Lets move some dirt. Create a bulldozer pushing some dirt around. Looks complicated, but these tutorials make it so easy. Have fun creating this one. 

Start with a rectangle. 

Pull the Corner Widgets to round the ends. COPY this shape, you will need it again later. 

Add a dotted line to the oval by clicking on the Dashed Line in the Stroke Panel, Cap the ends, set the dash to ZERO and the gap to 28, stroke weight at 13 pts.

PASTE the original oval over the top of the dotted line

Change the dots to the same color as the oval. 

Add two circles inside the oval. Add a rectangle inside as well. 

Paste the oval again but use the Paste Behind command and fill it with a lighter gray. 

Add a rectangle for the body, behind the tracks. 

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the top corners and pull the corners in. They will be round. Use the OPTION (ALT) and click on the corner widget target to cycle through the corner styles until you get to the flat style. 

Add another rectangle behind for the cab. 

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the top corners and pull the corner widgets in slightly. 

Create a rounded corner rectangle, fill it with blue for the window. Cut the shape. 

Select the cab and choose the Paste Inside function at the bottom of the Tool Bar. 

Paste the window into the cab, Click on the Draw Normal mode. ​

Create a rectangle for the blade.

Add and oval over the rectangle. Select both shapes. 

Use the minus from command in the Pathfinder Panel. 

Add the blade to the front of the bulldozer. Add a rectangle for the smoke stack. 

Create a rounded end rectangle. 

Add it to the blade and the the track. 

Repeat the of adding a dashed line to an arc. You will need to reduce the gap between the dots in the Stroke Panel.

Add the dotted arc to the smoke stack.

Create different sized circles for the dirt pile. 

Select all the dirt circles and use the Pathfinder Unite mode. 

Create a rectangle at the lower part of the dirt. Select the shapes and use the Pathfinder Minus Front mode. 

Add the dirt behind the blade and you are done with your bulldozer. Nice job!

Here is a shark, a happy shark with some cool blue water reflections in it. This was a request from a viewer; if you have a request send it to me and I will create it!

Start the body with an oval; stoke, no fill. 

Duplicate the original oval and pull the oval taller. 

Using the Direct Selection tool, select the bottom point of the first oval and delete it, removing the lower half of the oval. 

Using the Direct Selection tool, select the top point of the second oval and delete it, removing the uper half of the oval. ​

Place both arcs over each other to form the body. 

Select both pieces and use the unite Mode in the Pathfinder Panel to make them into the body.

To create the fin, create a circle and duplicate it as shown. Select both circles. 

Use the Minus Front Mode in the Pathfinder Panel to create a moon which will become the fin. Copy this shape as you will use this again.

Place the moon over the body of the shark, rotate it if needed to create the back fin. Use the Pathfinder Unite mode to integrate it into the body. 

Paste the copied shape, place it at the bottom of the body to create the smaller fin. 

Use the Pathfinder Unite mode to integrate it into the body. ​

For the tail fin, create 2 circles, one larger, one smaller. ​Use the Minus Front Mode in the Pathfinder Panel to create a moon which will become the fin.

Use the Pathfinder Unite mode to integrate it into the body. ​

Select the body and round the corners of the stroke in the Stroke Panel so the ends don't end in points. 

The rounded corners get rid of the sharp points. 

Put in a circle for the eye and an arc for the mouth

Add some extra lines to the trailing edge of the fins to give them dimension. Be sure to round the ends (hot dog them) in the Stroke Panel. 

Create 3 ovals, each one getting lighter. This will be the water reflections in the body. Select all 3 shapes and CUT the shapes. 

Select the boy and choose Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. 

Paste the 3 ovals into the body. Once pasted, they are hard to move around so open the Layers Panel. 

In the layers panel, anything that is "Pasted inside" or "Drawn Inside" is called a clipping mask. This shows up in the Layers Panel as a Clip Group, open the clip group by clicking on the Twirly (yes, that is the real name) to open the group. Inside, you can see the ovals in the group. To select an oval to move or edit, click on the layer and then then click on the circle on the far right of the layer and a box will appear and the shape will be selected. 

This will select and activate just that shape inside the clipping mask to edit or move without breaking the shapes apart or using isolation mode. 

I also made the shark happy by flipping his smile.

​One happy shark with some nice water reflections. Enjoy!

Create a gleaming jewel in these simple steps. With or without a stroke to make it look bold or subdued. 

Create a triangle using the Polygon Tool. While drawing a polygon, use the down arrow to reduce the number of sides. OR, after you have drawn the Polygon, you can drag the diamond (red circle) up or down to change the number of sides. 

Flip the triangle and narrow the triangle to be half as wide as it is long.

Duplicate the triangle so the upper corners are touching. 

Fill the one shape with a lighter color. Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the bottom point and move the point over the the lower point of the middle shape

Repeat the last 2 steps to create the right side of the jewel. Make that section a darker color. 

Select all 3 shapes and hit the RETURN key. That will bring up this dialog box. Set the horizontal and vertical measurements to ZERO. Click COPY. 

This will copy the shapes directly on top of existing shapes. Pull the bottom point up to flip the shapes. Pull that shapes half as high as the bottom shape. 

Draw a rectangle over the top 3 shapes. Select the rectangle and top 3 shapes. Use the Pathfinder TRIM feature to trim the top triangles.

Select the top 3 shapes and choose Edit> Edit Colors> Adjust Color Balance. Click the convert box and the Preview box. Set the colors lighter and click OK. 

This will give the top facets a lighter look.

Add a stroke to the shapes. 

Set the stroke in the stroke panel to a rounded corner to avoid the spikes from the stroke. 

This is the result of the rounded stroke. 

Add some lines as highlights with rounded end caps (hot dog the ends).

Create a "gleamie" by using the Star Tool. While drawing, UP ARROW will add point, DOWN ARROW will take points away. COMMAND (on a mac) or CONTROL (on a PC) and Pull away from the center to create longer points, pull in toward the center to shorten the points. 

Add the gleamie to the shape. Draw a colored circle and place it behind the jewel to make it more visible. 

To create a shadow draw a rectangle and make it a darker color than the background. 

Create a gradient in the rectangle to blend from the darker color to the lighter color background.

Select the gradient shape and CUT the shape.

Select the circle, click on the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. Paste the gradient rectangle in the shape and position it to create a shadow. 

To remove the outlines, select one of the facets, choose Select>Same>Stroke Color to select all the shapes with that stroke. Set the stroke to ZERO or choose no color. 

You have a gleaming Jewel!

Summer is near, a frosty treat is great for fun in the summer time. And it's easy to create this frosty mug of root beer in Illustrator. 

Start with a rectangle. 

Select the shape and pull the Corner Widgets into the center a bit to round all the edges. 

Draw another rectangle, round the corners, and add a lighter color fill. 

Duplicate the shape to create the ridges on the glass. 

To create the foam, draw 3 circles, different sizes, and place them on each other in a random arrangement.

Select all 3 shapes, use the Pathfinder Unite mode to create on shape from the 3.

Draw a rectangle over the bottom half of the shape. 

Select both shapes and use the Pathfinder Minus Front Mode to remove the lower portion. ​

Create a rectangle for the drips, select the bottom two corners with the Direct Selection Tool and pull the corner widgets in. 

Place the foam on the top of the mug. Add the drips down the side of the mug, set the opacity 75% to show the mug through. Add a highlight using the arc tool, round the ends of the arc. 

Create the handle; start with a rectangle, add a stroke, no fill. Select the 2 left corners with the Direct Selection Tool and pull the corner widgets in to round the corners. 

Add an inner glow to the mug for a frosty look. Select the mug shape and apply the inner glow under Effects>Stylize>Inner Glow. 

Under the appearance Panel, select the fill portion of the mug and apply the Inner Glow to that. This way it only applies to the fill and not the stroke. 

Add a rectangle for the straw, place it behind the mug. 

Select the handle and Expand the shape under the Object Menu. 

Apply an inner glow to the handle, set the size smaller to fit the handle. 

Copy the top foam, make the color darker than the straw. 

Select the straw and click on the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. 

Paste the shape into the straw to create a shadow. Click on the Draw Normal mode.

Select the ridges on the glass, apply the inner glow to the shapes and set the opacity to 75%.

Enjoy your frosty mug of root beer. You earned it!

Message in a bottle uses a combination of cool tricks and the Live Paint feature as well as a few nifty tips with the appearance panel. 

Start the bottle with a rectangle. 

Select the top 2 points with the Direct Selection Tool and pul them in to round the top. 

Hover over the Corner Widget Target and OPTION + CLICK on it to cycle through the corner styles to get to the flat corners. 

Create another rectangle on the top portion of the original rectangle for the neck of the bottle. Select both shapes. 

Use the Pathifinder Unite Tool to add both of the shapes together. 

This will give the bottle a rounded look. 

Add a rectangle for the neck of the bottle. 

Draw a rectangle for the cork. 

Use the Free Transform tool, in perspective mode to pull the lower 2 handles into the middle to taper the shape. 

This will create the cork. 

Place the cork on the bottle. 

To create the paper scroll, go HERE on my blog to see how it's done. This uses the Spiral Tool and Live Paint to create the rolled paper look.

Fill the bottle with a lighter color, place the scroll on the bottle and set the opacity of the scroll to 50% to make it look like it is in the bottle.

Rotate the bottle and contents 45°. Draw a line for the water waves. 

Apply a Zig Zag effect under Effect>Distort & Transform. 

This will create a wave look. Outline the path under Object>Path>Outline Stroke.  

Add a white stroke around the wave shape. Set the stroke to the outside under the Stroke Panel. 

Setting the stroke to the outside will add to the stroke beyond the edge of the wave and not interfere with the wave itself. 

Open the Appearance Panel under the Window Menu and open the Stroke section. Set the Opacity of the stroke to 65%. This will only make the stroke transparent, not the fill. 

Duplicate the waves and you have a message in a bottle, floating in the waves.