more striped to create a plaid pattern.

22. Add an Outline to the Chibi

Step 1

Group (Control-G) together the entire chibi character. Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) it onto the picture plane.

Step 2

Color the entire thing the very dark brown used for the little shoes.

Step 3

Unite the entire shape in Pathfinder and make sure there aren’t any anchor points that jut out at odd angles. This could be caused by a shape not having been closed previously in the creation of your character.

Step 4

Add a six or eight point Stroke Weight to the shape and set it behind the main chibi character. Align the two elements so you have a clean graphic outline around your little vampire.

23. Add a Quick Background

Step 1

To start, I’ve added a Radial gradient as a shadow beneath the character. It goes from dark brown at 100% to 0% Opacity and is a 36.98% of a circle.

Step 2

Add a large creamy yellow rectangle behind the character with the Rectangle Tool (M) or the Rounded Rectangle Tool if you want to get fancy.

Step 3

Using the Line Segment Tool (\), Draw a series of horizontal lines going across the yellow background. In this image, one is spaced high at the top, another low at the bottom, and several are in the middle. I did this to draw them out quickly. Next, Align them to the middle of the background and hit the option to distribute them evenly in the Align panel.

Step 4

Finally, add a small darker yellow rectangle to the bottom of the background to indicate the “floor” of the piece.

Awesome Job! You’re Now Finished!

Your cute chibi vampire character is now complete. An additional white outline was added to the character to break her away from the background a bit more. Using these techniques you could design an entire school class of supernatural students and crazy cute characters.

Create a Set of Coffee and Tea Icons in Adobe Illustrator – Tuts+ Premium

Andrei Marius — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:55:49 +0000

In this Tuts+ Premium tutorial, you will learn the step by step process of creating a set of coffee and tea icons, in Adobe Illustrator. 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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What’s New With Adobe InDesign CC: QR Code Generator

Martin Perhiniak — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:11:17 +0000

QR (Quick Response) codes are everywhere nowadays and thanks to a new feature in Adobe InDesign CC now it is easier than ever to create you own unique QR code for your documents and products. From this video you can learn all the different types of information you can set for the QR code like URL, plain text, text message, e-mail and business card. You will also see an example how to incorporate a QR code in your design in a way that it really becomes part of the design.

Create a Futuristic Robot Helmet in a Line Art Style in Adobe Illustrator

Aditya Permadi — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:24:35 +0000

In this tutorial I will show you how to create a detailed robot head in Adobe Illustrator. The tools that I will be used in this tutorial include: the Pen Tool (P), Ellipse Tool (L), Rounded Rectangle Tool and Eyedropper Tool (I). I will also using Pathfinder panel and Outline Stroke options in the process. Patience is needed when creating such a detailed illustration. So let’s begin!

1. Prepare the Basic Sketch

Step 1

Create a New Document (Control + N), name it "Robotic Head". Set the artboard size to 600px x 700px and Color Mode CMYK at 72dpi. All we need is a basic sketch in this first step. So we can start by creating a new layer, name it "Basic Sketch".

Step 2

Draw a rough sketch of robot head with Blob Brush Tool (Shift + B). In this case, I will recommend you to do it with a graphic tablet as it will feel more organic to you. But if you don’t have one, you can simply draw on paper and scan the result.

Step 3

After finished, set its Opacity to 33% and Lock this "Basic Sketch" layer. This sketch will not interfere with the next process. Create New Layer which you can name it "Lines" or something up to you.

2. Create the Line Art of Section on Top of the Head

Step 1

From this section I will transform it from rough sketch to clean vector lines. Hit the Pen Tool (P), set the Stroke to a 4pt Weight and begin drawing a closed path that’s following the top head panel section. I’m creating a symmetrical design, so that means I’ll only need to create half of it.

When the half part is completed, duplicate it by select the object then drag to the left by holding Shift + Alt.

This duplicated object has to be reflected by Right-clicking, then select Transform > Reflect. The dialogue box will be appeared. Check Vertical option then click OK.

Set their position so that both objects are sticking each other. Open the Pathfinder panel (Shift + Control + F9) and choose Unite to merge them.

Step 2

I’m going to continue to create the front camera element. Create a closed path just like the image below. If you create a shape which goes beyond another, don’t worry as you can use the Pathfinder panel to clean your edges up.

Here’s a quick explanation :

Copy (Control + C) the top head element and Paste in Front (Control + F).
Select this copied part alongside the front camera part.
Click Intersect on Pathfinder panel to remove the overlapping camera part.

Using this method will help you to create a path that looks neat and not deviate to each other.

Copy and Paste in Front the previous result of camera panel. Resize it by holding Control + Shift + Alt, so it should be a smaller piece inside. Set it’s Stroke Weight to 3pt.

Create the left and right panel to give details of the angled corners on the top head element. Arrange them behind the front camera element. Make them all white fill, so you can see the true position of each part. Draw the camera circle also by using Ellipse Tool (L).

Step 3

I’m sure now you can do the rest of the top head parts. The picture below shows that I’ve done with the horn, cranium, forehead and a head bulge.

All parts are made with closed paths and stacking on each other. Look at the basic sketch as a reference.

Make copy for all of them and drag to the right. Unite them one by one for the parts which are the same.

Give little details on the horn that could be air filter. I made this one by using the Ellipse Tool (L). Group (Control + G) them and make a copy of them for the right horn.

3. Work on the Bottom Section of the Helmet

Step 1

Let’s continue to the lower parts of the helmet. In this section, I will improvise the eye design since I think that the original sketch doesn’t look as good to me. Just hit the Pen Tool (P) again and make the half shape of the robot eye. Reflect and Unite them when done.

When it’s done, select this part and Right-click your mouse, choose Arrange > Send to Back.

Step 2

Go to the bottom level and add the base mouth cover part.

Draw a panel line on it, set the Stroke Weight to 3pt. This panel line is also an improvement, since it doesn’t fit for me in the basic sketch.

To give more details, I’ve added a pair of vertical panel lines. It looks better for now.

4. Create the Air Filter Parts

Step 1

In this step, we’re going to focus only to create the air filter parts, so you can hide all the completed parts from the previous steps for a while. Let’s continue using the Pen Tool (P) to make filter box as referenced from basic sketch.

By adding more paths inside, the air filter is finally got more depth with the angled corners.

Create a fin to complete this part. Hold Alt + Shift to duplicate it straight to the bottom. Do this twice, so we have three fins in order to fill the vacuum space. Arrange each fin part to their right position. Select one fin and tap Control + [ to send it backward once.

Step 2

Put this completed air filter part to the left side of the mouth cover as shown in the image below. Make copy of a completed air filter part and drag it to the right side of the robot head. Group (Control + G) both of these parts.

Step 3

Add a pair of connectors behind each air filters.

Complete this step by adding a little flat detail behind the connectors.

So far this is what you’ll get, but I think it’s not enough. We need to create more panel lines and dimensions on this robot head and see if that really works. This is just the beginning, so let’s continue.

5. Add Detailing Elements

Step 1

I have added thicker lines and shapes around the helmet to add extra depth. I also change the visor color to solid black and create some panel lines to add further dimension.

Try to give some panel lines to the other parts. Use the "Intersect" technique to make each panel looks neat, just in case that you want to create closed path instead of open path for these panel lines. Set the Stroke Weight to 2pt as this is a smaller detailing line and not to be confused with the more chunky outline of the helmet.

I continue adding details and angled panels through out the helmet.

The image below is the end result. You can see that I’ve added more panel lines on the top head. I’ve also modified the camera dimension.

Step 2

Small details are great for adding those finishing touches to a design. You can apply some shapes in whatever parts that you need. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to create bulge parts or maybe just relying on the Pen Tool (P) to make details on the head. Don’t forget to Group each pair of them.

Step 3

The robot head now looks great with the refined detailing. More panel lines that have been added into it will give a strong impression of metal plates.

Just a few things that need to be done on the mouth cover part. I think we can make it better by modifying this part where it still looks deserted.

Zoom to the left side of the mouth cover. Create one new panel that protrudes into the mouth cover shape.

Make a copy for the right one also and Group them.

Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to make a hole of the mouth cover. Duplicate it so we have three holes and place them in the middle of it.

Add more panel lines here to complete the details. You can draw an open path for this panel line, but don’t forget eliminate the Fill Color by tapping (/) on your keyboard.

Manipulate the lower section of panel by stacking black objects. Done for the mouth parts.

5. Add a Reflection on the Visor

Step 1

We can use Rectangle Tool (M) to create a reflection effect to the visor. Simply make two vertical rectangles just like the image below. Change their slope by select both the objects and then use the Free Transform Tool (E). Click on the top middle objects node and hold Shift + Alt, drag the node to the right.

Step 2

Move them to the right side of the eye. We have to erase the half part of this reflection effect. To do so, Copy the visor and Paste in Front (Control + F) of them. Select both the visor and reflection effect and Right-click > Make Clipping Mask. You’ll see that the reflection effect is now limited by the eye field. Cut (Control + X) the effect and Paste in Front of the visor.

The result :

6. Refine the Line Art

Step 1

Almost complete. You’d better check each pair of objects. Make sure that each twin objects on the left and right are in group. Select the whole image and open the Align panel (Shift + F7), change to Align To Selection mode and hit Horizontal Align Center to make all those paired objects exactly in centered position to each other.

Step 2

This is the finishing step of line art. I just want to add more details for a better composition, also correcting some object appearances.

Step 3

When it’s done, we need to transform all the outlines to objects by selecting the whole image and then click menu Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

Step 4

Keep selecting the whole images. Open Pathfinder panel and click the Trim option from it. This is to clean up the mess. I usually do this to eliminate all the overlapped and unused objects behind the parts, so it wouldn’t distract the coloring process in the future.

7. Color Your Design

Step 1

Before we start the coloring process, it would be better that we select all the same black color and Unite them all.

Step 2

This is the color set that will be applied to the helmet. There are four gray colors here for the head plates, and one yellow/green color for the small parts.

Step 3

Begin coloring process. Use this set to give the plates colors. You can do it quickly by select some of parts first then you click Eyedropper Tool (I) or alternatively you could use the Live Paint Bucket (K). Choose one from the color set and the color will be automatically applied to the selected objects.

Step 4

Complete them. The source of the light will be in front of the objects, so the lighter gray color had the most applied in the front side of the head. Any other parts behind must be darker, including the panel folds. Keep the reflection effect in white and give the small details a yellow/green color. This simple color set would make it looks unique and harmonious with the lines. Add also a background with a black fill.

Step 5

Make an extra colored outline behind the head by select the whole parts and then Copy and Paste In Back (Control + B). Unite these copied parts and give it Stroke Weight of 9pt. Convert this stroke to object by using Outline Stroke command and give the yellow/green color to it.

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Your design is finally complete. It’s always good to check some small errors and correcting them before sharing your work. I hope you enjoy the entire process and feeling good with the final result. Keep learning more to work up your skills and keep pushing yourself.

Create a Mosaic, BBC Inspired, Text Art Effect in Adobe Illustrator

Andrei Marius — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:54:36 +0000

Inspiration can come from many sources. The inspiration for this effect is from a recent BBC One animation for their spring season programming. In the following steps you will learn how to create a colorful text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to setup a simple grid and how to create a set of graphic styles using the Appearance panel and some basic effects. Next, using the Ellipse Tool and the Transform effect you will learn how to create the pieces that will help you build the text. For the final touches you will learn how to create a scatter brush and how to use a built-in pattern or a pucker and bloat effect.

1. Create a New Document & Setup a Grid

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Enter 600 in the width box and 360 in the height box then click on the Advanced button. Select RGB, Screen (72ppi) and make sure that the Align New Objects to Pixel Grid box is unchecked before your click OK.

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). You’ll need a grid every 1px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid, enter 1 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. You should also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Do not forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units > General. All these options will significantly increase your work speed.

2. Create a Set of Graphic Styles

Step 1

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 6px circles, fill it with R=39, G=170, B=225 and make sure that it has no color set for the stroke. Select this blue shape and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Make sure that the resulting group of shapes is selected and hit Shift-Control-G twice to Ungroup it.

Step 2

Focus on your blue circles. Select the left one, open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance), select the existing fill and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -1.5px Offset and click OK. Keep focusing on the Appearance panel and add a second fill for this circles using the Add New Fill button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image). Select this new fill, drag it in the bottom of the Appearance panel and set the color at R=21, G=62, B=110. Make sure that your circles stays selected, open the Graphic Style panel (Window > Graphic Style) and simply click on the New Graphic Style button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image).

Step 3

Select the next blue circle, focus on the Appearance panel and add a second fill. Select this new fill, set its color at white and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -2px Offset, click OK and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Make sure that this second circle is still selected, move to the Graphic Style panel and add a new graphic style.

Step 4

Select the next blue circle, focus on the Appearance panel and simply hit Shift-X. This should transfer the color attributes from the fill to the stroke. Move to the Appearance panel, select the blue stroke, align it to inside and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Make sure that this third circle is still selected, move to the Graphic Style panel and add a new graphic style.

Step 5

Select the next blue circle, focus on the Appearance panel and hit Shift-X. Move to the Appearance panel, select the stroke, make it 1.5pt wide, align it to inside and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Make sure that this fourth circle is still selected, move to the Graphic Style panel and add a new graphic style.

Step 6

Select the next blue circle, focus on the Appearance panel and hit Shift-X. Move to the Appearance panel, select the stroke, set the color at white, align it to inside and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Make sure that this fifth circle is still selected, move to the Graphic Style panel and add a new graphic style.

Step 7

Select the final blue circle, focus on the Appearance panel and hit Shift-X. Move to the Appearance panel, select the stroke, make it 1.5pt wide, set the color at white, align it to inside and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Make sure that this sixth circle is still selected, move to the Graphic Style panel and add a new graphic style.

Step 8

Keep focusing on those six circles, replace R=39, G=170, B=225 with R=250, G=109, B=143 and R=21, G=62, B=110 with R=147, G=66, B=67. Select these shapes one by one and save the graphic styles as shown in the following image.

Step 9

Keep focusing on those six circles, replace R=250, G=109, B=143 with R=255, G=205, B=5 and R=147, G=66, B=67 with R=241G =90, B=41. Select these shapes one by one and save the graphic styles as shown in the following image.

Step 10

Keep focusing on those six circles, replace R=255, G=205, B=5 with R=85, G=185, B=72 and R=0 G =105, B=55. Select these shapes one by one and save the graphic styles as shown in the following image. Select all six circles and simply delete them.

3. Create the Text Pieces and the Text

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 6px circle and fill it with R=0, G=149, B=66. Move to the Layers panel, double click on this green shape and name it "1circle". Make sure that the Ellipse Tool (L) is still active, create a new 6px circles, fill it with R=247, G=148, B=30 and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Select the resulting group of shapes and turn into a Compound Path (Control-8 or Object > Compound Path > Make). Move to the Layers panel, double click on this orange compound path and name it "2circles".

Step 2

Make sure that the Ellipse Tool (L) is still active, create a new 6px circles, fill it with R=222, G=26, B=54 and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Select the resulting group of shapes and turn into a Compound Path (Control-8 or Object > Compound Path > Make). Move to the Layers panel, double click on this red compound path and name it "3circles".

Step 3

Make sure that the Ellipse Tool (L) is still active, create a new 6px circles, fill it with R=39, G=170, B=225 and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the left window (in the following image), click OK and go again to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the right window (in the following image), click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Select the resulting group of shapes and turn into a Compound Path (Control-8 or Object > Compound Path > Make). Move to the Layers panel, double click on this red compound path and name it "4circles".

Step 4

Make sure that the Ellipse Tool (L) is still active, create a new 6px circles, fill it with R=255, G=221, B=0 and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the left window (in the following image), click OK and go again to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the right window (in the following image), click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Select the resulting group of shapes and turn into a Compound Path (Control-8 or Object > Compound Path > Make). Move to the Layers panel, double click on this red compound path and name it "6circles".

Step 5

Use "1circle", "2circles", "3circles", "4circles", "6circles" and your imagination to build the letters.

4. Expand the Text, Use the Graphic Styles and Add Drop Shadow Effects

Step 1

Select all the shapes that make up your text, open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Divide button. Move to the Layers panel, select the resulting group and hit Shift-Control-G to Ungroup it.

Step 2

Focus on the circles that make up the letters from the top word and use the green and blue graphic styles as shown in the following image.

Step 3

Focus on the circles that make up the letters from the bottom word and use the pink and orange graphic styles as shown in the following image.

Step 4

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a new 6px circles and fill it with blue. Multiply this shape (hold Alt, click on it and simply drag) and spread the copies as shown in the first image. Select these tiny circles one by one and add the blue and green graphic styles.

Step 5

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a new 6px circles and fill it with pink. Multiply this shape and spread the copies as shown in the first image. Select these tiny circles one by one and add the pink and orange graphic styles.

Step 6

Select all the circles with the green and blue graphic styles and Group them (Control-G). Select this new group and add the five Drop Shadow effects (Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow) shown in the following image.

Step 7

Select all the circles with the pink and orange graphic styles and Group them (Control-G). Select this new group and add the five Drop Shadow effects (Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow) shown in the following image.

5. Add a Patterned Background

Step 1

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a shape the size of your artboard (600 by 350px), fill it with R=240, G=240, B=240 and send it to back (Shift-Control-[ ). Make sure that this new rectangle stays selected, focus on the Appearance panel and add a second fill. Select this new fill, lower its Opacity to 30% and add the radial gradient shown in the following image.

The yellow zero from the gradient image stands for Opacity percentage.

Step 2

Make sure that the rectangle made in the previous step is still selected, focus on the Appearance panel and add a third fill. You will need a built-in pattern for this new fill. Go to the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches), open the fly-out menu and go to Open Swatch Library > Patterns > Basic Graphics > Basic Graphics_Textures. A new window with a set of built-in patterns should open. Get back to the Appearance panel, make sure that the third fill is still selected, add the "USGS 7 Vineyard" pattern, lower its Opacity to 90% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Move to the Layers panel and lock this rectangle to make sure that you won’t accidentally select/move it.

6. Create and Use a Scatter Brush

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 1px circle and fill it with white. Select this new shape, open the Brushes panel and hit the New Brush button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image). Check the Scatter Brush box, enter all the properties shown in the following image and click OK. In the end your new scatter brush should show up in the Brushes panel.

Step 2

Pick the Selection Tool (V) and focus on the top bar. Remove the color from the fill, set the stroke color at black and the stroke size at 2pt. Focus on the Toolbar, double-click on the Paintbrush Tool, enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid), make sure that the Paintbrush Tool (B) is still active and draw some simple paths around your letters as shown in the following image.

Step 3

Select all the paths made in the previous step, Group them (Control-G) and replace the black stroke with your white scatter brush. Move to the Layers panel, make sure that this new group is selected, change its Blending Mode to Soft Light and drag it right above the background shape.

7. Add Tiny Circles Highlights

Step 1

Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 4px circle and place it right next to the circles that make up the letters from your text. Fill this new shape with no color, but add a 1pt stroke, align it to inside and set the color white. Multiply this tiny circle (Control-C > Control-F) and spread the copies around your text as shown in the following images.

Step 2

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 2px circle and place it relatively close to the 4px circle added in the previous step. Set its fill color at none, but add a 0.5pt, white stroke. Multiply this tiny circle (Control-C > Control-F) and spread the copies around your text as shown in the following images.

8. Add Tiny Star Highlights

Step 1

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 2px circle, fill it with white and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat. Drag the slider at -50% and click OK.

Step 2

Multiply that tiny star shape (Control-C > Control-F) and spread the copies around your text as shown in the following images.

Step 3

Select one of those star shapes and go to Select > Same > Appearance to select all the shapes with similar Appearance attributes. Group all these star shapes (Control-G), select the group and change its Blending Mode to Soft Light. Move to the Layers panel and simply lock this new group.

Step 4

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 5px circle, fill it with white and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat. Drag the slider at -50% and click OK. Multiply this new star shape (Control-C > Control-F) and spread the copies around your text as shown in the following images.

Step 5

Select all those 5px star shapes (Select > Same > Appearance), Group them (Control-G), select the group and change its Blending Mode to Soft Light.

9. Resize the Entire Text Effect

First of all go to Edit > Preferences > General (Control-K) and make sure that Scale Strokes & Effects box is checked. Next, focus on the Layers panel and unlock the group with the 2px star shapes. Pick the Selection Tool (V), select all the shapes that make up the text and open the Transform panel (Window > Transform). Make sure that the Constrain Width and Height Proportions button is checked then simply enter a higher/lower number in the width/height box to resize your entire text effect.

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Here is how it should look. Given that we used only nine colors for the entire text you can easily recolor your entire illustration. Feel free to use your favorite set of colors. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects.

Workshop: Vector Critique #35

Sharon Milne — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 17:05:49 +0000

Vectortuts+ is all about helping people turbo charge their skills, and today we have another special community post that will help our readers take their images to the next level. The best thing is, you can be part of it too! Find out more at the jump.

How to Participate:

This workshop contributor has offered a piece of work that they would like help with, please keep this in mind when you share your thoughts. The images are not perfect, but they can be with the right advice and some friendly encouragement. (Vectortuts+ reserves the right to delete any rude comments)
If you’re better with pictures (let’s face it, most of us are) feel free to take a screenshot of the image using Little Snapper, Skitch or a similar program and paste a link to the annotated image in the comments section with an explanation of the tweaks.

If you want to take part in the next Vectortuts+ Workshop:

Add your work to our facebook photo gallery or submit it via the Tuts+ Workshop form, with a description about the piece and the help/advice you’re looking for. We will chose one to be published on our site as part of the next Vectortuts+ Workshop, if you’re not chosen straight away – don’t worry – your work will be chosen for a future session.

Designer: Sabrina Serrano

Details:

" I’ve barely been on Illustrator for 3 years, because I was busy with my full time job, so I tried to make something fun just to get drawing again! But I feel out of practice and was hoping a good critique will help me sharpen up my vectors. I wasn’t sure about the colors and contrast especially. "

Feedback

What are your thoughts on the work above? Critiquing work helps the artist see new possibilities, and it also helps you learn to evaluate art, which will help you take that same analysis and apply it to your own work. Participate in the comments below with your opinions on how to improve the work above.

What’s New With Adobe InDesign CC: The New Font Selector

Martin Perhiniak — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:11:52 +0000

Every Adobe InDesign user will be delighted to learn about the new features of the font selector in Adobe InDesign CC. From this video you can learn how to set up favorite fonts and how to search and filter your fonts directly inside InDesign.