Vecteezy Blog Posts

Announcing the New Vecteezy Redesign

Thu, 13 May 2010 01:04:00 -0500

Today we're excited to announce the redesign of the new Vecteezy! The old site was well overdue for a redesign and that black and yellow was looking quite nasty. The new Vecteezy features a cleaner, easier to use interface with enhanced search and browsing functionality which makes for a much more pleasant experience.

One of the cool things we've added to the sites that we're pretty excited about is the Eezy ID feature.. If you choose to create an account, this is what we're calling your Eezy ID. It will work on both Vecteezy and Brusheezy. That means you can use the same username and password for both sites which makes for a much better experience. If you choose to sign up and create an Eezy ID you can also take advantage of:

• Faster Downloads
• Saving Favorites
• Community Features
• Personal Profile

and that's just the start! We've got a whole slew of new features in the development cue that we hope to roll out in the next few months so stay tuned!

We know the sites are far from perfect and they're always a work in progress. By all means please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you like or dislike about the new sites. This community was built for users like you, so please speak up and make your voice heard!

The History of Adobe Illustrator

Sun, 24 May 2015 00:00:00 -0500

*UPDATED May 2017* It has been almost 7 years since we originally posted this, and according to Google, we are still the most relevant article on the history of adobe Illustrator. (I'm serious...check it out by typing in "history of adobe illustrator" and you'll see). Since it's been a while, Adobe decided to move their updates to the cloud (like everyone else was doing). They changed it to a subscription model where you have to pay every month/year. We've updated this post with the last 7 years worth of AI details. Enjoy!

A long time ago, in a studio far, far away... Adobe Illustrator 1 was born. Twenty-one new versions and a quick THIRTY years later, Adobe Illustrator is the most popular vector graphic editor on the market. To all those out there who spend more time working in Illustrator than any other software program, then sit back and relax. Go grab a cup of coffee and put your feet up as we take a stroll down memory lane to reminisce the evolution of Adobe Illustrator.

The Birth of Venus

Adobe Illustrator began back in 1986, as a graphic design, font, and logo development application. The original platform and purpose for Adobe Illustrator was to integrate the use of mathematical equations for smooth and curved lines and shapes by a system known as Bezier curves. To emphasize this notion of being able to produce and edit and save curved and flowing lines, Adobe chose Botticelli's Venus from "The Birth of Venus" to become their marketing image. Over the years and versions, she changed to highlight the new features and improvements Adobe had made, and we were able to gaze on her beauty until the creation of the Creative Suite in 2003.

With the praise of Adobe Illustrator 1, and the ever-growing interest in computers and computer generated images, came a slew of upgrades as well as support for other platforms, beginning in 1988 with Illustrator 88 (not 2... 88, because of the year). The first version designed for Windows was Illustrator 2.0, which was released a year later and did not fare too well, but Windows would not be outdone by its arch-nemesis. Illustrator came out with a couple alright versions for NeXT, Sun Solaris, and a couple of other platforms, but time would show that versions for Macintosh and Windows would begin to dominate the market. Versions 3.0 and 4.0 came out in succeeding years, with improvements made upon each, and the ever wonderful development of possible editing in a preview mode, popped its head up first in the 4.0 version for Windows but did not appear on the Macintosh until 5.0.

The Playing Field is Equaled

The Adobe team made some major changes to Illustrator's user interface with the release of Illustrator 6 in 1996. This is when Illustrator started supporting TrueType fonts, making the "font wars" between PostScript Type 1 and TrueType pretty much obsolete. This is also when Illustrator also began supporting plug-ins, quickly extending its abilities to make it that much more awesome.

It wasn't until the mid 90s with version 7.0 when users started to finally see some standardization between the Macintosh and Windows versions, and really kind of ended the competition to beat each other out. Because of this designers were really finally given the opportunity to firmly choose Illustrator as the creative application of choice, instead of going back and forth between Illustrator and CorelDRAW and FreeHand. This of course was also the age of the 'world wide web', which even further pushed Illustrator into the spotlight, because developers quickly sought out a way to support publishing for web purposes and internet plug-ins, which really was one of the biggest avenues for change and improvement in Illustrator's life so far.

Some crazy things started happening as time and versions went by, some things that we now take for granted and kind of use them like they have always been there - things that have now become ol' reliables. For example, the paint bucket tool - how many times have you used that? It's only been around since 1996 with version 6.0. Or, the smart guides? Can't imagine working without them, but they weren't around until 1998 - version 8.0. This was a great time for changes and improvements in tools for Adobe. Year after year they came out with more awesome tools that were for sure groundbreaking then, and have become as common and used as a pencil and eraser now.

Ahem... Introducing the Creative Suite!!

By the time Y2K was over (remember that? weird...), Adobe Illustrator had firmly placed itself as the choice vector graphics editor. By 2003, Adobe decided to bundle all it's successful products together into one super package called the Adobe Creative Suite. With this, for the first time user were able to create simple 3D effects and objects, a huge milestone in the designer world, and more milestones just kept coming - Live Paint and Live Trace were created a few years after that. With the integration of so many Adobe programs into this 'Suite', we finally said goodbye to Venus.. she lived long and served well, but with the redesigning of the product and its brand, came a new theme revolving around nature. We began to see stylized Vector Flowers and leaves on the product boxes and opening windows.

With the release of CS3 the team at Adobe decided to rework the branding yet again to simplify the packaging and unify the entire suite. Each program within the creative suit was associated with a color and our beloved Illustrator was given the color orange.

CS4 was released in October 2008. This version improved many of the old tools as well as introducing new ones such as the ability to create multiple artboards. This tool allows you to create different versions of one piece of art in the same document. In 2010, CS5 was released. The most notable features and updates included the “Perspective Grid tool,” a bristle brush, and an overhaul to strokes. Version CS6, the 16th generation, was released in 2012. Adobe fixed several bugs in CS6 such as, a new user interface, layer panels, and RGB codes.

Creative Cloud

Adobe released their Creative Cloud in 2013 - and is now known as a “software rental.” Creative Cloud replaced the Creative Suite. Now, with Creative Cloud, you’ll pay monthly/annually for the most up-to-date digital software.

Having a Creative Cloud membership for Illustrator (or any other Adobe product, really) gives you the latest version of your selected application as well as your own portfolio page and access to premium fonts. With a membership to Illustrator on the Creative Cloud, you’ll have 20GB of cloud storage for keeping your work if you don’t have space to save it on your own hard drive.

Today

Twenty-one generations and thirty years later, Adobe released CC 2017 at the end of 2016. But, whatever version you use and which ever you have decided is your favorite, be it Illustrator 6 or CC 2017, it surely has been an interesting and exciting ride for one of the most beloved of the graphic designer's tools.

If you're interested in purchasing a Creative Cloud membership for Illustrator, click here to see all of the plans available.

What do you think?

What version did you start learning on? Were there any particular versions or changes made that you didn't like? Feel free to add your two cents to the comments section below.

Resources: guidebookgallery.org Wikipedia Rufus Deuchler | Travelogue

How to Turn Your Boring Type Into a More Interesting Art Piece: Part One

Fri, 28 May 2010 21:47:47 -0500

In this tutorial I will walk you through a process which is great for turning some static type into a more interesting art piece. For this tutorial, you will need: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Phtotoshop, an ink jet printer, printer paper, a scanner, and a cup of water. A hair dryer will also help speed things up. I initially created this typographic piece to help promote my new TheVectorLab fan page on Facebook. So please feel free to check that out if you get a chance.

Here is the final product I'll be showing you how to create:

Note: The second part of this tutorial will be posted over on the Brusheezy Photoshop Blog since Part Two deals with only photoshop techniques. Make sure you subscribe by email or RSS so you don't miss it!

Part One

System fonts are lame! If you can find some interesting reference on which to base your typography, then your final result will more likely be interesting. Just make sure not to knock off your inspiration too closely. Here, I found a photo of some beautiful typography on Ale Paul’s Flickr page. I really like the shape of the upper-case N and also the top portion of the L.

Sketch out and re-work your typography using tracing paper until you get something that you like. Scan this in and trace your letters with the vector pen tool in Illustrator.

Here is the font traced in outline.

Here is the basic completed script.

Change the color to white. Copy & paste the type in back of the lettering and give it a black stroke.

Make another copy of the black stroke lettering and move it to create the 3-D shadow behind your lettering.

Now ‘bridge’ the black outlined letters together. You can draw a rectangle at the appropriate angle and copy and paste that around to fill in all the areas you need to bridge. Toggle on smart guides in Illustrator to help you line things up. For this example, it doesn’t need to be exact because we are going to be thrashing up the type in a little while.

Expand all your black paths from strokes into outlines. Select only the black parts of the lettering. Use your pathfinder to merge all the black paths into one object. I pretty much exclusively use the ‘merge’ tool (highlighted in green) in the pathfinder menu to merge paths.

Go in with your direct selection tool and selectively delete out the ‘holes’ that you do not want. I nudged the white part of the type up and over a few clicks so the outline around the type has more thick and thin areas instead of a consistent outline. This is the final vector type I have before getting to the fun part...

Part Two is posted over on the RSS so you don't miss the next awesome post!

Creating Easy 3D Text in Illustrator

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:47:14 -0500

In this tutorial I will walk you through some easy steps for creating 3D text in Adobe Illustrator. These steps are pretty simple, but once you learn them, the possibilities for 3D text are pretty much limitless. Ok, let's get started!

Creating the Document and Setting Up the Text

To begin, you will need to create a new document. Go to File > New... and pick your dimensions and resolution. For the purpose of this tutorial I used the the Web default settings.

Next, you will want to create the text you would like to apply the 3d effect to. Using the Type tool located on the toolbar, create a text box, and type your desired text.

While using the type tool you will be able to choose your font family, weight and size. I recommend picking a heavy or bold font.

Then, using the Appearance pick your color (Figure 4), preferably a color that is mid-value, meaning neither dark nor light.

Converting Text to Editable Shape

An important step often used with fonts, is creating outlines of the font. This turns a the selected text into an editable shape, handy for doing tricky text manipulations or sharing the document with another person who may not have the same font you chose on their computer. Right-click and select Create Outlines or on the top toolbar go to Type > Create Outlines.

Using Illustrator's Extrude & Bevel

Beginning with CS4, Illustrator has had the the effect Extrude & Bevel that applies a 3D effect to any vector shape. Once the text has been created into outlines, you can apply the effect onto text. Simply go to Effects > 3D > Extrude & Bevel to apply the effect. I would also click on More Options which allows you to adjust the lighting of the shape.

A new window will open up allowing you to customize the effect. I would recommend checking the box Preview that allows you to see your changes as you adjust the values of the different options. For this tutorial, I left them primarilly on default settings. Although I did alter the rotation a bit as wel as the extrude depth.

Rotation: The rotation allows you adjust the angle of the shape based on the x, y and z axis. You can either change the numerical value in the boxes or use your cursor to rotate the cube to get the angle you want.

Perspective: Perspective distorts the shape to create distortion usually visible when you are at looking at an object at extreme angles. For example, if looking at the top of a tall building you've probably noticed that the sides of the building do not seem like they are going straight up but rather at a slight diagnol towards the center of the building. By adjusting this value, it will add a certain degree of perspective.

Extrude Depth: This value is the amount of debth or thickness of the shape that you would like to have.

Cap: This option allows you to change from a flat surface for the front of the shape or more of an outline.

Bevel: Beveling is the rounding of edges. Changing to different beveling options will provide different edging and countours to your shape. If you pick a bevel you will be able to adjust the height of it below the beveling options.

Surface: Surface adjusts the texture of 3D shape you will be producing. Plastic Shading gives it a smooth surface and the others have different effects. Try using Wireframe to see outlines of 3D shapes, or No Shading to see what it would look without any lighting.

Lighting Adjustments: After you select a type of surface, and as long as it isn't wireframe or no shading you will be able to adjust the lighting of your object. You can adjust the intensity or brightness of the light as well as the extent of area that the lighting will hit. You can even add additional lights. Adjust the position of the light by clicking on the white dot on the sphere to the position you would like the light to hit.

And You're Done!

Once you press OK you will have created your own 3D text which you can manipulate further in Illustrator or then take it into Photoshop. Play around with all the settings of the Extrude & Bevel tool to get a good idea of all the capabilites of the effect.

Free T-Shirt Giveaway!

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 01:09:18 -0500

**Update! Update! Read all about it! T-shirt Contest Winners have been selected!**

Winners have been selected, so watch out for your prize! Thanks everyone for participating in this giveaway, thanks to BlueCotton, and we hope all the winners enjoy their shirts and wear them proudly!

And the winners are... drumroll, please...

From the comments section of the blog:
anabelunga from USA
cuddle_bunny from Australia
Howard from USA
southpawgrafix from Barbados
gidea from Romania

From Twitter:
@con_TODA from Colombia
@Tennsoccerdr from USA
@ 2boysblue from USA
@ silvercutie from USA
@ filmeo from USA

And from the RSS feed:
sammographer from Russia
n8i from USA, and last but not least...
BrentOlivier from USA

Congrats to all the winners! Be on the lookout for your prize! To everyone else, definitely stay tuned, because Vecteezy has more great giveaways and freebies right around the corner.

Happy Monday everyone! Today we're announcing our first ever ("official") T-Shirt giveaway! In the past we've given away a few free T-Shirts on our Facebook Fanpage, but nothing this big. With the help of our friends from BlueCotton we're giving away these Vecteezy T-Shirts to 15 lucky winners.

The Prize:

The T-shirts are 2001 American Apparel Fine Jersey T-Shirt (4.3oz) and you can choose which color you want (Orange or Black) as well as which size you want.

Three Ways to Win:

1. Leave a comment below telling us what size and color you want (Orange or Black)

2. Tweet this contest by clicking the retweet button above in the header or copying and pasting this line into twitter. RT @vecteezy Free T-Shirt Giveaway! http://bit.ly/cbH3IW

3. Subscribe to our RSS Feed via email.

The Details:

5 winners will be randomly selected from the comments below. Also, 5 winners will be randomly selected from twitter and 5 winners will be randomly selected from our RSS Feed. The winners will be announced here on our blog on Thursday July 1st, 2010 and will be contacted directly by our community manager Erin. If you have anymore questions please leave a comment below and we'll get back to you asap. Good luck everyone!

Bonus Update:

We're also running this same contest over on Brusheezy too! Feel free to enter over there too and increase your chances even more. Remember: if you already have an Eezy ID you don't need to create another account. You can login with your Vecteezy username and password. Good luck!

Vector Brush Tricks

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:58:27 -0500

In this tutorial, I will show you a few vector brush tricks that will allow you to create some quick, easy, and super-cool effects in Adobe Illustrator. I use this technique all the time to create custom ornamental borders, frames, and background patterns.

Here is the final product I'll be showing you how to create:

Start with some ornamental horizontal pieces, like the ones shown below. You can draw your own, or you can use pre-made border elements, like the ones available in Borders 001, 002, and 003 vector sets. The main thing is to make sure that your border element repeats seamlessly left to right. One easy way to accomplish this is to make a copy of your element, flip it horizontally and then butt the two pieces back together.

Open your brushes palette and then drag your border element right into the palette window. A New Brush window pops up. Select the New Pattern Brush option.

Next, select the Approximate Path option and click OK. Now you have a brush that will show up in the brush palette window.

When I am creating a new brush, I like to test it out to check and see if it looks and behaves the way I want it to. Here, I made 4 circles then clicked on my new brush in the brush palette window to apply it. The cool thing about brushes is that you can change the stroke weight to alter the thickness of your brush.

Just a side note here... If you get to a point where you are happy with your creation, you may expand the brush into vector points by going to Object >> Expand Appearance. This way you can go in and edit and color the vector points if you so desire.

I went ahead and created a brush with the more ornamental border element shown previously. Here I applied the brush to a curve to show you how the brush can follow the lines of any curve you draw. If your brush is complex, make sure your curves are smooth. Otherwise you may have problems with the lines getting kinked.

Here I made a path with the Rounded Rectangle Tool. I then went to Object >> Path >> Offset path in order to make the outer path, which follows the radius of the inner path.

Here, I applied the first brush to the outer path. And then I applied the more ornamental brush to the inner path. The result is a cool ornamental frame which you see below. Experiment with various settings (such as Flip Across in your brushes palette) and also stroke widths until you achieve a result that you like.

How To Make Vector Halftone Gradients

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:20:17 -0500

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create your own custom vector halftone gradients. These are great for use in backgrounds and pattern fills. They can even be made into vector brushes and will conform to the shape of curves that you draw. This is the same method used to create the Gradients 001 Vector Set on TheVectorLab.

Start by creating two simple vector shapes; one larger and one smaller. These shapes can be anything: circles, triangles, rectangles, etc. The two shapes can even be different geometry; one could be a star and the other could be a circle. For this example I made a larger and a smaller square.

Click on each square with the blend tool to create the ‘in-between’ shapes. If you then double click on the blend tool in the toolbar, it will give you the option to specify the number of ‘in-between’ shapes.

Copy and paste your newly created shape. Move it over to be horizontally adjacent to the original.

Select and ‘expand’ your shapes. Click on both groups of squares using the blend tool once again.

Here is what your gradient pattern looks like. You can stop here, or you can go further and make it into a pattern that seamlessly repeats.

Select the halftone pattern and ‘expand’ it once again. Above, note the center points of the squares on the left and right sides. You will want to crop down the halftone shape to these center points in order to have it repeat horizontally.

Draw a rectangle (yellow object shown below) that lines up exactly with the center points of the squares on the left and right side of the halftone pattern. Select your rectangle and the halftone pattern. Go to ‘Object >> Clipping Path >> Make’ to mask the shape so it will repeat horizontally.

With the object still selected, hit the ‘merge’ button (highlighted magenta) in your pathfinder window. This will crop down the actual vector lines to the size of what is visible in the masked shape.

Now that it truly is in horizontal repeat, you can even drag the halftone shape into the brushes palette to make it into a vector brush. (as described in the previous blog post, “Vector Brush Tricks”)

Now that your halftone pattern is also a brush, you can apply the shape to any path. So here, I have drawn a simple curve shape.

With the curve selected, click on the brush you just created in the brush palette. This will apply the halftone pattern to the shape of your curve. You can then adjust the stroke weight and the shape of the curve until you achieve a result that you like.

Experiment and have fun!

Introducing Eezy Premium

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:27:23 -0500

When I first launched Brusheezy back in 2006 it was just a simple gallery of photoshop brushes. Nothing more, nothing less. A few months later I teamed up with Kennon and redesigned the site and launched Vecteezy as we expanded into vector graphics. As the sites slowly continued to evolve and grow, we realized we needed to do a complete overhaul and launched the redesign you're looking at right now. We added user accounts, cleaned up the interface and made it much easier to share and promote your freebies. It's always been a work in progress as we've continued to refine the system making it as simple as possible.

Today we're excited to announce our newest launch. We're calling it Eezy Premium and I'm very excited about it. Many of you have asked about the direction we are heading so I just wanted to outline a few details.

First off, the Eezy sites will always be, first and foremost, a platform to share free design resources. We're well aware that there are plenty of freebie sites out there, and if you're reading this, we're glad you stopped by. We have no plans to merge the sites into one big corporate stock graphics site and start charging users. We're proud to be a "little guy" and have no intentions to charge money for content we don't own.

The Premium content is a result of things we've found people searching for on our site that wasn't readily available. We teamed up with some extremely talented professional designers to create an ongoing collection of resources to fill the gaps where content was needed. Our goal is to provide the best overall user experience possible by providing exactly what our users are searching for. We hope this will help.

In the coming weeks we hope to double and triple the size of our collections on both sites by adding more High Res Photoshop Brushes, Premium Textures, Patterns & Vectors. We also have a large collection of exclusive coupon codes that we plan on releasing soon too. Unfortunately the more content we create, the more our costs increase, so those prices may go up real soon. Current subscribers will lock in their pricing until they choose to cancel so if you're looking to get some premium quality graphics at a redonkulously low price, now is the time to join.

Thanks again to those of you who have already subscribed and we can't wait to bring your more free and premium resources in the months to come!

Threadless Coupon and Book Giveaway!!

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:20:59 -0600

***Update on winners!! Some people didn't get back with us (too bad!!!), so here are the updated winners!

A big congrats to our three new winners!

1) Drexel
2) ndevin26
3) amlilui

The three of you each win a $30 Threadless coupon and a 10th anniversary book!

Thanks everyone for playing and stay tuned for our next contest coming soon :)

The Prize:

We've teamed up with the awesome clothing company, Threadless, to bring you a huge $30 coupon you can use to buy your favorite Threadless shirt or hoodie! Threadless just had their 10th anniversary, and to celebrate, they printed this awesome 10th Anniversary Book that we're also giving away!! Double prizes! Each of the three winners will get the coupon code and the book!

You'll be able to use these $30 coupon codes on the site any way you like. That's right, if you want to buy this awesome Owl Tshirt, or this Dream Tshirt, or the Anniversary Book for a friend (since you'll have one yourself), you got it! Also, check out the Special Edition Anniversary Book - it even comes with a sketchbook!

So, we've got 3 (yes, three!!) coupon codes to Threadless.com AND 3 (yes, three!!) 10th Anniversary Books, ripe for the winning, and just in time for the holidays, I might add.

Three Ways to Win:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post and tell us why you love Threadless! Is is their awesome community? The crazy unique designs from all kinds of artists? Or is it that you have the ability to submit your own designs? Shout it out!

2. Retweet this post to all your Twitter followers! Let's get the word out about Vecteezy and about Threadless!

3. Subscribe to our RSS feed to make sure you don't miss out on other great giveaways and announcements!

The Details:

We will select the three winners randomly and notify you of your prize on Thursday, December 30 2010, so be sure to check out all the great submissions on Threadless to find the perfect design for you!

Remember, you need to be a member to participate in our giveaways, so if you aren't, you can become one in a quick minute over here! Don't worry, if you're a member on either site, you are good to go!

Pattern Design Contest! Win a copy of Seamless Studio and 50 Eezy Premium Credits!

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:00:57 -0500

Today we are excited to announce a new giveaway from our friends at COLOURlovers.com. They have just created and launched an awesome tool called Seamless Studio. It's a desktop Mac/PC app that makes it simple to design great-looking seamless vector patterns!

The app costs $49, but COLOURlovers members (it’s free to join) will be able to get it for only $29 for a limited time by using coupon code EEZYINC at checkout!

How To Enter:

1. Head over to COLOURlovers and download your 15 day free trial of Seamless Studio to get started. (No credit cards required!)

2. Play around with the app and design the most beautiful pattern possible.

3. Save your pattern as a .ssf file and also export your pattern as a .svg file. Put them in a folder together and zip it up and upload and share it on Vecteezy. Make sure to add it to the "Seamless Studio Pattern Contest" category.

4. Post the link to your pattern the comments below and tweet it with the hash tag #seamlessstudio AND #vecteezy.

The Prize:

The top three patterns with the most votes (highest star rating) on their pattern will win a fully licensed copy of Seamless Studio ($49 Value) and get 50 Eezy Premium credits deposited into their account ($40 value). So be sure to get as many of your friends as possible to vote for your pattern!

The Rules:

Winners will be selected and contacted on Thursday August 11th at 12pm CST. You will have 24 hours to respond to claim your prize or we will select the person with the next highest votes on their pattern. You may enter as many times as you like. Good luck!

Comment and Re-Tweet to Win $100 worth of custom stickers from Sticker Mule!

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:53:57 -0600

***ANOTHER UPDATE!! WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!***

One new winner has been chosen! Congrats!!
grafguerilla
and
jennmdp71

Congrats, you two!
Stay tuned for the next giveaway - it's coming very soon!!!

If you missed out on the first amazing giveaway package from Sticker Mule over on Brusheezy, stop your fretting! They're back with yet another super stickery giveaway. They've recently totally revamped their already stellar site and want to celebrate that relaunch with all of you!

Who is this awesome company, you ask? Sticker Mule prints custom stickers and has a whole lot of love for graphic designers. They'll print your designs in full color on high quality vinyl, and die cut them to any shape. They'll even help make your artwork press ready for free and send an online proof with every order.

This time they're back giving away $100 worth of custom printed stickers to TWO lucky winners, plus there are three ways to win, so enter now!

The Loot:

Two randomly chosen winners will receive $100 each towards their own custom sticker printing job - check out Sticker Mule's products page to see what kind of stickers you could win and print!

The Ways to Enter:

1. Comment on this blog post! Simple as pie.

2. Retweet this blog post to enter a second time. Get the word out!

3. Add us to your RSS feed so you can keep an eye out for our next awesome giveaway.

Welp, that's it! Enter all three ways if you'd like to boost your chances. We'll announce the winner on Friday, December 16th. Good luck to all!

iStockphoto Promo Code

Mon, 09 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0500

*UPDATED September 2015*: These are the most up to date iStock photo promo codes directly from iStockphoto.com. Save 10% OFF in the month of April! Just in time for all your Easter and Spring projects, these promo codes have been verified and are guaranteed to work.

*Also, please note that these promo codes will only work with the purchase of credit packs. These will not work with the subscription service that iStock will be launching later this month. So please keep that in mind when making your purchase. If you have any additional questions about this discount please contact us via our contact form.*

Finding a decent iStock promo code can often be challenging. Thanks to our friends at iStock they have been able to provide us with access to their massive library of affordable images and provided us with some incredible coupons that offer even more savings at checkout. Using an iStock promo code can help to save on costs while getting more graphics and photos for the money you have available to invest in your project. Use this promo code when you create a new account and save 15% off your first purchase:

What is iStock?

iStock is a leading provider of royalty free stock photos, vector art illustrations, stock footage and audio for print and web use. With these iStock promo codes, it is possible to save on the overall investment you need to make in order to begin downloading and using the photos or graphics you desire. They provide royalty-free photos and graphics that can be purchased with credits or real money without having to pay for further usage rights depending on your plans. You are also able to purchase extended licenses on images depending on how you plan to use the images and the level of distribution you have in mind. iStock also provides photos and images that can be used in editorial publications including newspapers, magazines and online communities that covers real-life events, celebrities and even political figures.

Who Can Use iStock?

Whether you are currently working as a freelance blogger or designer or if you are in charge of designing a project for a corporation you work for, iStock has a plan or a solution for you regardless of the number of images and graphics you need to download for yourself. Using iStock can be done occasionally or intermittently, as it is possible to purchase graphics and photos on a project to project basis rather than being required to pay a monthly subscription fee just to gain access to browsing the site. Using iStock can help with completing a school project, a website design or even a news article you are publishing online that requires photos of real people and events that may have recently taken place.

How To Use This iStock Promo Code

You will need to purchase credits to take advantage of their coupon codes. Purchasing credits allows you to buy in bulk and lower the overall cost per download. Once you have selected your desired credit package, the promo code box is at the bottom of the checkout page. Enter your coupon code into the field and click "Next" to be taken to review your savings.

Share the Savings!

We hope you find this page useful and we will do our best to keep it updated with the most recent codes we find. Please share this page with your friends so they can get their savings too! Leave a comment below to let us know how much you saved.

3 Simple Tips For Improving the User Interface of Your Site

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:41:39 -0600

The quality of users’ experience with your website is the deciding factor of its success. If visitors are able to use your site quickly and without problems, they are likely to return. On the other hand, if your site is confusing and frustrating to use, they’ll be happy to find a better one. Your user interface can make or break your website, so here are some tips to ensure that yours is the best it can be.

1. Keep Navigation Clear

A clear navigation system is one of the main ingredients for a positive user experience. To achieve this, focus on these aspects:

Create a hierarchical structure
The natural way to view a webpage is to scan its contents, so use design elements with intention to help guide viewers’ eyes. This includes displaying conventional navigational elements, like category organization and a search bar at the top. Internet users are accustomed to finding these functions in similar places on every website, so to change that can create unnecessary confusion.

Use strategic spacing and placement

Spacing can play a huge role in guiding your user’s eye and bringing attention to certain elements. For example, a product page should have equal spacing throughout so that each product is emphasized equally, and calls-to-action can be separated from other design elements with more space so they stand out more prominently.

Personalize

Though it’s not a good idea to go too crazy with an unconventional navigation system, you can still design its elements to reflect your brand. Feel free to get creative with the way you visually present your navigation; just remember to keep it clear so that visitors know what to do.

My Own Bike uses a conventional menu bar at the top of the page, but the options are supplemented with icons that are consistent with the brand’s image. They add uniqueness to the menu, as well as a universal communication aspect. The white space then draws attention to the product on the page, and the call-to-action is set aside. All of these characteristics make for a cohesive design that tells the viewer exactly where to look and what to do.

2. Simplify Everything

Navigation isn’t the only part of your website that should be simple. A good experience depends on a site that enables users to quickly find what they’re looking for without having to cross barriers to get there. Simplifying your site includes cutting out any clutter in the design that could distract visitors from the main goal of your site.

Color scheme

A growing trend is to employ a neutral color scheme, with an accent color to highlight important elements. This is effective in creating a clean and professional image of your brand, and makes it easy for users to take in everything on the page.

Layout and text

The layout of your pages can be simplified by using white space and type variations to create a visual hierarchy. Space can emphasize design elements, and text can be accentuated by using different fonts, weights, sizes and colors.

Tinkering Monkey is a good example of a neutral color scheme with a highlighting pop of color. The cream-colored background puts the products in a place of high visual importance, and the red draws attention to the menu items and shopping cart, which all make for an attractive and minimal design.

3. Find A Balance of Text and Imagery

Website imagery can be presented in many forms, including photography, illustration and iconography. Strong imagery often speaks for itself, but to make sure users understand its message, it’s a good idea to supplement them with text to provide further information.

If you use photography, photos should be of high quality; if you’re not a photographer yourself, a great option is to use stock photography. Iconography is another way to communicate a message through imagery. Icons are classically minimal illustrations that ideally show a universal image to help guide users through your site. Here are some icon design tips to help you communicate clearly with icons.

Xero incorporates a lot of simple, minimal icons that are really effective in aiding their written copy – allowing for an easier, more engaging read.

When testing and tweaking your website, keep these tips in mind to improve the interaction your visitors have with your site.

Conquer Designing with Vector Ornaments

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:13:01 -0500

If you’re looking to quickly and easily pull together a posh design piece, we’ve got just the trick! Check ‘em out here

Vector ornaments – inspired by the Victorian-era – are always intricate and possess a soft, feminine feel. It’s these dressy details that help to convey the wealthy, rich state present during Queen Victoria’s reign by which this time period was inspired and therefore, named after. This rich style is conveyed through the use of swirls, flowing florals, and beautiful borders often present in this type of elegant design, so if you’re creating a design for something a bit more on the formal side, vector ornaments can pull your delicate design together. Grab an ornament frame or florals to seamlessly piece together a wedding invitation in a jiffy. Or emphasize a section of text in a piece by placing a swirl ornament above and below your text to frame it in a feminine way.

(Pro tip: this can also be an easy approach to creating a logo for an upscale business!)

Vector ornaments were also widely used during the 1920’s vintage era and consequently are widely present in old-timey designs (think vintage movie poster designs). So this design type can also be used to go retro with your work!

When working with this style of design, there is one key thing to remember: a little goes a long way. Since vector ornaments are very detailed designs, you’ll want to maintain your classy look by using them sparingly. Otherwise, your design will look too busy and overcrowded.

Also because of the intricate details present in vector ornaments, these designs can be laborious to create. Instead of spending hours, download them from Vecteezy where we’ve hooked you up with top-notch vector ornaments.

Below is a list of list of some of the most popular vector ornaments available from our community, along with some brand new ones we think you will enjoy.

Browse Free Vector Ornaments!

Announcing: More Options With Eezy Premium!

Tue, 30 Jul 2013 09:04:02 -0500

Who doesn’t love options? We all like different things and have different needs, so instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, more options allow us to find the solution that best fit our needs. (Yep, we’ve just cracked the code behind Baskin Robbins’ 32 flavors.)

So at the start of the year when we started offering additional options for Eezy Premium on a limited time basis, such as 6 month and yearly subscriptions, the response was outstanding, and the message was clear. You all loved and needed more options – permanently!

So we made the changes necessary to fit your needs, and today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve just launched an updated version of Eezy Premium which now offers you more options than ever before! You can now choose from our Monthly plan, the New Quarterly plan, or the New Annual plan. And these options are here to stay!

Plus since we’re adding new files every day, each Eezy Premium plan offers more art and more value than ever before! So check out our new Premium plans and sign up for the one that best fits your needs.

P.S. Also, you can also to preview the hundreds of Premium files available with every plan on this page as well.

View the New Premium Options!

How to create a wood grain texture in Adobe Ilustrator

Tue, 27 Dec 2016 08:39:01 -0600

Last up for Vectip's Texture Week is wood grain. It uses the same Graphic Pen effect but stretched a little more. It also uses the Warp Tool and Twirl Tool. Also like the other texture tutorials, this technique is easy and applicable in logos, icons, interfaces or pretty much anything.

Notes

This tutorial was created with Illustrator CS3. Keyboard shortcuts are displayed in orange. ⌘ is displayed for the Command key (mac), with the Ctrl key being the Windows equivalent (not displayed).

Rectangles

Create a 5 inch by 5 inch rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (m). An easy way to draw an exact rectangle is to click on the artboard with the Rectangle Tool (m) to bring up the Rectangle dialog to enter dimensions. Fill the rectangle with a light brown and take off the stroke.

Next Copy (⌘c) the rectangle and Paste In Front (⌘f). With the copied rectangle selected, change the dimensions for the width to 2.5 inches and the height to .25 inches in the Transform Panel and fill the rectangle with a 40% black.

Texture

Select the smaller rectangle and go Effect > Sketch > Graphic Pen. When the Graphic Pen Effect dialog comes up, change the following settings.

Stroke Length = 15

Light/Dark Balance = 2

Stroke Direction = Vertical

Trace and Expand

With the texture selected go Object > Expand Appearance. With the texture still selected, the Control Panel defaults to the Live Trace options. Click the arrow beside the Live Trace Button and select Tracing Options. Or you can go Object > Live Trace > Tracing Options. You don’t have to change all the options, just the ones below.

Mode: Black and White

Path Fitting: 1px

Minimum Area: 1px

Corner Angle: 1

Ignore White: Check this box

I like to save a preset in the Tracing Options. It makes it easy to recall these setting. If you have read previous tutorials, you will see I use these setting all the time for tracing. Next, press the Expand button on your tool bar.

Transform and Color

With the texture selected, change the width to 5 inches and the height to 5 inches from the Transform Panel. Next, change the color of the texture to a darker brown than the first rectangle.

Warp Tool

Double click on the Warp Tool (shift r) in the Tools Panel to bring up the Warp Tools Options dialog. They are probably on the default settings, but if they are not, press the reset button on the right of the dialog. Once the settings are back to default, change the Intensity to 10% and click OK. Select just the texture and click and drag with the Warp Tool (shift r). I like to go up and down and slightly back and forth. You can do as much or as little as you want.

Twirl Tool

Click and hold down on the Warp Tool (shift r) in the Tools Panel to bring up the other transform tools. Pick the second tool in the list called the Twirl Tool. With this tool you can add some knots to your wood texture if you want. Double click on the Twirl Tool in the Tools Panel to bring up the Twirl Tool Options dialog. Below are the settings I change.

Width =.69 (50pts)

Height =.97 (70pts)

Twirl Rate =10°

Simplify = 20

With the texture selected, click and hold on the texture until you are happy with the knot. The Twirl Rate is slow so it is easy to see when you need to let go.

Experiment

You can experiment quite a bit with this technique. You can change the dimensions of the Warp Tool and Twirl Tool to create different wood grain texture and shapes of knots. Below are some example uses of this texture.

This post was originally published on vectips.

How to Create a Map Icon Vector in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 02 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS5 - Adobe Illustrator CC

Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate

Topics Covered: Basic Tools and Effects, Transform and Distort techniques plus the Appearance panel

Estimated Completion Time: 45 minutes

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we'll be creating:

Step 1

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

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). For starters you will need a grid every 1px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid, enter 5 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.

Step 2

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and focus on your Toolbar. Remove the color from the stroke; then select the fill, and set its color at R=230 G=231 B=232. Move to your Artboard and simply create a 30 x 80px rectangle, the Snap to Grid should ease your work.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and focus on the left side of this new shape. Select both anchor points and simply drag them 10px up. In the end, things should look like in the second image. Make sure that this grey shape is still selected and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform.

Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Move to the Layers panel (Window > Layers), make sure that the resulting groups is selected and hit Shift + CTRL + G twice to Ungroup it.

In the end, you should have three simple shapes. Keep focusing on the Layers panel, double click on the bottom shape and name it "rightFold". Move up to the next shape and name it "middleFold". Finally, double click on the top shape and name it "leftFold".

Step 3

Select the "middleFold" shape and go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check the Horizontal box and click the OK button. Make sure that your "middleFold" shape is still selected and replace the existing fill color with R=188 G=190 B=193.

Step 4

Reselect all three shapes created so far and duplicate them (CTRL + C > CTRL + F). Select these copies, open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click the Unite button. Fill the resulting shape with black and send it to back (Shift + CTRL + [ ).

Step 5

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create three 30 x 90px rectangles and place them right above the existing shapes, as shown in the first image. Fill the middle rectangle with R=188 G=190 B=192, then select the other two shapes and set the fill color at R=230 G=231 B=232. Make sure that the Rectangle Tool (M) is still active, create twelve 30 x 5px shapes, place them as shown in the second image and set the fill color at R=254 G=254 B=254.

Step 6

For this step you will need a grid every 1px, so go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box.

Set the fill color at R=254 G=254 B=254, pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create several rectangles with the width set at 3px and place them roughly as shown in the first image. Just make sure that these new shapes cover only one of the three grey rectangles that lay behind.

Continue with the Rectangle Tool (M), create a bunch of rectangles with the height set at 1px and place them roughly as shown in the first image.

Step 7

Return to "Gridline every 5px ", so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 5 in the Gridline every box. Set the fill color at R=254 G=242 B=108 and pick the Rectangle Tool (M).

Create two 5 x 30px shapes and two 5 x 45px shapes and place them as shown in the first image. Set the fill color at R=130 G=140 B=202, create three 30 x 5px shapes and place them as shown in the second image.

Set the fill color at R=242 G=189 B=35, create six 30 x 5px shapes and place them as shown in the third image then create two 5px squares and place them as shown in the fourth image. Set the fill color at R=216 G=209 B=199 and add some simple rectangles as shown in the fifth image.

Finally, reselect the three grey rectangles in the back and replace the existing fill colors with R=236 G=229 B=219.

Step 8

Select all the shapes made in the last three steps and Group them (CTRL + G).

Focus on the Layers panel, select your black shape, make a copy in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F) and bring it to front (Shift + CTRL + ] ). Select this copy along with the group made in the beginning of the step and hit Alt + CTRL + C (or go to Object > Envelope Distort > Make With Top Object).

In the end things should look like in the fourth image.

Step 9

Focus on the Layers panel, select the "leftFold", "middleFold" and "rightFold" shapes and bring them to front (Shift + CTRL + ] ). Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid) then go to Edit > Preferences > General and make sure that the Keyboard Increment is set at 1px. Select your "leftFold" shape and make two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and hit the down arrow three times to move it 3px down. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white. Reselect the "leftFold" shape and make another two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and move it 3px down and 3px to the right. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white.

Step 10

Reselect both white shapes made in the previous step and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the second image and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Reselect your "leftFold" shape, replace the flat color used for the fill with the linear gradient shown in the third image and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. The yellow numbers from the Gradient image stand for Opacity percentage.

Step 11

Select your "middleFold" shape and make two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and move it 3px down. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with black. Reselect the "middleFold" shape and make another two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and move it 1px to the right. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with black.

Step 12

Reselect both black shapes made in the previous step and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the second image, lower its Opacity to 30% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Reselect your "middleFold" shape, replace the flat color used for the fill with the linear gradient shown in the third image and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Remember that the yellow numbers from the Gradient image stand for Opacity percentage.

Step 13

Select your "rightFold" shape and make two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and move it 3px down. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white. Reselect the "rightFold" shape and make another two copies in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F > CTRL + F). Select the top copy and move it 1px down and to the right. Reselect both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white.

Step 14

Reselect both white shapes made in the previous step and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the second image and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. Reselect your "rightFold" shape, replace the flat color used for the fill with the linear gradient shown in the third image and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 15

Focus on the Layers panel, select the black shape, make a copy in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F) and bring it to front (Shift + CTRL + ] ). Make sure that this copy is selected and hit Shift + X to transfer the color properties from the fill to the stroke. Select this new stroke, align it to inside, set the size at 2pt and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the following image.

Step 16

Focus on the Layers panel, reselect that black shape, make a new copy in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F) and bring it to front (Shift + CTRL + ] ). Make sure that this copy stays selected and hit Shift + X. Select this newly added stroke, align it to inside, set the size at 1pt and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the following image.

Step 17

Focus on the Layers panel, reselect that black shape and open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance). Using the Add New Fill button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image), add two new fills for this shape. Select the bottom fill, lower its Opacity to 3% and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and return to the Appearance panel. Move up to the next fill, select it, lower the Opacity to 3% and go again to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown below, click OK and get back to the Appearance panel. Select the top fill and simply go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 18

Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 30px circle, set the fill color at R=237 G=28 B=36 and place it as shown in the first image. Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 30 x 40px rectangle, fill it with the same color and place it as shown in the second image. Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and focus on the bottom side of this new rectangle. Select both anchor points and hit Alt + CTRL + J (or go to Object > Path > Average). Check the Both button and click OK. This should turn your rectangle into a sharp triangle. Select it and go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Enter the properties shown in the fourth image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 19

Switch to "gridline every 1px", so go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box. Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 4px circle and place it as shown in the first image. Select this tiny circle along with the two red shapes, and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Return to "gridline every 5px ", so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 5 in the Gridline every box. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 10px circle and place it as shown in the third image. Select this new circle along with the red shape and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Step 20

Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Select the red shape and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -1px Offset and click OK. Select the resulting shape and make a copy in front (CTRL + C > CTRL + F). Select this fresh copy and move it 1px down. Reselect both shapes made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a compound path (CTRL + 8 or Object > Compound Path > Make), set the fill color at R=244 G=244 B=239 and lower its Opacity to 60%.

Step 21

Select the red shape and focus on the Appearance panel. First, replace the flat color used for the fill with the linear gradient shown in the following image. Next, add a 1pt stroke, align it to inside and set the color at R=205 G=0 B=5.

Step 22

Switch to "gridline every 1px", so go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box. Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 6 x 5px shape, set the fill color at black and place it as shown in the following image. Focus on the Layers panel, make sure that this new shape stays selected, drag it below the red compound path and move to the Appearance panel. Select the existing fill, lower its Opacity to 15% and go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 2px radius and click OK. Return to the Appearance panel and add a second black fill. Select it and simply lower the Opacity to 10%.

And We're Done!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects.

10 Easy Steps to Create a Fun Breakfast Vector in Adobe Illustrator

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details:

Program: Adobe Illustrator CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Stroke panel, Pathfinder panel

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Final Breakfast Vector Image: Smiling Egg in Adobe Illustrator

Step 1

Let’s start making the egg from a circle. Take the Ellipse Tool (L), hold Shift and make a 210x210 px circle of light-grey color with dark-purple Stroke. You can set the desired size of the shape either in the control panel on top or in the Transform panel (Window > Transform).

Go to the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke) and set the Weight to 5 pt, Align Stroke to Outside. We will be applying the same Stroke settings to all the objects with strokes that we’ll be creating further on.

Step 2

Copy the circle and Paste in Front (Control-C > Control-F). Make the copy smaller, setting its size to 105x105 px and change the Fill color to yellow. Make sure that the Stroke Weight of the new shape is set to 5 pt as well.

Step 3

Let’s add the eyes to make the egg look cartoonish and playful. Create a 22x22 px circle with 5 pt dark-purple Stroke and no Fill.

Take the Scissors Tool (C) and click both side anchor points to split the shape apart. Delete the lower half, forming an arched eyelid. Make sure that Cap is set to Round Cap in the Stroke panel to make the tips of the stroke rounded.

Duplicate (Control-C > Control-F) the created shape to add a second eye at the opposite side of the yolk and use another copy for the mouth, rotating it upside down.

Step 4

Duplicate (Control-C > Control-F) the yolk and set the Stoke to none. Make the copy a bit smaller and brighter, this way forming a shadow at the edge of the yolk.

Finish up with the “face” of the egg by adding minor details, such as round white highlights and elliptical pink spots for the blush.

Step 5

Let’s add some variety to the white of the egg. Select the grey circle and apply Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen. Set the Size to 2%, Detail to 5 and Points to Smooth, making the edge of the line wobbly. Go to Object > Expand Appearance to apply the effect.

Duplicate (Control-C > Control-F) the wobbly shape and set its Fill color to white, Stroke color to none. Make the copy a bit smaller, thus forming a gentle shadow at the bottom of the egg.

Step 6

Speckle light-grey circles all over the white of the egg, using the Ellipse Tool (L) to make the egg more detailed.

Now that our egg is finished we can Group (Control-G) all the elements and move on.

Step 7

Now we’ll add a frying pan. Make a dark-purple circle of 270x270 px size and no Stroke. Place it beneath the egg, either by dragging it down in the Layers panel or by pressing Shift-Control-[.

Copy the circle and Paste in Back (Control-C > Control-B). Make the copy larger up to 305x305 px. Make its Fill color lighter and apply a dark-purple Stroke of 5 pt Weight.

Add some thin shadows at the bottom edges of the shapes, as we did previously.

Step 8

Let’s add a panhandle. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to make a 170x35 px shape with dark-purple Stroke. Make its corners fully rounded by adjusting the Corner Radius from the Transform panel (Window > Transform).

Duplicate (Control-C > Control-F) the shape and edit the copy, creating a gentle shadow.

Step 9

Add a 15x15 px circle at the left side of the panhandle. Copy the circle and Paste in Front (Control-C > Control-F).

Let’s cut the circle out. Select one of the circle copies and the top purple shape and apply Minus Front from the Pathfinder panel.

Repeat the same for the second circle and the bottom rounded rectangle, making a hole.

Step 10

Group (Control-G) all the elements of the panhandle, rotate it 45 degrees and attach to the pan, Moving it to Back (Shift-Control-[).

Our Smiling Sunny Egg is Ready! Bon Appetite!

Great job, everyone! I hope this cheerful breakfast will help you to start the day with a smile. We can turn our image into a postcard by adding some simple text with the Type Tool (T) and sending it to friends.

Have fun!

How to Create a Highlighter Text Effect Vector in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 16 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: How to Create a Highlighter Text Effect Vector

Program: Adobe Illustrator CC

Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate

Topics Covered: Basic Tools and Effects, Transform and Warp techniques, Patterns and Pattern Brushes

Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour

Final Image: Highlighter Text Effect Vector

As always, this is the final highlighter text effect vector image that we'll be creating:

Step 1

To begin this highlighter text effect vector tutorial, hit Control + N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 600 in the Width box and 400 in the Height box and 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 you click OK.

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). You will 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.

Try not to get discouraged by all that grid, it will ease your work and keep in mind that you can easily enable or disable it using the Control + " keyboard shortcut.

Step 2

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and focus on your Toolbar.

Remove the color from the stroke then select the fill and set its color at R=255 G=186 B=41. Move to your artboard and simply create a 6 px square, the grid and the Snap to Grid feature will ease your work.

Keep focusing on this shape and switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the bottom, left anchor point and simply drag it 3 px to the right.

Step 3

Keep focusing on your yellow shape and make sure that the Direct Selection Tool (A) is still active.

First, select the top, left anchor point, move to the options bar and simply enter 1 px in that Corners box.

Next, select the bottom, left anchor points, return to the options bar only this time enter 2 px in that Corners box. In the end your yellow shape should look like in the second image.

Keep in mind that the Live Corners feature is only available for CC users. The best solution to replace this effect would be the Round Any Corner script that can found in this article: 20 Free and Useful Adobe Illustrator Scripts.

Save it to your hard drive, return to Illustrator and grab the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the two, highlighted anchor points one by one and go to File > Scripts > Other Script. Open the Round Any Corner Script, enter the same values pointed in the Corners boxes and then click the OK button.

The end result might look a bit different, so feel free to increase/decrease the values mentioned in those Corners boxes to make sure that you end up with a shape similar to the one shown in the second image.

Step 4

Disable the Snap to Grid (Shift + Control + ") and then go to Edit > Preferences > General and make sure that the Keyboard Increment is set at 1px.

Make sure that your yellow shape is selected and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F).

Select the top copy and move it 1 px down using the down arrow button from your keyboard. Reselect both copies made in this step, open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click the Minus Front button.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance).

Replace the existing fill color with white (R=255 G=255 B=255) and then click that "Opacity" piece of text to open the Transparency fly-out panel. Change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and lower the Opacity to 40%.

Step 5

Reselect your yellow shape and make two, new copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2 px down.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel.

Replace the existing fill color with white, lower the Opacity to 30% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 6

Reselect your yellow shape and make two, new copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F).

Select the top copy and move it 1 px up. Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with black (R=0 G=0 B=0), lower the Opacity to 30% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 7

Reselect your yellow shape and make two, new copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F).

Select the top copy and move it 2 px up. Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with black, lower the Opacity to 20% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 8

Enable the Snap to Grid (Control + ').

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 4 x 10 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and set its fill color to R=61 G=61 B=61.

Keep focusing on this new rectangle and switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the left anchor points, move to the options bar and enter 2 px in that Corners box. In the end your dark shape should look like in the second image.

Step 9

Disable the Snap to Grid (Control + ').

Reselect your dark shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F).

Select the top copy and move it 1 px to the right. Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with white, lower the Opacity to 40% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 10

Enable the Snap to Grid (Control + ').

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 7 x 18 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and set its fill color to R=71 G=71 B=71.

Focus on the left side of this new rectangle, switch to the Add Anchor Point Tool (+) and add two, new anchor points as shown in the second image.

Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the top and bottom, left anchor points and simply drag them 4 px to the right. In the end your shape should look like in the fourth image.

Step 11

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 3 x 18 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and set its fill color to R=61 G=61 B=61.

Step 12

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 45 x 18 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and set its fill color to R=255 G=186 B=41.

Focus on the right side of this new shape and switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A). First, select the top anchor point and drag it 3 px down and then select the bottom anchor point and drag it 3 px up.

Step 13

Make sure that your large, yellow shape is still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Enter the attributes shown in the following image and then click the OK button.

Step 14

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 4 x 12 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and don't forget to set the fill color to R=255 G=186 B=41.

Keep focusing on this new shape, pick the Anchor Point Tool (Shift + C) and then simply click on the top and bottom anchor points. In the end your shape should look like in the second image.

Step 15

Reselect both yellow shapes made in the previous, two steps and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Select the resulting shape along with the tree, dark shapes highlighted in the second image and duplicate them (Control + C > Control + F).

Make sure that only these copies are selected and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the newly made shape with R=39 G=170 B=225.

Step 16

Disable the Snap to Grid (Control + ').

Reselect your blue shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 1 px up.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Step 17

Reselect your blue shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 3 px up.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Step 18

Reselect your blue shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 5 px up.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with black, lower the Opacity to 15% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 19

Reselect your blue shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 1 px down.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Step 20

Reselect your blue shape and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 3 px down.

Reselect both copies made in this step and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with white, lower the Opacity to 30% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 21

Reselect your blue shape and this time make only one copy in front (Control + C > Control + F). Select it and move it 5 px down.

Reselect both blue shapes and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.

Make sure that the resulting shape stays selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Replace the existing fill color with white, lower the Opacity to 20% and then change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Step 22

Enable the Snap to Grid (Control + ').

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 1 x 6 px shape and place it as shown in the first image. Lower its Opacity to 40%, change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and make sure that the fill color is set to black.

Using the same tool, create a 1 x 10 px shape and place it as shown in the second image. Lower its Opacity to 15%, change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and make sure that the fill color is set to black.

Using the same tool, create a 1 x 18 px shape and place it as shown in the first image. Lower its Opacity to 25%, change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and make sure that the fill color is set to white.

Step 23

Select all the shapes made so far and duplicate them (Control + C > Control +F). Make sure that only the copies are selected and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Select the resulting shape and focus on the Appearance panel.

First, remove the color from the fill and then select the stroke. Set its color to R=71 G=71 B=71 and then click that "Stroke" piece of text to open the Stroke fly-out panel. Increase the Weight to 2 px and then check the Round Join and then Align Stroke to Outside buttons.

Step 24

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 5 x 4 px shape, place it as shown in the first image and set the fill color to R=255 G=186 B=41. Make sure that this tiny rectangle is still selected and send it to back using the Shift + Control + [ keyboard shortcut.

Reselect all the shapes made so far and simply Group them using the Control + G keyboard shortcut.

Step 25

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 1 x 4 px shape, place it as shown in the following image and make sure that the fill color is set to R=255 G=186 B=41.

Step 26

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a new, 1 x 4 px shape, place it as shown in the following image and don't forget to set the fill color to R=255 G=186 B=41.

Make sure that this new shape stays selected and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Drag the Move-Horizontal slider to -1px, enter 9 in that Copies box and then click the OK button.

Step 27

Make sure that the rectangle added in the previous step is still selected and go to Object > Expand Appearance. Using to the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the resulting rectangles one by one and decrease the Opacity attributes as shown in the second image.

Step 28

Make sure that your group of rectangles is still selected and simply drag it inside your Swatches panel (Window > Swatches) to save it as a pattern. Now, you need to name this new pattern. Select it, open the fly-out menu from the Swatches panel and simply go to Swatch Option. Enter "lineYellow" for the name and then click the OK button.

Step 29

Disable the Grid (Control + ") and the Snap to Grid (Shift + Control + ').

Select the group of shapes that make up your highlighted, turn it into a second pattern and rename it "highlighterYellow".

Step 30

Now, let's create the first pattern brush. Select the tiny, yellow shape highlighted in the following image, open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes) and click that New Brush button. Check the Pattern Brush box and then click the OK button to open the Pattern Brush Options window.

Name it "Highlighter Brush Yellow", make sure that all the attributes are set as shown below and then move to the Tile boxes. Open the Start Tile drop-down window and add the "lineYellow" pattern from that list and then open the End Tile drop-down window and add the "highlighterYellow" pattern. Finally, click OK and you should find your new pattern brush inside the Brushes panel.

Step 31

Return yo your artboard, select one of your yellow shapes and go to Select > Same > Fill Color to easily select all your yellow shapes. Once you have all these shapes selected, replace the yellow with R=141 G=228 B=63.

Now, turn the group of green rectangles and the group that makes up your highlighter into two patterns. Use these new patterns and the tiny, green rectangle highlighted below to create your second pattern brush as you did in the previous step.

Step 32

Here's a faster technique that you can use to recolor and save new pattern brushes. Pick the Brush Tool (B), select one of the pattern brushes made so far, focus on your artboard and draw a simple path. Make sure that this path stays selected and go to Edit > Edit Colors > Recolor Artwork.

First, click the Get colors from selected art button and make sure that the Recolor Artwork button is checked and then simply replace the green with R=0 G=186 B=255. Click the OK button and the blue version of your pattern brush will appear in the Brushes panel.

Step 33

Use the technique mentioned in the previous step to easily add a pink version of your pattern brush inside the Brushes panel.

Step 34

Pick the Type Tool (T), simply click on your artboard and add your grey piece of text. Make sure that it stays selected and open the Character panel (Window > Type > Character).

Use the Freestyle Script font, set the size to 150 pt and the tracking to 100. Using the Brush Tool (B), draw a bunch of paths along your text roughly as shown in the second image.

Step 35

Get rid of that piece of text and then select the paths added in the previous step one by one and simply add your pattern brushes as shown below.

Step 36

Enable the Grid (Control + ") and the Snap to Grid (Shift + Control + ').

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 1 x 5 and a 5 x 1 px shapes and place them as shown in the following image. Make sure that both shapes are filled with R=39 G=170 B=225 and then turn them into a new pattern.

Step 37

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a shape the size of your artboard and make it white.

Step 38

Make sure that your white rectangle is still selected, focus on the Appearance panel and add a second fill using the Add New Fill button. Select this new fill, lower its Opacity to 10% and simply add the the pattern saved a few steps ago.

And We're Done!

I hope you've enjoyed this highlighter text effect vector tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects. It would be great for any school or education designs.

Learn the Basics of the Brush Tool in Adobe Illustrator in 7 Easy Steps

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

How You Can Learn the Basics of the Brush Tool in Adobe Illustrator

I tend to think of the brush tool as my go-to tool in Adobe Illustrator.

There are drawings in my portfolio that I've created almost exclusively with the Adobe Illustrator brush tool. In short, this application is pretty amazing, so I want to make sure I drive the point home for anyone considering learning about the brush tool.

The brush tool has many settings and applications, but it's important to understand the basic reason behind the brush tool: to lay down continuous brushstrokes that mimic traditional media.

Today, we'll also discuss how to use the brush tool with the pattern option selected.

This is very useful if you don't want the brush stroke you created to be continuous, but you instead want it to look like individual links in the pattern. Think of this as a chain-link of sorts, where every link is just one copy of the artwork you created.

Feel free to leave your questions or comments below.

1. Paintbrush Tool Options

Here are some of the basic settings I use when making my brushes. Do not check "Keep Selected" or "Edit Selected Paths"

2. Art Brush Options

Once your brush is created, I use these two settings in the dialog boxes for most of my drawings and illustrations.

3. Testing Your New Brush

After you create your brushes, go ahead and try them out and see if they are exactly what you're looking for.

4. Creating a Pattern Brush

Next we going learn how to create a pattern brush. Drag your newly created art into the brush palette.

5. New Brush Options

This time you can select "Pattern Brush" in the dialog box.

6. Checking Out Your New Pattern Brush

Now you have a newly created pattern brush to use.

7. Test Out Your New Pattern Brush

Go ahead and test out the brush to see if you like it. Make edits if necessary.

Back to Basics: How to Create a Vector Geometric Alphabet!

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: Vector Geometric Alphabet

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 - CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Builder Tool, Live Corners, Blending Modes

Estimated Completion Time: 15 Minutes

Final Image: Vector Geometric Alphabet

Step 1: Vector Geometric Alphabet

Let's start this vector geometric alphabet with the letter A. Use the Polygon Tool to draw a triangle. Set the fill color to pink and the Blending Mode to Multuply. Every shape you create in this tutorial will have their Blending Mode set to Multiply. Copy and Paste the triangle twice. Scale each down, about 50% from each other, or so, and overlap in the manner you see below.

Step 2

The letter V is pretty similar to A. Instead of Aligning everything to the center, however, it's slightly off to the right. If you really like symmetry, however, you are welcome to align your triangles to their centers.

Step 3

Next up is the letter E. Draw a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool. Draw two smaller, thinner rectangles and Align them to the larger rectangle's right edge. Draw two more smaller rectangles and layer them on the right side of the other shapes.

Step 4

Let's get to work on the letter R. This same style can also be used for the letter P, B, D, and more! Draw a rectangle and select the right-most anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool. Pull the shape's Live Corners inward to round out the right side. Draw a thin vertical rectangle and align it to the left side of the slightly rounded rectangle.

Step 5

Draw a thin rectangle and Rotate it so it's positioned diagonally. Select all three components and use the Shape Builder Tool to select the leftmost portion of the diagonal rectangle. Overlap the bottom of the diagonal rectangle with another rectangle and repeat selecting the intersecting shape. Delete both of these unnecessary shapes.

Step 6

Repeat the previous step with the right side of the diagonal rectangle to complete the letter R. Also note that there's a small slightly rounded rectangle in the center of the larger one.

Step 7

The letter Y is like a V with a rectangle. Draw a vertical rectangle and two triangles, one smaller than the other, and overlap them in a manner similar to what you see below or more similar to the style of the letter V.

Step 8

Next in our vector geometric alphabet, let's craft a quick letter N. Draw a rectangle and select the upper right anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool. Pull its Live Corner inward in order to round out the corner completely.

Step 9

Copy and Paste the shape previously made and scale it down to 40% or so (this may vary). Place it in the lower half of the larger shape. Draw two vertical rectangles and place them on either side of the central shapes.

Step 10

Finally in our vector geometric alphabet we're going to craft a letter Z. This is a great style to also create I, L, K, and more in. Basically, anything that isn't as chunky as an E but isn't rounded like many of the other letters. N's also look great in this style.
Draw a rectangle and cut off the right corner at an angle with the Shape Builder Tool, similar to what was done with the letter R. Repeat with another rectangle and Rotate it so it sits at a diagonal.

Step 11

Copy, Paste, and Reflect the two previously made shapes and arrange them in a manner similar to what you see below.

Conclusion: Vector Geometric Alphabet

And there you have it! A quick assortment of letters for your vector geometric alphabet. What does the rest of your alphabet look like? How about some personalized text? Share with us in the comment section below!

Learn About the Vecteezy Editor!

Mon, 16 Apr 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Want to know more about our editor? Check out this 5 minute overview video! Still have questions? Feel free to contact us

How to Create a Vintage Cocktail Design in Adobe Illustrator

Wed, 02 May 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Using basic shapes and a fun, grainy texture, we'll create a vintage cocktail design in no time flat. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, retro-style parties, Mad Men-inspired designs, and more. Cheers!

Tutorial Details: How to Create a Vintage Cocktail Design in Adobe Illustrator

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 - CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Design Theory, Shape Building, Rendering

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Final Image: Vintage Cocktail Design

Step 1

Let's begin with the mode basic of shapes: the square. Draw a square with the Rectangle Tool (M). Using the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the bottom two anchor points and pull the Live Corners of those anchor points toward the center of the shape in order to round out the bottom of the object. Draw a line across the top, if you wish, with the Line Segment Tool (/). This creates the cup of the vintage cocktail glass.

Step 2

Draw a narrow rectangle to create the glass's stem. For a fun detail, add a square, Rotated 90°, in the center of the stem. Draw rectangle for he bottom of the glass (the base) and Unite your shapes in the Pathfinder panel. For an extra bit of design, use the Line Segment Tool to draw four lines to create a small sparkle (see below).

Step 3

For the liquid in the glass, redraw the cup shape drawn in Step 1 and fill it with the color of your choice. Add wavy shapes in different colors (use darker hues than your original color) on top of the original shape. Use the Shape Builder Tool (Shift - M) to select and delete the non-intersecting shapes of the liquid objects from the cup base. Group (Control-G) these objects together and place them behind the glass objects.

Add lines or cross-hatched markings to the glass if you wish. Consider adding a garnish to your drink like a citrus peel or cherries. Set the glass strokes' Blending Mode to Overlay in the Transparency panel.

Step 4

To add a quick vintage texture, Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) each shape and apply a blck Linear Gradient to it going from 100% Opacity to 0% Opacity. Set its Blending Mode to Soft Light. Apply Grain effect (Effect > Texture > Grain) with the following attributes:

Grain

Intensity: 27

Contrast: 36

Grain Type: Stippled

Use the Gradient Tool (G) to adjust the placement of the gradient. You want the grainy texture to simply serve as a shadow, lightly texturing the object versus being applied to the entire thing.

Step 5

For alternative cocktails, consider a wider cup with a smaller stem and base. Instead of a diamond in the center, try an ellipse. Then, criss-cross line segments in order to add a diamond-like pattern to the glass. Finally, a minty green makes for a delicious, absinthe-style drink or a salty margarita.

Conclusion

Great job, you're done! Consider adding some grainy texture to the background or even some cute sparkles to your final design. What delicious drink icons can you create? Share with us in the comment section below!

Design a Handsome Flat Hipster Character in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 -0500

In this tutorial, we’ll create a handsome hipster character in a trendy, flat style (complete with a pompadour and beard!). You'll learn how use simple geometric shapes, Live Corners, and the Stroke and Align panels. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to create your own avatar in the same style. Let’s get started!

Tutorial Details: Flat Hipster Character

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Basic Shapes, Stroke panel, Align panel, Live Corners

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Final Image: Flat Hipster Character

Step 1

Let’s start designing the head of our character. Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create an 180x220 px shape, applying a skin-tone color. Select the shape with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and set the Corners radius to 72 px in the control panel on top. Another way to make the corners rounded is to pull a tiny circle marker of the Live Corners, using the Direct Selection Tool (A).

Step 2

Now we’ll add the eyes. Use the Ellipse Tool (L) while holding Shift to make a 15x15 px dark-brown circle for the left eye. Hold Alt-Shift and drag the circle to the right, using the Selection Tool (V), this way creating a copy.

Group (Control-G) the eyes and let’s make sure they are perfectly centred to the face. Select both the eyes group and the head shape and click the head once again to make it a Key Object (you will notice a thicker selection around it). Open the Align panel and click Horizontal Align Center. There we have it!

Step 3

Let’s add the eyebrows so that our character can have a certain facial expression. Take the Rounded Rectangle Tool and make a 35x13 px grey shape with fully rounded corners. Remember that you can adjust the Corners radius of the shape from the control panel on top while the shape is selected with the Direct Selection Tool (A).

Drag the shape to the right while holding Alt-Shift to make a copy.

Select the second brow and double-click the Rotate Tool (R). Set the Angle to -15 degrees and click OK to apply the changes. Drag the brow up a bit.

Step 4

Arm yourself with the Rounded Rectangle Tool and let’s form the nose! Create a 23x50 px pink shape with fully rounded corners. Align the nose to the face, using the Align panel.

Step 5

Now we’ll add a thick, bushy beard! Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw an 180x135 px shape (the same width as we have for the head). Align the beard to the head and place it as shown in the image below. Press Control-[ to Send the shape Backwards, beneath the nose.

Select the bottom anchor points of the beard with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and make the corners fully rounded.

Step 6

Select the anchor points at the very bottom of the beard using the Direct Selection Tool (A). Head to the control panel on top and Convert selected anchor points to corner, making the beard pointed.

Step 7

Select both left and right side anchor points and drag them down, changing the shape of the beard slightly.

Step 8

Now let’s create a mouth. Use the Line Segment Tool (\) or the Pen Tool (P) while holding Shift to make a horizontal line. Set the Stroke color to pink in the Color panel.

Open the Stroke panel and set the Weight to 5 pt, making the line thicker. Set the Cap to Round Cap, making the tips of the stroke rounded.

Our character looks too serious right now, so let’s make him smile! Grab the Curvature Tool (Shift-‘) and bend the line slightly by dragging its middle point down, this way making the lips arched and smiling.

Step 9

Let’s style a fancy pompadour hairdo for our hipster guy. Create an 180x80 px shape of the same grey color as we have for the beard and brows (use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick the needed color).

Extend the shape by dragging its left edge further left. Then select the top right and bottom left anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and make the corners fully rounded.

Step 10

The last (but not least) thing we need to do here is add ears. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to make a 30x50 px shape with 14 px Corners Radius.

Keeping the rectangle selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and set the Offset value to -7 px to create the inner part of the ear. Fill the inner shape with darker pink color and group (Control-G) both elements of the ear.

Hold Alt-Shift and drag the ear to the opposite site, creating a copy.

Step 11

Select the ears, click right mouse button and Arrange > Send to Back (Shift-Control-[), placing the ears behind the head.

Step 12

Now we can finish up the portrait either by leaving it as it is on a blank canvas or by placing a 600x600 px turquoise rectangle in the bottom of the Layers panel. Use the Line Segment Tool (\) to make thick 14 pt horizontal lines, making the background a bit more detailed.

Congratulations! Our Hipster Character is Finished!

That’s all for this tutorial, my friends! I hope you’ve enjoyed following these simple instructions and learned some new tips and tricks for your own flat-style characters. Feel free to transform your own photo into a fancy avatar, using the above-described techniques. Have fun!

How to Create a Pair of Hipster Glasses in Adobe Illustrator

Wed, 16 May 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to another Illustrator tutorial! Today we’re going to make a hipster glasses vector, which you can use for music festival posters, John Lennon designs, and other free-spirited illustrations. The best part? We're going to make this vector using nothing more than the basic tools you probably work with every day.

So, grab a cup of coffee and let’s design some sunnies!

Tutorial Details: Hipster Glasses Icon

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC 2016

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Design Theory, Compositional Construction, Shape Alignment, Grid Positioning

Estimated Completion Time: 30 Minutes

Final Image: Hipster Glasses Icon

Step 1

As with every new project, start by first setting up a New Document by going over to File > New (or using the Control-N keyboard shortcut), which we will adjust as follows:

Number of Artboards: 1

Width: 128 px

Height: 128 px

Units: Pixels

And from the Advanced tab:

Color Mode: RGB

Raster Effects: Screen (72ppi)

Preview Mode: Default

Quick tip: most of the indicated settings can be automatically triggered if you set the document’s Profile to Web, the only one that you’ll have to manually adjust being the Artboards Size (Width x Height).

Step 2

Once we’ve set up our project file, we can start working on the actual icon, by creating the main shape for the glasses’ left lens using a 44 x 44 px circle, which we will color using #FFC550, and then position at a distance of 10 px from the Artboard’s left edge, and 22 px from its top one.

Step 3

Give the shape an outline using the Stroke method, by creating a copy of it (Control-C) which we will paste in front (Control-F) and then adjust by first changing its color to #422C21 and then flipping its Fill with its Stroke (Shift-X), setting its Weight to 4 px. Once you’re done, select and group both shapes together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 4

Draw the diagonal detail lines using a two 2 px thick Strokes (#422C21), making sure to group and then center align them to the underlying circles afterwards. Once you’re done, select the lines and the lens and group (Control-G) those as well.

Quick tip: for this step I highly recommend you turn on the Pixel Preview mode (Alt-Control-Y) so that you can have full control over the positioning of your anchor points.

Step 5

Create the right lens using a copy of the one that we already have (Control-C > Control-F), which we will position onto the opposite side of the Artboard, maintaining the same 8 px distance from its right edge.

Step 6

Create the bridge holding both lenses together using a 20 x 20 px circle with a 4 px thick Stroke (#422C21), which we will center align to the empty space found between the two larger sections.

Step 7

Adjust the bridge’s shape by removing its lower half, by selecting its bottom Anchor Point using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then removing it by pressing Delete. Once you’re done, select the resulting shape and the two lenses and group them together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 8

Start working on the glasses’ left end piece, by creating a 6 x 4 px rectangle (#422C21) which we will position over the first lens’s outline, at a distance of 4 px from the Artboard’s left edge, and 40 px from its top one.

Step 9

Add the little string section using an 8 x 64 px rectangle with a 2 px thick Stroke (#422C21), which we will position towards the center of the previously created shape.

Step 10

Adjust the shape of the string, by setting the Radius of its bottom corners to 4 px from within the Transform panel’s Rectangle Properties, selecting and grouping it to the smaller rectangle.

Step 11

Position the two shapes that we’ve just grouped underneath the larger lens, by right clicking > Arrange > Send to Back.

Step 12

Create the right string section, using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the one that we’ve just finished working on, which we will vertically reflect (right click > Transform > Reflect > Vertical) and then position onto the opposite side of the glasses.

Step 13

Finish off the glasses and with them the icon itself by adding the center section of the string using a 20 x 2 px rectangle (#422C21) which we will center align to the bridge, positioning it bellow at a distance of 12 px from its upper section. Once you’re done, select and group all of the icon’s composing shapes together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Great Job!

Assuming you’ve managed to follow each and every step, you should now have a cool looking pair of hipster glasses ready to be used in any future personal project.

Adobe Illustrator Basics: Create a Studio Monitor Icon in 15 Minutes

Wed, 23 May 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to another icon tutorial! Today we’re going to follow a step-by-step guide for designing a studio monitor icon. This little speaker is perfect for music-inspired illustrations, icon sets, and flat vectors. Using some simple geometric shapes and tools in Adobe Illustrator, we'll quickly create an icon that's music to your ears (and eyes).

So, put on a jam and let’s get started!

Tutorial Details: Studio Monitor Icon

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Design Theory, Compositional Construction, Shape Alignment, Grid Positioning, How to Design a Studio Monitor Icon

Estimated Completion Time: 30 Minutes

Final Image: Studio Monitor Icon

Step 1

Start by first setting up a New Document by going over to File > New (or using the Control-N keyboard shortcut), which we will adjust:

Number of Artboards: 1

Width: 128 px

Height: 128 px

Units: Pixels

And from the Advanced tab:

Color Mode: RGB

Raster Effects: Screen (72ppi)

Preview Mode: Default

Quick tip: most of the indicated settings can be automatically triggered if you set the document’s Profile to Web. The only setting you'll need to adjust manually is the Artboard's Size (Width x Height).

Step 2

Once we’ve set up our project file, we can start working on the actual icon. First, create the background using a 120 x 120 px circle, which we'll color using #FF8D4D. Then, center align to the underlying Artboard using the Align panel’s Horizontal and Vertical Align Center options.

Step 3

Create the studio monitor’s side section using a 40 x 64 px rounded rectangle with an 8 px Corner Radius, which we'll color using #776663. Then, center align to the underlying circle, positioning it at a distance of 34 px from its left edge.

Step 4

Create an outline using the Stroke method and creating a copy of it (Control-C), which we will paste in front (Control-F). Then, adjust by changing its color to #422C21, and then flipping its Fill with its Stroke (Shift-X), making sure to set its Weight to 4 px and its Corner to Round Join. Then, before moving on, select both shapes and group them together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 5

Add the monitor’s front section using a copy (Control-C) of the two shapes that we’ve just grouped, which we will paste in front (Control-F) and then move a few pixels to the left using the Move tool (right click > Transform > Move > Horizontal > -12 px).

Step 6

Create the speaker cone using a 24 x 24 px circle (#FFC550) with a 4 px thick outline (#422C21), which we will group (Control-G) and then center align to the monitor’s front section, positioning it at a distance of 12 px from the bottom edge.

Step 7

Add the cone’s center section using an 8 x 8 px circle (#422C21), which we'll center align to the larger shapes.

Step 8

Create the circular ring using a 14 x 14 px circle with a 2 px thick Stroke (#422C21), which we will then center align to the previously created shape.

Step 9

Adjust the ring, by selecting its bottom and right Anchor Points using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then removing them by pressing Delete, setting the resulting Stroke’s Cap to Round.

Step 10

Repeat the exact same process only this time remove the circle’s top and left Anchor Points, selecting and grouping (Control-G) all of the cone’s composing shapes together once you’re done.

Step 11

Create the tweeter cone, using an 8 x 8 px circle (#FFC550) with a 4 px thick outline (#422C21), which we'll group (Control-G) and then position above the larger cone, at a distance of just 8 px.

Step 12

Add the monitor’s front bass port using a 20 x 4 px rounded rectangle (#FFC550) with a 2 px Corner Radius, which we will position below the larger speaker cone, at a distance of 6 px from its bottom edge. Once you’re done, select and group all of the monitor’s composing sections together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 13

Finish off the icon, by creating and positioning a 68 px wide 4 px thick Stroke line (#FFC550) with a Round Cap to the bottom of the studio monitor, selecting and grouping (Control-G) all its composing sections together afterwards.

That's a Wrap!

Great job! I hope you found these steps fun and useful. Maybe you've even learned something new you can use in your future creations!

How to Do Live Mirror Drawing in Adobe Illustrator CC

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Some of the graphic and 3D editors have a Live Mirror Drawing feature, which allows you to draw simultaneously on both sides of one or more axes of symmetry. Unfortunately, Adobe Illustrator does not have this feature although it is a very powerful and multi-feature application. We can, however, implement Live Mirror Drawing in Illustrator by using only its basic features. You will learn how to do it from reading today's article.

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4 - CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Transform effect

Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes

Final Image

As always, this is the final image that we’ll be creating:

Create a template for Live Mirror Drawing

Step 1

Open Adobe Illustrator and create a new document (File > New). Artboard sizes and color mode of the new document depends only on your preferences. Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a rectangle of the size larger than the size of artboard. Stroke colors of the rectangle do not matter at all, but you'll need to set the fill to 0 in order to see a preview of the mirrored image.

Step 2

Turn on the Rulers (Command / Ctrl + R) and create horizontal and vertical guides by dragging them from the corresponding rulers. The guides must pass through the center of the created rectangle.

It is not necessary to create the guides since they just show the position of the axes of symmetry. We basically have them set up for our own convenience.

Step 3

Create a random object on the artboard. I created an arrow to indicate the direction of the path.

Step 4

Select the entire layer in the Layers panel.

Now go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform... and in the dialog box, specify the axis of symmetry and the number of copies equal to 1. For visual control over the situation, check the Preview option and press OK.

Your template is complete, so you can start drawing.

Live Mirror Drawing

Step 5

Turn off the visibility of the created object (in my case it's an arrow) in the Layers panel.

Step 6

Now select any of the drawing tools, for example the Paint Brush Tool (B), and create a path.

As you can see, we've got immediate symmetry relative to the horizontal axis. At the same time you can draw on both sides of the axis of symmetry.

Unfortunately, this method has two drawbacks which of course I have to warn you about. When crossing the axis of symmetry, the connection of the created path with its mirror copy is absent.

The path exists on both sides of the axis of symmetry. This must be taken into consideration and try not to cross the axis of symmetry, unless you plan it, of course.

Also you can't draw beyond the boundaries of the rectangle created in the first step, as this will ruin the symmetry of the entire system. That is why we have created a rectangle that is bigger than the artboard.

Editing a Live Mirror Drawing template

Step 7

You can always reset the configurations of the template. To do so, select the layer with the template and click on the Transform effect in the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance). This will open the dialog with the parameters of the effect.

For example, you can change the axis of symmetry.

Step 8

You can even set multiple axes of symmetry, by choosing at the same time the options Reflect X, Reflect Y and setting the number of copies required and the rotation angle.

But in this case, in addition to the symmetry, we also get a rotation relative to the point of intersection of the axes.

The completion of the mirror drawing

Step 9

Now let's draw something. I created an abstract design in the style of freehand pinstriping.

When the drawing is complete, select the whole layer, then go to Object > Expand Appearance. Mirror reflection materialized into regular vector objects.

Step 10

Auxiliary elements such as arrows and rectangles can now be deleted.

Today, I told you how to make a mirror drawing using standard features of Adobe Illustrator. This method seems slightly inconvenient with some limitations. Note that this is not the only way to make a mirror drawing. Recently there appeared a new MirrorMe plug-in for instantaneous symmetry in Adobe Illustrator, which is much more convenient to use, and it also has more features as well.

2 Ways To Create a Long Shadow Effect In 5 Steps or Less

Mon, 11 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0500

In today’s tutorial, we'll take a closer look at the tools you can use to create a long shadow effect. We'll use some live effects and the Appearance panel in Adobe Illustrator. Using the long shadow effect, we’ll create two graphic styles which can be applied to single paths and to groups of objects. We hope you enjoy our newest tutorial!

Long Shadow Effect Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS5 - CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Appearance panel, live effects

Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes

Final Image

Step 1

Start Adobe Illustrator and create a new document (Cmd/Ctrl + N). Your artboard can be any size. The styles will work equally well in RGB and in CMYK color modes.

Creation of a Solid Long Shadow

Step 2

Create a rectangle of any color and size. This will will serve as your background. Then, draw a random object in a new color. I created a star with a white fill and no stroke. We will apply the long shadow effect to this object.

Open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) and select the star.

Click on the Add New Fill button in the Appearance panel.

Step 3

Select the lower fill in the Appearance panel and change it from white to gray.

Keep the star and the gray fill selected, then go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform…. In the opened dialog box, set the value of vertical and horizontal shift to 0.5 px. The shadow will be placed on 45 degree angle–that’s why shifts are the same. Check the preview option and set the number of copies. Their value depends on the length of shadow you want to create.

Step 4

For the gray fill, set the Multiply blending mode in the Appearance panel.

We created a simple long shadow effect. To save it as a graphic style, drag the star into the Graphic Style panel.

Now you can apply this graphic style to other objects. These might be objects consisting of one path, Compound Path, editable text and even a group of objects.

If you're a pro at Illustrator, this maybe old news to you. However, if you're just beginning to use the Appearance panel, I hope you learned some things you didn't know before!

Now, let’s work on something slightly more complex...

Creation of a Gradual Long Shadow

Step 5

Oftentimes, designers create a gradient shadow (i.e. its density decreases). So, let’s try that same style. We'll return to our star with the solid long shadow effect. Replace the gray fill in the Appearance panel with a gray-black linear gradient.

Set an angle of 135 degrees for the gradient, and switch a black slider with a gray one in the Gradient panel (Window > Gradient).

Step 6

Keep the object and the lower fill selected in the Appearance panel, and then go to Effect > Pathfinder > Add. The application may open a warning window that says we cannot apply this effect. Ignore it and simply click on the OK button.

And now drag the Add effect lower than the Transform effect in the Transparency panel.

Processing of the effect might take the application some time. This all depends on how complex the object is and the number of copies of the Transform effect.

Step 7

If necessary, edit the length of the gradient and intensity of the grey with the help of the Gradient Tool (G).

As you can see, we reached an effect of gradual long-shadowed effect. Save the long shadow effect in the Graphic Style panel for later use. We can apply this style to path, Compound Path, editable text and to group of objects.

Step 8

After applying the styles we’ve developed, a part of the shadow can extend beyond the background.

In such case, hide the excess part (outside the background) with the help of a Clipping mask. Create a duplicate of the background (Cmd/Ctrl+ C; Cmd/Ctrl + F), then place a new object above all existing objects.

Step 9

Select the upper object and objects (to which the long shadow effect was applied), then go to the Object > Clipping Mask > Make or use Cmd/Ctrl + 7 shortcuts.

Step 10

If we apply a long shadow effect to different objects close together, then we see shadows overlay, like in the image below.

To fix this problem, group objects with shadows and select the entire group in the Layers panel. Now check the Knockout Group in the Transparency panel.

And we're done! I hope you liked our quick tips tutorial, and hopefully you can use these cheats in your upcoming projects.

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial: Create a Simple Contact Form in 30 Minutes or Less!

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0500

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a simple contact form using Adobe Illustrator. We'll begin with some basic tips, and we'll work with the Appearance panel, too. You'll also learn about sleek text fields and subtle call-to-action buttons. Finally, we'll use the Type Tool to experiment with fonts and the Drop Shadow effect. Let's get started!

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CC

Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate

Topics Covered: Basic Tools and Effects, Pattern Building and the Appearance panel

Estimated Completion Time: 30 minutes

Final Image

Below is the final image we'll be creating:

Step 1

Hit Command + N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 600 in the width box and 670 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 you click OK.

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). For starters, you will need a grid every 5px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid, enter 5 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box.

You should also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview of the size and position of your shapes. Don't forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units > General. All these options will significantly increase your work speed.

Step 2

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and focus on your Toolbar. Remove the color from the stroke, and then select the fill, and set its color at R=237 G=237 B=239. Move to your Artboard and simply create a 10px square, the Snap to Grid should ease your work.

Make sure that this little shape is selected and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the properties shown in the image below, then click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 3

Focus on the Layers panel (Window > Layers), then select the existing group and hit Shift + CTRL + G twice to Ungroup it. In the end, you'll have four 10px squares. Select the first one and set the fill color at R=27 G=70 B=112; then, select the third one and set the fill color at R=221 G=79 B=91.

Reselect all four squares and simply drag these shapes inside the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches) to save them as a pattern. Once you can see that new pattern inside the Swatches panel, you can delete the four squares from your Artboard.

Step 4

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 600 x 670px shape and fill it with R=55 G=56 B=57. Next, you need to center this dark rectangle.

Select it and open the Align panel (Window > Align). Set the aligning to Artboard (if you can't see the "Align To" section shown below, open the fly-out menu and go to Show Options.) Then, simply click the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons. This should center your rectangle.

Step 5

Make sure your dark rectangle stays selected, and open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance). Add a second fill using the Add New Fill button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image). Select this new fill, open the Gradient panel (Window > Gradient), and simply click on the gradient thumbnail to add the default black to white linear gradient.

Keep focusing on your Gradient panel, and open the Type drop down menu and select Radial. Then, move to the gradient colors. Select the right slider and set the color at R=25 G=26 B=27, then select the left slider, set the color at R=55 G=56 B=57, and lower its Opacity to 0%.

Make sure that this fill stays selected, and then go ahead grab the Gradient Tool (G). Focus on your Artboard and stretch that gradient (like the image below).

Return to the Appearance panel and, using that same Add New Fill button, add a third fill for your rectangle. Select it, set the color at black, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, then click on the little arrow to see the attributes used for this new fill.

Click on that "Opacity" piece of text, change the Blending Mode to Multiply, set the Opacity at 10%, and go to Effect > Artistic > Film Grain. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 6

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 260 x 330px shape, fill it with your saved pattern and center it using the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons from the Align panel.

Step 7

Make sure that your patterned rectangle is selected, focus on the Appearance panel, and select the existing fill and Object > Transform > Rotate. Uncheck the Objects box, make sure that the Patterns box is checked, enter a 45 degrees angle, click OK and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 8

Make sure that your patterned rectangle is still selected, then focus on the Appearance panel. Go ahead and add a second fill and select it. Set the color at R=237 G=237 B=239 and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a 10px Offset, click OK and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 10px radius and click OK.

Step 9

Make sure your patterned rectangle stays selected, focus on the Appearance panel, and add a black stroke and select it. Set the size at 1pt, then align it to outside and lower the Opacity to 20%.

Return to the Appearance panel and add a second black stroke for your shape using the Add New Stroke button (pointed by the little, blue arrow in the following image). Select this new stroke, set the size at 1pt, align it to inside, lower the Opacity to 50%, and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Keep focusing on the Appearance panel and add a third black stroke. Select it, set the size at 2pt, align it to inside, lower the Opacity to 40% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light. While you're still inside the Appearance panel, add a fourth black stroke and select it. Set the size at 3pt, align it to inside, lower its Opacity to 30% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light.

Finally, select the entire path (simply click on the "Path" piece of text from the top of the Appearance panel) and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 10px radius and click OK.

Step 10

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create three, 200 x 25px shapes and a 200 x 75px rectangle. Place these new shapes as shown in the following image and set the fill color at white (for now).

Step 11

Select the top, white rectangle and focus on the Appearance panel. Select the existing fill, replace the white with R=227 G=227 B=219 and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Enter the properties shown in the following image, click OK and return to the Appearance panel.

Add a 1pt stroke, align it to inside and set the color at R=215 G=215 B=207. Keep focusing on the Appearance panel, select the entire path and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 5px radius, click OK and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the attributes shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 12

Next, you need to copy the properties used in the previous step (for the rectangle), and paste them onto the remaining white rectangles. Here is how you can easily do it:

Go to the Layers panel, focus on the right side and you'll notice that every shape comes with a little circle. It's called a target icon.

Hold the Alt key from your keyboard, then click on the target icon (for the rectangle edited in the previous step) and drag it onto the target icons for the white rectangles. Then, your image should look like the one below. These four rounded rectangles will be the text fields.

Step 13

Select your top text field shape and focus on the Appearance panel. Select the bottom fill and set the color at R=215 G=215 B=207.

Select the top fill and set the color at R=184 G=184 B=176. Then open the existing Inner Glow effect and enter the attributes shown in the following image. This is how an active text field will look like.

Step 14

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 70 x 20px rectangle, set the fill color at R=27 G=70 B=112 and place it as shown in the first image. Make sure that this blue rectangle stays selected and hit Shift + X to transfer the color properties from the fill to the stroke.

Move to the Appearance panel, and select that blue stroke. Align it to the inside and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the top, left window (in the following image), click OK, and go again to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the top, right window, click OK and go once again to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the bottom, left window, click OK and go one more time to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the bottom, right window and click OK.

Step 15

Using the Type Tool (T), add the "SEND" piece of text, set the color at R=27 G=70 B=112 and place it as shown in the image below. Use the Utsaah font, make it Bold, set size at 10pt and the tracking at 100 (like in the photo below). Then, go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 16

Make sure that the Type Tool (T) is still active, add the "Contact Us" piece of text, set the color at R=184 G=184 B=176 and place it in the top center. Use the Eras Bold ITC font, set size at 20pt and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow.

Enter the properties shown in the following image and click OK. Finally, add the subtle pieces of text from the text fields. Use the Calibri font, set the size at 9pt and the color at R=185 G=185 B=177.

And We're Done!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. Now you can create this contact form or one with some unique touches!

How to Reverse Brush Strokes in Illustrator: Quick & Easy Tip

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Like many other designers, I love using the Brush Tool (b), but I hate trying to reverse brush strokes in Illustrator. I finally found a quick way to change the direction of a single brush stroke (without affecting other strokes associated with the same brush)!

You may recall our recent lesson on Brush Tool basics, so today we're going to kick it up a notch with a new, super-quick tutorial.

Let's get started!

How to Reverse Brush Strokes in Illustrator:

First, select the path and then click on a endpoint with the Pen Tool (p), creating a new direction toward that point. (Note: this trick only works on open paths.)

And that's it! Possibly the quickest tutorial you'll read today. I hope you're enjoying the Brush Tool, and if so, maybe this little tip can help you with your future projects. Now you can reverse brush strokes in Illustrator, so keep designing, brushing, and reversing!

Follow the Vecteezy Twitter for more tips and tricks!

10 Step Tutorial: How to Draw a Cute Dog Icon in Adobe Illustrator

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0500

We all know dogs are awesome, and in this tutorial, we’ll learn how to draw a cute dog icon quickly and easily, all in Adobe Illustrator! No need to ruff it, either; we’ll use simple shapes to make our cute doggo. But enough yapping... let's get started!

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Live Corners, Align Panel, Reflect Tool

Estimated Completion Time: 15 minutes

How to Draw a Cute Dog Icon in Adobe Illustrator: Final Image

Step 1

Let’s start creating a head from a 150 x 180 px light-yellow rectangle.

Now take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select the top corners of the shape. Pull the circle marker of the Live Corners to make the corners rounded. You can adjust the Corners radius value manually from the control panel on top. Let’s set it to 60 px.

Step 2

Create another rectangle of 200 x 85 px and place it perpendicular to the first shape. Now let’s select both shapes and align them. Click the first rectangle once again to make it a Key Object (its selection will become thicker). Open the Align panel and click Horizontal Align Center. Now the second rectangle will be aligned to the first. No matter how many objects are selected, they will all become aligned to the Key Object.

Step 3

Let’s select the horizontal rectangle with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and make all the corners rounded.

Step 4

Let’s take the Ellipse Tool (L) and make a nose. Create a 40 x 20 px brown oval. Select its side points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and move them up a bit to make the top of the nose flatter and its bottom pore pointed.

Step 5

Let’s make a mouth. Create a 42 x 35 px ellipse with dark-brown Stroke. Open the Stroke panel and set the Weight to 2 pt, Cap to Round Cap.

Now select the top anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and hit the Delete key to remove the point, creating an arc.

Select the created arc, hold Alt-Shift and drag it to the left, creating a copy. Now we have a smiling muzzle!

Step 6

Let’s add a tongue. Make a 35 x 45 px pink rectangle. Select the bottom corners with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and make the bottom of the shape rounded. Now we need to place the tongue beneath the mouth by moving it down in the Layers panel or by pressing Control-[ a few times.

Apply a light-yellow Fill to the elements of the muzzle in order to hide the top of the tongue.

Use the Pen Tool (P) or the Line Segment Tool (\) to create a vertical stroke along the center of the tongue.

Step 7

Use the Ellipse Tool (L) while holding down Shift to make a 10 x 10 px brown circle for the eye. Hold Alt-Shift and drag the circle to the opposite side, creating a second eye.

Let’s create a spot around the right eye. Make a large orange ellipse and place it beneath the eye.

Step 8

Now we’ll delete the peace of the spot that we don’t need. Let’s select both parts of the head and the orange spot. Take the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M) and hover the mouse over the unwanted piece. Hold the Alt key and click the piece to delete it.

Step 9

Finally, we need to add the ears. Let’s take the Polygon Tool (you can find it in the same drop-down menu as the Rectangle Tool (M)) and single-click anywhere on the Artboard to open the pop-up window. Set the Sides to 3 and create a brown triangle. Squash it to make its bottom side wider.

Step 10

Make the corners of the ear shape rounded using the Live Corners feature and position the ear over the top part of the head. Keeping the ear selected, double-click the Reflect Tool (O) and select the Vertical Axis. Click Copy to create a mirrored shape and attach it to the opposite side of the head.

Congratulations! You've successfully learned how to draw a cute dog icon!

We can adjust some minor details to make our illustration more balanced. For example, we can make the eyes a bit larger (15 x 15 px) and the strokes of the mouth and tongue a bit thicker (4 pt). You may also consider adding a dark-blue background to increase the contrast.

And there you have it! Now our image looks completely adorable. Great work!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and maybe you even learned some new tricks. If nothing else, you now know how to draw a cute dog icon you can use for invitations, logos, and more!

How To Design a Seamless Avocado Pattern in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details:

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6-CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Offset Path, Pattern Tool, Swatches panel, Scale Tool

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Final Image: A Seamless Avocado Pattern!

Trying to design a pattern by yourself can be the pits. But in this tutorial, we'll go over easy, effective ways to create a flat-style avocado pattern using simple geometric shapes and Adobe Illustrator's Pattern Tool. We'll build a vivid and diverse seamless pattern, adding leaves and other yummy elements. Let's get started!

Step 1

Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and let’s start with a 150 x 150 px light-yellow circle.

Step 2

Keeping the circle selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and set the Offset value to -30 px, leaving all other options as default. Click OK to create a smaller circle on top of the shape.

Make the color of the new shape slightly darker.

Step 3

Select the created circle and apply Offset Path once again, but this time set the Offset value to -10 px. Fill the new shape with dark-brown color, depicting an avocado seed.

Step 4

Add a small 25 x 25 px light-brown circle on top of the seed for the highlight.

Step 5

Now take the Direct Selection Tool (A), click the top anchor point of the largest circle and drag it up, giving a proper shape to our avocado.

Step 6

Keeping the modified shape selected, apply Offset Path with 7 px Offset value to create the skin.

Step 7

Fill the new shape with dark-green color for the skin.

Looking good! Our avocado is finished, but that's not all. Let's see whal else can we make for our pattern.

Step 8

Let’s depict a simple leaf that we’ll use for the pattern as well. Make a 60 x 100 px green oval with the help of the Ellipse Tool (L).

Select its top and bottom anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and use the Convert option in the control panel on top to Convert selected anchor points to corner.

Step 9

Take the Scissors Tool (C) and click top and bottom anchor points to split the shape apart. Fill the right half with darker green color and Group (Control-G) both parts.

Step 10

Let’s duplicate (Control-C > Control-V) our leaf and combine both leaves with a group of circles to make a yellow berry.

Now all the main elements are made, so let’s start creating our pattern!

Select the objects and go to Object > Pattern > Make.

Step 11

Now that we’re in the Pattern Mode, let’s head to the Pattern Options panel and set the Width and Height of the Tile to 600 x 600 px. Keep the Tile Type set to Grid.

If you set the number of Copies to 3 x 3 or 5 x 5 you’ll be able to see semi-transparent clones of all the objects around the Tile area. This way we can imagine how our future pattern will look like, making the composition balanced.

Step 12

Let’s duplicate and rotate our avocado, varying the size and position of the copies to make the pattern more diverse.

Once you’re happy with the position of the avocados, start adding berries to fill up the blank spaces.

Step 13

Go on and place the leaves here and there, adding a fresh green accents to our pattern.

Step 14

When you’ve finished with adjusting and positioning all the details, click Done in the top part of your document to exit the Pattern Mode. Now we can find our pattern in the Swatches panel and apply it to any object simply by clicking it. We can also return to Pattern Mode and edit our pattern anytime either by clicking the Edit Pattern button in the Swatches panel or by double-clicking it.

Another useful tool for editing our pattern is the Scale Tool (S). Let’s see how it works.

Make a 600 x 600 px square using the Rectangle Tool (M) and apply our pattern. Double-click the Scale Tool (S) to open the Options window. Set the Uniform Scale to 50%. Don’t forget to untick the Transform Objects box in order to scale only the pattern itself, not the whole rectangle. And there you have it!

Holy Guacamole, Our Seamless Avocado Pattern is Finished!

Great job, guys! You can now design an avocado pattern in Adobe Illustrator. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and learned some new tricks, too.

Creating flat objects and turning them into seamless patterns is easier than it looks, so have fun and keep creating new designs!

How to Quickly Create Realistic Lens Flare Vectors in Adobe Illustrator!

Mon, 16 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Today we'll learn how to create lens flare vectors with transparent backgrounds! We'll do this using simple vector objects, blending modes, and the Flare Tool. Want a simple lens flare for your next illustration? If so, this easy tutorial has you covered. Let's get started!

Tutorial Details: Realistic Lens Flare Vectors

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4 - CC

Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate

Topics Covered: Gradient Tool and the Transparency panel

Estimated Completion Time: 45 minutes

Final Image: Realistic Lens Flare Vectors

Step 1

In order to design our lens flare vectors, we'll first create a new document (File> New ...). We'll then set the size of our artboard – 600x600px. Click on the Advanced button and set the RGB color mode, if it isn't installed by default.

Step 2

Next up is our semi-transparent background. Images with low-opacity can often provide more options when you're creating a design or adding elements to an illustration. In order to make your semi-transparent background, create a light gray square using the Rectangle Tool (M). The dimensions of the rectangle should correspond to the size.

Now, in the top left corner of the artboard, let’s create a dark gray square with dimensions 20x20px.

Step 3

Select a dark gray square, then go Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform... and set the Horizontal Move value = 40px and 14 Copies in the dialog box.

Apply the Transform effect once again and set the value and select the options shown in the figure below.

Through these actions now our background looks like a chess board.

Step 4

Create a new square with the size of our artboard and fill it with a dark blue color, for example R = 5; G = 11; B = 20.

Duplicate this square (Cmd / Ctrl + C; Cmd / Ctrl + F). Apply to this object a linear gradient from gray (K = 50) to white.

Step 5

Select the two upper squares, and then click on the Make Mask button in the Transparency panel to create an opacity mask.

The semi-transparent background is ready. We can begin to create our lens flare vectors.

Step 6

With the help of the Ellipse Tool (L), create a circle in the center of the artboard. Fill the circumference with a radial gradient from gray (K = 30) to black (R = 0; G = 0; B = 0).

To this object, apply the Color Dodge blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Step 7

Duplicate the circle (Cmd / Ctrl + C; Cmd / Ctrl + F). Fill the top of the circle with a radial gradient from white to black.

With the help of the Selection Tool (V) transform the upper circle to an ellipse and rotate it to any angle.

Step 8

Duplicate the last ellipse couple of times, and turn the copies into other angles. You can also resize and reduce the opacity of some ellipses. As the result, we receive a star similar to the one shown below.

Step 9

Create a circle with a radial gradient fill from gray (K = 50) to black (R = 0; G = 0; B = 0) and place it in the center of the star.

Apply to the circle Screen blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Step 10

Take the Flare Tool and click in the center of the top of the circle. In the dialog box, set the parameters similar to the ones shown on the figure below.

I do not think that all objects of flare are needed. Select the Flare object, then go to Object> Expand... and choose only the Object option in the dialog box.

Step 11

Now we can remove some of the circles, leaving the necessary ones.

And edit the color of gradients of any of the circles, which were previously included in Flare object.

Note: I desaturated all gradients to flares light, so they can be used on any color background.

And we're done! You can now quickly create lens flare vectors for your "bright" designs. Have thoughts on this tutorial? Let us know in the comments below!

How to Create a Honey Bee Logo in 10 Easy Steps!

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: How to Create a Honey Bee Logo

Program: Adobe Illustrator CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Stroke, Live Corners, Direct Selection Tool

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Final Image: Sunny Honey Bee Logo in Adobe Illustrator

Why are we buzzing about this tutorial? This how-to will give you the tools you need to create a honey bee logo, with fancy thin lines and bits of honeycomb. (Sweet, right?)

We’ll use simple geometric shapes, applying strokes and modifying our objects with the Live Corners feature and the Direct Selection Tool. Then we’ll finish up by adding a simple sunny background.

Let’s get started!

Step 1

Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to make a 210x260 px shape with bright-yellow Fill and brown Stroke.

Set the Stroke Weight to 10 pt either in the control panel on top or in the Stroke panel (Window > Stroke).

You can adjust the Corner Radius from the top control panel, if you switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A). You can also use the Live Corners feature by just dragging the circle markers at the corners of the shape to its center.

Finally, the same can be done from the Transform panel (Window > Transform). Make the corners fully rounded, setting the Corners to 105 px.

Step 2

Keep using the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the bottom anchor point. Convert selected anchor point to corner from the control panel on top, making the bottom of the shape pointed.

Select both side anchor points as marked in the screenshot below and move them down a bit, using the down arrow key while holding Shift.

Step 3

Let’s add some stripes to our bee. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 210x35 px shape of the same dark-brown color as our outline.

Hold Alt-Shift and drag the stripe down, creating a copy. And let’s make it fit the edges of the body. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to move the marked anchor points closer to each other, hiding them over the outline of the bee’s body.

Step 4

Make another copy at the very bottom of the body and move the marked anchor points to make the shapes fit each other perfectly.

Step 5

Now we’ll form the wing. Use the Ellipse Tool (L) while holding Shift to make a 130x130 px circle with light-blue Fill and dark-brown Stroke of 10 pt.

Select the top anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and drag it up, making a drop-like shape.

Step 6

Rotate and attach the wing to the body of the bee. Copy the wing and Paste in Back (Control-C > Control-B), making a copy much smaller.

Group (Control-G) the wings and Send to Back (Shift-Control-[), beneath the body of the bee.

Double-Click the Reflect Tool (O) and flip the shapes over the Vertical Axis, clicking Copy to create a mirrored group at the opposite side of the body.

Step 7

Let’s add the eyes to your honey bee logo illustration! Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to make a 15x15 px dark-brown circle and place a tiny white highlight on top of it.

Hold Alt-Shift and drag the eye to the right, creating a copy.

Step 8

Use the Arc Tool to make an arched stroke for the cornicle. You can find the Arc Tool in the same drop-down menu as the Line Segment Tool (\).

Step 9

We can also use the Arc Tool to add details to the wings.

Step 10

Add a bright orange rectangle for the background and let’s use the Polygon Tool to add a few hexagons beneath our bee, thus forming some combs to make the composition look completed.

There You Have It... Our Sunny Honey Bee Logo is Ready!

Great job, worker bees! We’ve learned how to create a honey bee logo, and we did it using the simple shapes and functions of Adobe Illustrator. Best of all, you can use this tutorial to design bee illustrations for invitations, art pieces, and more.

I hope you'll use this tutorial any time you need a honey bee logo or summertime illustration. Remember to take your time, and simply bee yourself!

How to Create an Astronaut Vector in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 00:00:00 -0500

In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to create an astronaut vector using simple shapes and trendy gradients! We'll quickly go over steps to add depth and volume when designing out-of-this-world illustrations. Get ready to launch Adobe Illustrator in 3-2-1!

Final Image:

Tutorial Details - How to Create an Astronaut Vector:

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6-CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Gradient Tool, Pathfinder Panel, Move Tool, Clipping Masks

Estimated Completion Time: 20 Minutes

Step 1

When you're learning how to create an astronaut vector, you can start your design simply. We'll begin our illustration by creating a New Document in 600 x 600 px size and RGB Color Mode (make sure you don’t select CMYK, as some of the effects won’t work).

Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to create a rectangle of the same size and fill it with dark purple color for the background.

Step 2

Start forming the helmet of the space suit by making a 200 x 200 px rectangle. Fill it with a linear gradient (white on top and blue in the bottom).

Use the Gradient panel (Window > Gradient) to select the Type of gradient, and use this panel to apply the desired colors to the sliders. From here, we can also adjust the direction of the gradient by setting the Angle to -90 degrees. Or we can use the Gradient Tool (G); just click and drag over the image while holding down Shift.

Step 3

Now we’ll form the glass part of the helmet. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and make a 170 x 170 px circle. Fill it with a vertical linear gradient (dark purple on top and lighter purple on the bottom).

We can also make its bottom part a bit flatter by selecting the bottom anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and moving it a few pixels up by pressing the up arrow key.

Continue using the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the top left and right anchor points of the white rectangle. Then, pull the Live Corners circle marker to make the corners fully rounded. We can also adjust the Corner Radius from the control panel on top.

Step 4

Let’s Copy (Control-C) the purple circle and Paste in Front (Control-F). Make it a bit smaller and adjust the colors of the gradient, making them brighter, so that the bottom circle forms a shadow.

Make another copy on top of the glass (Control-F) and reduce its size even more. Change the colors of the gradient to dark purple and black. Once you've done that, switch the Blending Mode to Screen in the Transparency panel. This way, we’re making the black part of the gradient fully transparent, forming a nice highlight on the glass' surface.

Let’s select our first circle, and this time, Paste in Back (Control-B). Make the new copy slightly larger and fill it with a light gradient (blue to white). Switch its Blending Mode to Multiply, forming a gentle shadow.

Step 5

Let’s add another glossy overtone to the helmet. We still have our purple circle in the clipboard. Let’s Paste in Front twice (Control-F > Control-F) and Bring both copies to Front (Shift-Control-]). Move the top copy a few pixels down and to the right. Select both copies and apply Minus Front function of the Pathfinder panel to cut out the top circle, creating a crescent shape.

Make the shape a bit smaller and fill it with a vertical linear gradient (blue on top to black in the bottom). Switch to the Screen mode, creating a highlight.

Step 6

Now we’ll add the side parts of the helmet. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 35 x 70 px shape by the left side and use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick the white-blue gradient from the helmet.

Add two 15 x 15 px circles and fill them with a dark purple gradient (the same as we have for the glass), but this time, change the Type of the gradient to Radial.

Select the top and bottom left anchor points of the rectangle with the Direct Selection Tool (A), and use the Live Corners feature to make the corners rounded.

Make a copy of the created group of elements and attach it to the opposite side of the helmet, making the corners of the rectangle's right edge rounded.

Step 7

Let’s add a bottom to the helmet. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool to make a 235 x 20 px rounded stripe. Create another rounded rectangle, this time in 250 x 20 px size, and attach it to the previous one.

Use the Align panel (Window > Align) if you want to have all the shapes perfectly centered. From there you can Horizontal Align Center everything to the Artboard.

Step 8

When I was perfecting how to create an astronaut vector for this tutorial, I noticed giving the character a body really made it pop. So, our next step is to design the astronaut's torso. You can do this by creating a 290 x 150 px rectangle for the body, then applying the same white-blue gradient.

Select its bottom left anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A), and hit the Enter key to open the Move options panel. From here, set the Horizontal value to -20 px and Vertical to 0 px. Click OK to move the point 20 px to the left.

Step 9

Repeat the same for the opposite anchor point, but this time, set the Horizontal value to 20 px, thus moving the point 20 px to the right.

Select both top anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and make them slightly rounded, forming the shoulders.

Step 10

Let’s add a gentle shadow to the suit. Make a squashed ellipse and place it over the top of the shoulders, as shown in the image below. Make a copy of the body shape and Paste it in Front (Control-C > Control-F). Select both the body copy and the ellipse, and apply the Intersect function of the Pathfinder to cut off the unneeded pieces of the ellipse.

Finally, fill the remaining shape with blue-white linear gradient, and switch its Blending Mode to Multiply.

Step 11

Let’s add a few more elements to the space suit. Make a 75 x 75 px circle with dark blue linear gradient. Duplicate (Control-C > Control-F) it and make the copy slightly smaller (50 x 50 px) and its colors slightly lighter.

Add a rounded rectangle by the right side of the circles.

Now we can finally group (Control-G) all the elements of the astronaut together.

Step 12

Now that our astronaut is ready, let’s add a simple frame to hide the bottom part of the suit. Create a 330 x 290 px rectangle of any color and add an anchor point in the middle of its bottom edge. You can do this using either the Pen Tool (P), or via Object > Path > Add Anchor Points.

Select the created point and press Enter to open the Move window. This time set the Horizontal value to 0 px and Vertical to 50 px, moving the point 50 px down.

Step 13

Now select the astronaut together with the top shape. To do this, click the right mouse button, then select Make Clipping Mask. This way, we’re placing all the objects inside the top shape (like the inside of a container).

As you can see, I have a gentle purple gradient beneath the astronaut. We can make it either by using the copy of the top shape, or we can add a rectangle with dark purple gradient beneath the astronaut (inside the Clipping Mask).

Step 14

Looking great so far! We're almost done learning how to create an astronaut vector. Now we can add any minor details to our liking. For example, I’ve speckled some circle stars around the astronaut to make the composition look completed.

Houston, we now know how to create an astronaut vector!

Great job, guys! I hope you’ve enjoyed following this tutorial. Hopefully you now know how to create an astronaut vector, and maybe you even discovered some new tips and tricks along the way. Use what you've learned in this tutorial to keep designing, illustrating, and creating.

And remember, have fun!

How to Create a Custom Water Font In Less Than an Hour

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: Custom Water Font

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6-CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Blend Tool, Pencil Tool, Appearance Tool, Custom Brushes

Estimated Completion Time: 45 Minutes

Final Image

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a refreshing font style! We'll base this water font on your handwriting or a brush font. Then, we'll create custom brushes, play with blending modes, explore blended shapes, use gradients, and use vector effects—all in the Appearance panel. Let's get started!

Step 1

To start creating your water font, choose a blue or turquoise hue for your background. Then, use the Rectangle Tool (M) to draw a large rectangle over the entirety of your artboard. Choose a brush script you like for the word you'll be "liquefying". I chose the font Alex Brush since it lends itself wonderfully to watery text.

Step 2

There are two methods I like to use when it comes to creating a flowing water font. Let's start with the first. For the first method, draw a circle with the Ellipse Tool (L) at the top of your first letter (or at one of the thicker points if you're using an alternate font).

Rotate the circle so its top and bottom anchor points line up with the direction of the letter (see below). Using the Direct Selection Tool (A), pull the bottom anchor point downward along the length of the letter's side. In the case below, it's the W's first leg.

Step 3

Use the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) to bring the end of the elongated circle into a point. Repeat Steps 2-3 for the other legs of the W. For curved portions of letters, start with a circle again at the thickest part of the letter's stroke and pull the bottom anchor point down, with the direct Selection Tool, to the bottom of the letter (initially ignoring the curve, as seen below).

Then, adjust the handles of the bottom point so the shape curves in accordance with the letter. You'll have to manipulate the handles of the other points as well, in order to get the right curve. (This depends on your letter and font.) If the handles don't appear, use the Convert Anchor Point Tool to convert it into a curving point. Do this by clicking on it once or twice. You'll notice anchor handles pop out immediately if it was previously a point.

Step 4

As I mentioned in Step 2, there are two methods I like to use for my water font. The first was covered in Steps 2-3, and we'll go over the second method now.

The second method starts with a circle drawn with the Ellipse Tool. Use the Direct Selection Tool and pull the right anchor point to the right of the picture plane. Make sure to bring its end to a point by using the Convert Anchor Point Tool.

The size of your circle and final shape (as seen below) will depend on how large of strokes you'll need to draw for your lettering. A good guide for this is to draw the circle over your text (as we did in Step 2) to gauge size.

Step 5

Select the new shape made in Step 4, and in the Brushes panel, go to Options and hit Make New Brush. Select Art Brush and the panel seen below should pop up. These should be the default options. Hit OK. You now have a custom art brush ready to be used in the next step.

Step 6

Using the Paintbrush Tool (B), trace your word's letters. In the case seen below, I've made sure my strokes begin at the thicker points of each letter and follow them accordingly. There are 12 strokes total for my word "water". Once satisfied, go to Object>Expand Appearance in order to expand the paintbrush strokes into objects.

Step 7

Select each expanded shape and apply a Linear Gradient, using the Gradient Tool (G), that goes from White at 100% Opacity to White at 0% Opacity. Adjust the angle of the gradient with the Gradient Tool so the opaque white is concentrated at the thickest part of the shape and the transparent color at the thinnest.

Step 8

Repeat Step 6's process for all of the shapes within your word.

Step 9

Let's make the background a little more interesting. Using the Gradient Tool and Gradient Palette , apply a Radial Gradient to the rectangle drawn in Step 1. This one goes from Dark Teal (R1, G147, B164) to Teal (R51, G204, B204). With the Gradient Tool, adjust the shape of the radial gradient so that it's oblong and centered around your text.

Step 10

In order to make it a striped background, use the Line Segment Tool (\) to draw a vertical line on the left side of the artboard. Copy (Control-C) and Paste (Control-V) this line and move it to the right side of the artboard.

Align both lines with each other by selecting them and hitting any of the Vertical Align options in the Align panel (the three options to the right in the top row). Once aligned, select both and use the Blend Tool (W) to apply a blend of 130 Steps or so (this depends on how many stripes you'd like in your background).

Step 11

Now that the background has been sorted (Steps 10-11), let's get back to the main text. Group (Control-G) together your letter components and Copy and Paste them. Hide the original group in the Layers panel, as you won't need it at this time.

Ungroup (this was done just for organization's sake), Select the first part of the first letter (see below for the first leg of the W). Go to Object>Path>Offset Path and input -2px or -4px, depending on how small you'd like the offset shape to be.

Step 12

I've isolated the leg of the W from Step 10 so this process is easier to see. Change the fill color to the Dark Teal from Step 8. Reduce the Opacity of the larger shape to 0% in the Transparency panel.

Select both shapes and use the Blend Tool to create a smooth blend of 20 Steps. Select your newly made Blend Group and reduce its overall Opacity to 40% and Blend Mode to Color Burn in the Transparency panel.

Step 13

Repeat the process of offsetting shapes from Step 10 and the entire process of Step 11 on the rest of your text objects. Group these shapes together and unhide the text group from Step 10 in the Layers panel.

Step 14

In order to add additional highlights to the text as seen in the image in Step 12, Copy and Paste each leg and curved component of your letters, and apply a Radial Gradient with the Gradient Tool to the lower curves (see below) going from white at 100% Opacity to white at 0% Opacity.

Repeat on the other letters where applicable (anything with curved shapes on the bottom). In the case of my text, I added seven additional gradient shapes. Group these extra shapes together.

Step 15

The next two steps involve three layers of additional text effects. Copy and Paste your text and Unite the copied text in the Pathfinder panel. Set the fill color to Null and the stroke color to Dark Teal (Step 10).

In the Stroke panel, set the weight to 1pt and the cap and corner to Rounded. Select the outlined text and go to Effect>Blur>Radial Blur. Set the Amount to 9, Blur Method to Spin, and Quality to Best. This layer will be set above the other three groups that make up your text (see 1. below).

Step 16

For the second layer Paste the United text again and set the stroke color to null and the fill color to a Linear Gradient going from Dark Teal at 100% to Dark Teal at 0%. In the Gradient panel, set the angle to -90°. In the Transparency panel, set the Opacity to 50% and the Blend Mode to Color Dodge.

Step 17

For the last layer of your water font, Paste the United text again, and set the stroke color to null. Using the Gradient panel, set the fill color to a Linear Gradient going from Dark Teal at 100% to Dark Teal at 0% and set the angle to 90°. In the Transparency panel, set the Opacity to 50% and the Blend Mode to Color Burn.

Step 18

Group together all of your text groups and new layers made up to this point.

Bonus Tutorial: How to Accent Your Water Font with Droplets

You can also make simple water drops to accent your water font, as seen below. If you want to do this, check out the following process:

Using the Ellipse Tool , draw a circle. Draw a second, smaller circle inside of the first. The larger circle should be Dark Teal at 100% Opacity and the second, small circle should be Dark Teal at 0% Opacity.

Select both, and with the Blend Tool, specify 20 Steps for a smooth blend between the two.

Copy and Paste the Blend Group and change the smaller circle's color to White at 100% Opacity and the larger circle's color to White at 0% Opacity.

Copy and Paste the larger circle and set the fill color to Null and the stroke color to Dark Teal at 1pt weight. In the Transparency panel, set the Blend Mode to Color Burn.

Bonus Tutorial Step 1

Repeat Step 17 with manipulated circles (do so by pulling anchor points outward, pushing them inward, or manipulating the handles of the anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool). Draw splash shapes with the Pencil Tool (N), and create sparkles by drawing small circles with the Ellipse Tool and going to Effects>Pucker & Bloat and setting the slider to -97% or so. These shapes will be scattered around the main water text.

Bonus Tutorial Step 2

Draw splash-like shapes on either side of your text with the Pencil Tool. In case you're not using a tablet to draw, you'll find you have more control with the Pen Tool (P) in creating curved shapes.

The aim of this step is to draw curves aiming outward from the text; as though the letters are splashing water to the sides of the picture plane. Set the fill color to Dark Teal and reduce the Opacity to 60% in the Transparency panel.

Bonus Tutorial Step 3

Much like the text, there's multiple layers needed for the splash shapes on the sides of your water font. Group together the shapes drawn in Step 19. Copy and Paste them. Using the Color Panel, set the fill color of the top copied group to null and the stroke to Dark Teal; then set the stroke to 1pt (or less, if you'd rather) in the Strokes panel.

Next using the Appearance panel, set the Blend Mode to Color Burn. Paste three additional layers of the copied group and follow the same process from steps 13-15 for each of them. Group these splash shapes together.

Bonus Tutorial Step 4

Repeat Step 20 with the splashy shapes on the other side.

Bonus Tutorial Step 5

For the last step in this water font tutorial, place the water droplets made in Steps 17-18 around the text as you see fit. With the Pencil Tool, outline the text in a series of pieces (see below). The aim is to make liquid-like, wiggly shapes. Hit Enter with the Pencil Tool selected and when the dialog box for the tool's options pops up, set the Fidelity to Accurate by bringing the slider (at the top of the box) all the way to the left.

If you're working with a mouse, you may wish to change this to something closer to smooth in case your lines aren't as accurate as those drawn with a graphics tablet. Make sure the fill color is set to Null and the stroke color is set to Dark Teal (as used throughout this tutorial).

I've set the weight to 0.25pt in the Stroke panel and reduced the Opacity to 79% with the Blend Mode set to Color Burn in the Transparency panel. Repeat this throughout your text.

Great job, your water font is done!

Group together your text, splash shapes, and water droplets. You can add additional sparkles, render the splash shapes like the water droplets, or push the text further with additional layers of gradient shapes, shadows, and highlights.

How to Draw a Tropical Bird in 10 Steps With Adobe Illustrator!

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: How to Draw a Tropical Bird

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Live Corners, Align panel

Estimated Completion Time: 20 minutes

Final Image: Tropical Bird

In this tutorial, we’ll add an exotic touch to our summer mood by learning how to draw a tropical bird and creating a vivid toucan in Adobe Illustrator. We’ll be drawing this flat-style toucan using basic geometric shapes, working with corners, and exploring the Align panel. Let’s get started!

Step 1

We’ll learn how to draw a tropical bird by starting with the head of our toucan. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 100 x 140 px dark greyish-blue shape.

Take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select both top corners of the rectangle. Once you see a circle marker of the Live Corners, pull it down to the center of the shape making the top of the rectangle fully rounded.

Another way to adjust the corners is to click the needed anchor points (corners) with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then set the desired value in the Corners window in the control panel on top.

Step 2

Now let’s add a body. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 245 x 130 px shape and attach it to the bottom edge of the head.

Let’s make sure that our shapes are perfectly aligned. Select both shapes with the Selection Tool (V) and click the head shape once again (you will see a thicker selection along its edges). This way we turn it into a Key Object. Now click Horizontal Align Left to make both shapes aligned to the left edge of the head. There we have it!

Step 3

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select the top right and bottom left corners of the body shape. Pull the Live Corners marker to make the corners rounded. You can also control the corner radius value manually by setting it to 90 px in the control panel on top.

Step 4

Let’s move on and add a beak using the Rectangle Tool (M). Create a 253 x 82 px orange shape and press Shift-Control-[ to Send to Back.

Select the top left corner and make it fully rounded, using the Live Corners feature. Then do the same for the opposite top corner and make it rounded to about 56 px.

Step 5

Let’s add a bright spot to the beak. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and make a 120 x 120 px bright-red circle.

Now we need to hide the unneeded parts of the circle inside of the beak. Copy (Control-C) the beak shape and Paste in Front (Control-F). Press Shift-Control-] to Bring the shape to Front.

Select the beak copy and the red spot beneath it. Click right mouse button and select Make Clipping Mask. Great! Now only the tip of the beak is red.

Step 6

Use the Ellipse Tool (L) and make a 65 x 65 px white shape for the eye. Add a couple more circles of smaller sizes on top, forming the pupil and the iris.

Step 7

Now let’s add a wing. Start by making a 220 x 95 px rectangle of a bright color, adding contrast to our character. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to make the bottom part of the shape rounded.

Step 8

Add a smaller copy on top of the wing, making it more detailed.

Step 9

Go on and use the Rectangle Tool (M) or the Rounded Rectangle Tool (it can be found in the same drop-down menu in the Tools panel) to create a wooden stick from a 400 x 20 px shape.

Add two orange rectangles for the bird’s legs. At this step I’ve also changed the color of the wing to green, I think it sits our toucan better.

Step 10

Finish up with the illustration by adding some minor details to our tropical bird. At this step I’ve added a line to the beak, using the Pen Tool (P). I also used a smaller copy of the wing to attach a leaf to the left part of the stick.

Finally, I’ve used a 600 x 600 px light-yellow square for the background.

Woot! Our Tropical Bird Illustration is Finished!

Great job, you now know how to draw a tropical bird! I hope you’ve learned something new from this tutorial and enjoyed following these simple steps.

Have fun illustrating, and come back for more!

How to Create a Moon Emoji Icon in Adobe Illustrator CC

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: How to create a moon emoji icon

Final image: Moon emoji icon

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC 2018

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Design Theory, Compositional Construction, Shape Alignment, Grid Positioning

Estimated Completion Time: 25 Minutes

Not too long ago, we saw how easy it is to create a cute astronaut vector in Adobe Illustrator. Today we’re going to continue our space discovery by learning how to create a moon emoji icon. In just 30 minutes, you'll learn how to design a sleepy little man in the moon.

So, assuming you’ve already poured yourself a fresh cup of coffee, let’s jump straight into it!

Step 1

As always, let’s kick off our project by setting up a New Document by going to File > New (or using the Control-N keyboard shortcut), which we will adjust as follows:

Number of Artboards: 1

Width: 128 px

Height: 128 px

Units: Pixels

And from the Advanced tab:

Color Mode: RGB

Raster Effects: Screen (72ppi)

Preview Mode: Default

Quick tip: most of the indicated settings can be automatically triggered if you set the document’s Profile to Web. The only one you’ll have to manually adjust is the Artboard’s Size (Width x Height).

Step 2

Start working on the actual icon by creating the background using a 120 x 120 px circle, which we will color using #3D4763. Then, position this to the center of the underlying Artboard (as seen in the reference image below).

Step 3

Step 3 is one of the most important steps when learning how to create a moon emoji icon; this is when you design the moon itself!

Start working on your sleepy satellite by creating the main shape for the moon's body. You'll do this by using a smaller 64 x 64 px circle, which we will then color using #C1CDE5. Center align to the underlying background.

Step 4

Create the main shape for the top highlight using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the planet’s main shape, which we will push to the bottom by a distance of 4 px, using either the directional arrow keys or the Move tool (right click > Transform > Move > Vertical > 4 px).

Step 5

Open up the duplicate’s path by selecting its bottom anchor point. You can do this using the Direct Selection Tool (A), and then immediately remove it by pressing Delete. Then, using the Pen Tool (P), close the resulting shape’s path by drawing a new line for its upper section (as seen in the reference image).

Step 6

Set the resulting shape’s color to white (#FFFFFF), lowering its Opacity level to 40%. Be sure to mask it afterwards using a copy (Control-C) of the Moon’s main body. We will paste this in front (Control-F), and then with both shapes selected, simply right click > Make Clipping Mask.

Step 7

Next, create the eyes using two 8 x 8 px circles with a 4 px thick Stroke (#3D4763). We will adjust these by removing their upper halves, making sure to set the resulting paths’ Cap to Round.

Once you’re done, horizontally distance the two at 4 px from one another, grouping (Control-G) and then positioning them (as seen in the reference image below).

Step 8

You're over halfway there! The next step in learning how to create a moon emoji icon is the mouth.

Add the mouth using a 4 x 4 px circle (#3D4763), which we will position below the left eye at a distance of 8 px, making sure to select and group (Control-G) all three shapes together afterwards.

Step 9

Create the blush spots using two 8 x 6 px ellipses (#3D4763), which we will adjust by lowering their Opacity to 28%, and then position onto the sides as seen in the reference image.

Once you have the shapes in place, select and group (Control-G) all of the planet’s composing sections together before moving onto the next step.

Step 10

Add the hands using two 12 x 16 px rectangles with a 4 px Stroke (#5FD6D6) and a Round Cap. We will adjust these by opening up their paths, and then setting the radius of their outer corners to 8 px using the Live Corners tool.

Once you’re done, position the resulting shapes underneath the larger planet (right click > Arrange > Send Backward). Be sure to select and group all its composing shapes together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Step 11

Quickly add the shadows using a copy (Control-C) of the planet’s hands and body. We will paste this copy behind (Control-B) and then adjust it by setting the color to #3D4763.

Be sure to push the the shadows to the bottom by a distance of 4 px for the hands and 8 px for the main body.

Step 12

Grab the Pen Tool (P). Then, using a 2 px thick Stroke (#F0F4FC) with the Cap and Join set to Round, draw the two 4 x 4 px z letters. Position them onto the right side of the mouth (as seen in the reference image).

Step 13

Finish off the moon emoji icon by adding a little sun. Use an 8 x 8 px circle (#FFDA66) with a 20% Opacity for its outer glow.

On top of this circle, we will add a smaller 4 x 4 px circle (#FFDA66). Once you’re done, group (Control-G) and position the two onto the upper right section of the background.

Don't forget to select and group (Control-G) all of the icon’s composing shapes before hitting that save button.

Great work! You now know how to create a moon emoji icon!

As always, I hope you had fun working on this little project! Now that you officially know how to create a moon emoji icon, what other icons will you create?

How To Illustrate A Birdhouse in 10 Simple Steps!

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: illustrate a birdhouse in Adobe Illustrator

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS6 – CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: Shape Building, Effects, Shape Builder Tool, Align panel

Estimated Completion Time: 20 minutes

Final Image: Birdhouse

In this tutorial, we’ll illustrate a birdhouse with flowers in just 10 easy steps, all in Adobe Illustrator. We’ll use and modify simple shapes using the Shape Builder Tool, and we'll apply the Effects option in order to design quickly and easily. Let’s begin!

Step 1

In order to illustrate a birdhouse, we'll first create a New Document of 600 x 600 px size, RGB Color Mode. If you don’t like working on a blank white canvas, grab the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 600 x 600 px blue square for the background.

Keeping it selected, use the Align functions in the control panel on top (or Window > Align) to center your square. Now we can Lock the background layer in the Layers panel and create a New Layer for the birdhouse.

Let’s begin building our birdhouse from a square. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 250 x 250 px white shape.

Step 2

Now let’s make a roof. Take the Rounded Rectangle Tool (you can find it in the same drop-down menu as the Rectangle Tool) and make a 300 x 25 px brown shape.

We can control the Corner radius of our shape by selecting it with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and editing the value in the control panel on top.

Use the Selection Tool (V) to rotate the shape 45 degrees.

Step 3

Keeping the brown shape selected, double-click the Reflect Tool (O), select the Vertical Axis and click Copy to flip the shape to the other side. Combine both pieces of the roof and Group (Control-G) them.

Now we can select everything and click Horizontal Align Center to make everything perfectly aligned.

Step 4

Now we don’t need the top white corners of the house, so let’s get rid of them. Select everything and take the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M). Hover the mouse over the top left corner, hold Alt and click to delete it. There we go! Repeat the same for the opposite corner.

Step 5

Create the bottom part of the birdhouse from a 287 x 25 px brown rectangle with rounded corners.

Now take the Ellipse Tool (L), hold Shift and draw a 100 x 100 px circle.

Use the Align panel to center everything to the Artboard.

Step 6

Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 250 x 4 px grey line and align it to the white shape of the birdhouse.

Step 7

Select the created shape, hold Alt-Shift and drag the shape up to create a copy. Then press Control-D a few times to repeat the last action.

Once we have all the lines, select them and press Control-8 to Make Compound Path, turning separate objects into one single shape.

Step 8

Let’s select everything and use the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M) to delete all the pieces on the top of the birdhouse that we don’t need. Hold down Alt and click the tips of the lines to delete them.

Select the wooden parts and the circle element and press Shift-Control-] to Bring to Front.

Step 9

Let’s make some flowers to decorate the birdhouse vector. Use the Polygon Tool to make a hexagon.

Go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Pucker & Bloat and set the Bloat value to 50%. Then Object > Expand Appearance to apply the effect.

Finish up with the flower by adding a yellow circle in the center of the flower.

Step 10

Now that our birdhouse is ready, let’s make some more copies of the flowers and add them to the composition. I’ve also placed an additional circle to the front side of the house, making it look more interesting.

Great work, we can now illustrate a birdhouse!

There you have it, guys! Our sweet, summery creation is done. You can use this birdhouse vector for logos, invitations, and much more.

I hope you enjoyed learning to illustrate a birdhouse of your very own, and maybe you even found useful tips and tricks you can continue to use in the future.

Be sure to share your creations and ideas in the comments below!

Create Vector Smoke in Illustrator in Just 30 Minutes

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details: How to Create Vector Smoke in Illustrator

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS5 - CC

Difficulty: Beginner

Topics Covered: Warp Tool, Gradient Mesh, Transparency panel

Estimated Completion Time: 30 minutes

Final Image: Vector Smoke

Today you’ll learn how to create vector smoke in Illustrator using gradient meshes, the Transparency panel, and the Warp Tool. This is a very simple technique, and any beginner can master it! So, if you're looking for an easy smoke vector tutorial, this one is for you.

Step 1: Vector Smoke

To create your vector smoke in Illustrator, you'll first want to start a new document (Cmd / Ctrl + N). Your artboard can be any size. As for color, we'll be working in the RGB color mode.

Step 2

Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a dark-blue rectangle. This will serve us as our background. (But your background can be any color.)

Now create a rectangle with a black fill (R=0, G=0, B=0).

Step 3

Take the Gradient Mesh Tool (U) and click on the black rectangle a couple times. This will create a gradient mesh.

Step 4

Re-color a couple of the inside mesh points into different shades of grey.

Step 5

Take the Warp Tool (Shift + R) and click on the Enter key. This will allow you to open the Warp Tool Options dialog box. Increase the size of the brush.

Step 6

Deform the gradient mesh (like in the example below).

Step 7

Apply the Screen blending mode to the gradient mesh in the Transparency panel.

As you can see, black mesh points became transparent.

Step 8

And now you can continue curving the gradient mesh in order to get a better result.

If necessary, mesh points can be re-colored into other shades of grey. This will cause the local change of transparency.

Step 9

Create some more gradient meshes in different shapes by using the technique described above. When we put these half-transparent objects over one another, we create vector smoke.

After combining all gradient meshes, you may want to work some more on your form and smoke color. The last stage is definitely the most difficult, but I always try to get the best result out of it that I can.

If nothing else, at least try to do better than me!

Great job! You can now easily design vector smoke in Illustrator

And just like that, we're done! Hopefully you enjoyed following along with this tutorial as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Now that you can quickly design vector smoke in Illustrator, you can use Adobe Illustrator to design all sorts of smoky images! This tutorial is perfect when illustrating smoke, steam, fog, and more.

How did yours turn out? Let us know in the comments below!

Quickly Change Fills and Strokes in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 00:00:00 -0500

I like to work efficiently, so I get a little annoyed when something slows me down in Illustrator. Have you ever been cruising right along and accidentally added a color to the Stroke of an object when you meant to add it to the Fill? Now you have to go back and do it all over again, wasting time. Luckily, there are a few useful keyboard shortcuts to help change Fills and Strokes in Adobe Illustrator.

Below are some Fill and Stroke functions, with the keyboard shortcuts following in parentheses. These functions can also be accessed on the bottom of the Tools Panel, but not as quickly as using the shortcuts. Get ready to learn how to change Fills and Strokes in Adobe Illustrator!

How to change fills and strokes

Default Stroke and Fill (d)

Change any object to the default black Stroke and white Fill.

Swap Attributes (shift x)

Swap the attributes of the Fill and Stroke. This function will not work when the current Fill is a gradient, because gradients cannot be applied to Strokes.

Toggle Between Active (x)

Toggle between the active Fill and Stroke.

Color (<)

Make the current unfilled Fill or Stroke filled.

Gradient (>)

Make the current Fill a gradient.

Apply None (/)

Apply a none attribute to the active Fill or Stroke.

Again, these shortcuts can be very helpful. You won't realize how time you are saving until you start using them!

Create Lightsaber Vectors in Adobe Illustrator

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS5 – CC

Difficulty: Intermediate

Topics Covered: blend objects, blending modes and gradient fills

Estimated Completion Time: 45 minutes

Final Image

Step 1

To begin our Light Swords vector tutorial, start Adobe Illustrator, and then go to the File> New…. In the opened dialog box choose the RGB color mode for our illustration.

Create a rectangle with the help of the Rectangle Tool (M), the size of which corresponds to the size of an artboard. Fill the rectangle with a radial gradient from dark blue to black color.

This object will serve as a background for the illustration and allow us to pick the right colors in the process of creating light swords.

Step 2

Proceed to the creation of the plasma blade of the first sword. Take the Line Tool (\) and holding down Shift, create a vertical straight line segment with a black stroke (R = 0, G = 0, B = 0) and without a fill. Set the width of 44px and tick Round Cap option in the Stroke panel.

Duplicate the straight-line segment (Cmd / Ctrl + C, Cmd / Ctrl + F). Set 2px stroke width and blue color (R = 0, G = 7, B = 105) for the new object.

Select both straight-line segments and create the blend object (Opt / Alt + Cmd / Ctrl + B).

Select the black stroke in the blend object (it is convenient to do so in the Layers panel) and set the 0% Opacity in the Transparency panel.

Select the entire blend object and use Screen blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Step 3

Duplicate the blend object (Cmd / Ctrl + C, Cmd / Ctrl + F) and apply the Normal blending mode to it

Decrease black stroke width down to 29px and recolor it with blue color (R = 4, G = 42, B = 107).

Recolor the stroke of the upper path of this blend object with light blue color (R = 59, G = 109, B = 255).

Step 4

Duplicate the upper blend object (Cmd / Ctrl + C, Cmd / Ctrl + F). For the lower path of this blend object set 8px for Stroke width and recolor it with blue (R = 54, G = 141, B = 255).

Recolor the upper path with light blue color (R = 237, G = 245, B = 255).

Select and group up all three blend objects (Cmd / Ctrl + G).

Step 5

Select the group, then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. As a result of this action stroke paths have converted to filled objects.

Now go to Object > Envelope Distort > Make with Warp…. In the Warp Options dialog box, select the Arc Style and set -5% for the Horizontal Bend.

Step 6

Proceed to the creation of the handle of the sword. Create two horizontal straight-line segments using the Line Tool (\) at a certain distance from each other. Apply to these paths 6px wide stroke of any color and turn on the Round Cap option in the Stroke panel.

Select these paths and create a blend object (Opt / Alt + Cmd / Ctrl + B).

Create two more horizontal straight-line segments at the top and bottom of the handle as shown in the picture below.

Step 7

Select all the objects of the handle, then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke and fill obtained objects with vertical linear gradient, which consists of two black (on the edges) and one white (in the center) slider.

Group up all the elements of the handle (Cmd / Ctrl + G). Duplicate the handle (Cmd / Ctrl + C, Cmd / Ctrl + F), fill its objects with horizontal linear gradient, which consists of various shades of blue, like the one shown in the picture below. Apply to the upper group the Multiply blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Blue sword is ready, duplicate it and recolor blue colors of the copy with red shades. Although this manual work will take some time, but you will surely get better result than the result after applying the Recolor Artwork feature (Edit > Edit Color > Recolor Artwork …).

Step 8

Before crossing the swords, select their plasma blades and go to Object > Expand …, choose the Objects option in the dialog box.

Now turn swords into meeting each other at an angle equal to 45 degrees.

Step 9

In place of swords crossing create a circle using the Ellipse Tool and fill it with a radial gradient from white to black.

Apply to the circle the Color Dodge blending mode in the Transparency panel.

Step 10

Take the Flare Tool and click at the place of swords crossing. In the opened dialog box, turn off the Rings option, and pick parameters for Rays option.

Select the Flare object, then go to Object > Expand… and tick Objects option in dialog box.

Delete all the options leaving only the divergent rays.

Step 11

Increase the Opacity of the rays up to 20% in the Transparency panel.

Now apply the radial gradient from white to black to the strokes of the rays.

Here is how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects.

An Interview with Eezy Contributor: Artefacti

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0600

We sat down with Germany-based creative, Artefacti, to learn about his fifteen years as a freelancer and artist.

Read on to discover how he earns income through Eezy’s streamlined three-step contributor program.

Step 1: Sign Up

We at Eezy know a creative’s time is valuable, so we strive to make the upload process efficient, fast, and simple. We’re eager to help artists like Artefacti build their portfolio and business one step at a time. Here’s what Artefacti had to say about becoming a Vecteezy contributor:

“The signup process on Eezy was very easy and straightforward. I was very well supported by the team, and I was able to start uploading immediately.”

Step 2: Upload

“The upload process was relatively easy for me,” says Artefacti, referring to Vecteezy’s Content Manager tool. This tool allows contributors to upload files, view performance, and track earnings.

Artefacti adds, “In terms of functionality and simplicity, using Eezy’s Content Manager is really fun. As a designer, I would rather concentrate on designing instead of uploading files.”

Designers want to spend their time creating beautiful content, and we want that for them. That’s why we use an FTP bulk uploader that can automatically extract titles, tags, and descriptions used for uploads on other sites.

As Artefacti explains, “With Eezy, I only need to upload the complete folder via FTP and the metadata will be automatically included. That is very convenient [and] I can import multiple files in a matter of seconds.”

Step 3: Earn

“When I got my first payment, I could not believe my earnings,” says Artefacti. “I also have content on many other platforms, and I have to say that I already have higher monthly earnings with Eezy than with my other best-selling platform.”

With millions of visitors each month and competitive pay-per-download rates, Eezy’s contributors earn while they sleep, so they can spend more time doing what they love.

“Eezy has become my number one earning platform within a very short time.”

We know you work hard to create your content, and we believe you should be compensated fairly.

Overall Experience

From those just starting their design career to veteran creatives (like Artefacti), we support and encourage growth in all our contributors.

“Participating in the PPD program has helped me enormously. For example, I bought new gear with my first payout, so I can make better video recordings in the future. This inspires me and motivates immensely.”

Eezy is a community of generous and creative designers and artists. Our team is here to help contributors through each step of the process. “I have never had such personal support as I have had at Eezy,” Artefacti says. “It feels like [I’m] part of a team and not just one of many.”

Final Thoughts

“I can only recommend any designer to take this step. New material is [always] needed and customers need variety. I think platforms like Eezy will be the future. If you hesitate too long, you simply forego the revenue.”

Interested in joining our contributor program? Apply here.

PPD Free Vs. PPD Pro: Which is Better for Contributors?

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0600

Offering both free and Pro vectors allows us to provide the right resources for the creative task at hand, no matter the user’s skill level or the project’s budget. While there are benefits to both Free licensing and Pro licensing, our contributors have full control to decide which license best fits their content.

Uploading Content Under Vecteezy’s Free License:

Vecteezy’s PPD Free (Pay-Per-Download Free) program generates earnings based on the total downloads your content received. Earning a rate of $5 per 1,000 total downloads, this program provides an opportunity to serve Vecteezy’s entire audience and receive the most downloads of your content. Content in this program will be reviewed to meet a high level of visual and technical quality standards.

This program is great for contributors looking to inspire the creative community. Additionally, PPD Free is an ideal fit for contributors familiar with a standard pay-per-download structure and those who prefer to have consistent earnings across their entire portfolio.

Benefits of offering content under the Free License:

Earnings - you earn at a set rate every time one of your vectors is downloaded. This leads to broad and consistent earnings across your entire portfolio. (Learn more about PPD Free earnings, here.)

Content Availability - content is available to all users for free.

Uploading Content Under Vecteezy’s Pro License:

Vecteezy’s PPD Pro (Pay-Per-Download Pro) program generates earnings based on the Pro revenue generated by your content. In this program, revenue is split between the contributor and Vecteezy at a rate of 50/50. Content in this program is sold at a higher price point and will be reviewed to meet the highest visual and technical quality standards.

This program is great for contributors who are familiar with a subscriber share model, as well as those who do not want their content to be available for free.

Benefits of offering content under the Pro License:

Earnings - you earn based on the amount of Pro revenue generated by your vectors. This means that earnings can vary based on the quality and popularity of your vectors; great content = high profit potential! (Learn more about PPD Pro earnings, here.)

Content Availability - content is available only to Pro subscribers or through Pro credit purchases.

Uploading Content Under Either License:

Whether you choose to upload your content under our Free or Pro license, there are some universal benefits to uploading your content to Eezy, including a high rate of exposure to a creative community, a non-exclusive agreement, and a distinguished contributor content manager.

Benefits of offering content under either license:

Exposure - Eezy currently has millions of monthly visitors, with over 75 million downloads annually, making it a great place to gain exposure for your work.

Creative Community - Eezy’s network of sites attract millions of beginner and professional designers, illustrators, and artists each month.

Non-Exclusive Agreement - With a non-exclusive content agreement, your vectors can earn you money on other platforms in addition to Vecteezy.

Fair Compensation - We know a lot of hard work goes into creating your content, so we ensure you’re compensated fairly.

Content Manager - With our Content Manager, you can easily track downloads, check end-of-the-month earnings, and upload vectors. Plus, with our bulk FTP uploader, titles, tags, and descriptions can automatically be extracted for you.

Interested in being a PPD Free or PPD Pro contributor for Eezy? Apply Here!

How Are PPD Pro Earnings Calculated?

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0600

Subscriber Share Overview

Unlike PPD Free earnings , PPD (Pay Per Download) Pro Earnings are calculated based on the Subscriber Share model. In this model, a customer’s subscription revenue goes directly to the contributors they use.

The model is great for contributors of all sizes, as it values both low volume and high volume content. Also, the Subscriber Share model calculates contributor earnings based on individual customer revenue and their downloads. This decreases the risk of fraudulent downloads.

Calculating PPD Pro Earnings

To calculate PPD Pro Earnings, Vecteezy uses a specific formula:

First, Vecteezy takes a customer’s relevant purchases during a period and deducts fees. The remaining amount is then multiplied by the percent the contributor earned from the customer’s Subscriber Share. Finally, this amount is split 50/50 between the contributor and Vecteezy.

(Revenue - credit card fees and refunds) x 50% revenue split x X % Subscriber Share = amount earned

We then run this calculation for each customer, each billing cycle, to calculate total contributor earnings.

Calculating the Percentage Earned from a Customer’s Subscriber Share

Customer Z downloads 10 images in 1 month, from 4 different contributors.

1 image is from Contributor A, earning 10% of Customer Z's Subscriber Share (1 image / 10 total downloads = 10%)

4 images are from Contributor B, earning 40% of Customer Z's Subscriber Share (4 images / 10 total downloads = 40%)

2 images are from Contributor C, earning 20% of Customer Z's Subscriber Share (2 images / 10 total downloads = 20%)

3 images are from Contributor D, earning 30% of Customer Z's Subscriber Share (3 images / 10 total downloads = 10%)

Calculating the Amount Earned Using Vecteezy’s Unlimited Plan

Here are the earnings calculated from Customer Z using the Unlimited Plan, priced at $14 with the 50/50 revenue split:

$14 revenue - $0.85 for credit card fees and refunds = $13.15

$13.15 x 50% revenue split = $6.575 Subscriber Share

$6.575 x X % Subscriber Share = amount earned from Customer Z

Therefore, from customer Z’s Subscriber Share:

Contributor A would earn $0.6575 ($6.575 x 10% Subscriber Share)

Contributor B would earn $2.63 ($6.575 x 40% Subscriber Share)

Contributor C would earn $1.315 ($6.575 x 20% Subscriber Share)

Contributor D would earn $1.975 ($6.575 x 30% Subscriber Share)

More PPD Pro Earnings Examples

Here are two more examples that illustrate how the Subscriber Share model works:

Customer A:

Downloads (1) image in the month; the contributor of that image would receive 100% of customer-A’s Subscriber Share.

Customer B:

Downloads (100) images in the month; the contributors of those images would receive (1/100) 1% of customer-B’s Subscriber Share for each image downloaded.

Here are the same examples calculating earnings per download using the Unlimited Plan, priced at $14 with the 50/50 revenue split:

Customer A: $14 Unlimited Plan subscription

$14 revenue - $0.85 for credit card fees and refunds = $13.15

$13.15 x 50% revenue split = $6.575 Subscriber Share

$6.575 x 100% Subscriber Share = $6.575 earnings per download

Customer B: $14 Unlimited Plan subscription

$14 revenue - $0.85 for credit card fees and refunds = $13.15

$13.15 x 50% revenue split = $6.575 Subscriber Share

$6.575 x 1% Subscriber Share = $0.06575 earnings per download

Learn more about our PPD Free and PPD Pro Contributor Programs here.

Interested in becoming a contributor for Vecteezy? Apply Here!

Modern Infographic Elements by dollyheidi, Photography And Camera Icons Vector by, xiayamoon and Gray Default Avatar Vector by lavarmsg

How are PPD Free Earnings Calculated?

Fri, 08 Feb 2019 00:00:00 -0600

PPD Free Earnings Overview

Unlike PPD Pro earnings , PPD (Pay Per Download) Free earnings are calculated based on the total number of downloads a contributor receives across their portfolio.

This model is calculated based on a set rate: $5.00 paid per 1,000 free downloads.

Calculating PPD Free Earnings

To calculate PPD Free Earnings, Vecteezy takes the total number of downloads a contributor receives and multiplies this amount by $0.005.

Total downloads x $0.005 = amount earned

We use this formula for each contributor monthly to calculate total PPD Free contributor earnings.

PPD Free Earnings Examples

Here are two examples that illustrate PPD Free payouts:

Contributor A:

Receives 10,000 downloads in a month and earns $50.00 for that month

10,000 downloads received x $0.005 = $50.00

Contributor B:

Receives 250,000 downloads in a month and earns $1,250.00 for that month

250,000 total downloads x $0.005 = $1,250.00

Learn more about our PPD Free and PPD Pro Contributor programs here.

Interested in becoming a contributor for Vecteezy? Apply Here!

Modern Infographic Elements by dollyheidi and Gray Default Avatar Vector by lavarmsg

Free Design Resources: Earn Money by Inspiring a Global Creative Community

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:00:00 -0500

Eezy began in 2008 when founder, Shawn, a full-time graphic designer, couldn’t find affordable, high-quality design resources online. Shawn saw an opportunity to create something useful for other designers, so he set out to build a community of contributing artists who could offer free, high-quality content to other creatives like him.

Today, Eezy’s PPD Free (Pay Per Download Free) contributors earn money by inspiring millions of beginner and professional creatives with free design resources.

Earn Money

Contributors who are a part of Eezy’s PPD Free program fulfill the creative community’s needs. Not only do these contributors provide the free resources artists want, but they also earn money every time their files are downloaded.

On Vecteezy, the current earnings rate is $5 per 1,000 downloads, and on Videezy, the current earnings rate is $10 per 1,000 downloads. Offering content for free allows our PPD Free contributors to reach Eezy’s entire community and receive the most downloads possible.

In fact, some of our top contributors receive over 200,000 downloads every month, earning them upwards of $1,000! Using a standard pay-per-download structure allows contributors in our PPD Free program to earn consistently every month while also knowing their work inspires a global creative community.

Inspire a Global Creative Community

Combining our contributors’ resources creates a beautiful collection of inspiration for both new and professional designers, entrepreneurs, educators, students, volunteers, and virtually anyone with a creative mindset.

By simply exploring the free design resources our contributors offer, creatives can discover new compositions, and explore vibrant color palettes in a variety of design styles.

Our contributors also teach composition, organization, and overall design skills. This process happens organically, as creatives often learn new techniques while working with files that are uniquely designed by their contributors. Having access to a free content library allows creatives to break away from their normal design workflow by trying new styles and designing in new ways.

Additionally, providing creatives with free resources allows them to spend their time doing what they enjoy most. For example, an illustrator may not be strong in a specific area, such as character illustration. While they can create a character, creating this asset may require excess time and energy the illustrator simply doesn’t have. That’s where our contributors can help.

Thanks to our contributors, that same illustrator can instantly download and use a free character design on Vecteezy. Free design resources enable the creative community to focus on a project holistically, while overcoming small nuances of the creative process that consume time and energy.

What’s more, users find value in our free resources, because these files provide flexibility. Users can download, integrate, and remove free resources from their library without any cost upfront. This improves overall design flow, especially since users don’t have to recreate assets once a file is complete. (Depending on the project, they may simply need to upgrade the file’s licensing.)

Do you have free resources that could inspire the creative community and earn you money? Apply for Eezy’s PPD Free contributor program, here!

Free vector resources used:

Piggy Bank Vector Set

Model In Overalls

Graphic Designer With Creative Software by veernavya

Creative Workflow by vectorbox_studio

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