Blog Archives

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES -Blender Icon

2/26/2018

1 Comment

Whip up a great blender icon with whirling liquid and bubbles.

Draw a square, apply a stroke.

Use the Free Transform Tool to adjust the perspective of the top of the square.

Pull the top edges into the center to form the base.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to pull the Corner Widgets to round the corners.

Add lines with rounded ends on the base for the feet.

Draw a tall oval for the blender glass.

Draw a rectangle over the upper half of the oval. Select both shapes and use the Minus Front command in the Pathfinder Panel to remove the upper portion.

Repeat the process of removing the top portion at the lower section of the oval to give it a flat base.

Add a stroke to match the other components.

Add 3 lines with rounded ends to create the top of the blender glass.

Copy the blender glass, remove the stroke. Use Object>Path> Offset Path command to create a smaller shape inside the glass.

Fill the smaller shape with a color. Create a rectangle and place it over the top portion of the filled shape.

Use the Pathfinder Minus front command to remove the top.

Use the Curvature Tool to wave the top of the liquid in the glass.

Place the wavy liquid shape in the blender, set the opacity at 40%. Copy and flip the filled shape and use the Curvature Tool to change the wave at the top.

Use the blender glass to create a shadow or highlight. Duplicate the glass slightly over the over shape.

Use the Pathfinder Minus Front Command to create the highlight sliver.

Add the sliver in white and one in black. Set the opacity to 25%.

Add color to the base. Add a line with rounded ends as a highlight.

Add some round buttons and a dial.

Change the lids lines to shades of gray to add contrast.

Add some circles with a stroke and lines in a plus form to create bubble in the blender.

And there you have it! A blender icon in full mix mode.

1 Comment

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Pizza Icon

2/19/2018

1 Comment

Great way to create a pizza icon with out having to draw each slice. The key to this is the Polar Grid Tool and the ability to create rings and dividers quickly.

Select the Polar Grid Tool that is nested in with the line tools, then click on the document to open this dialog box. Choose 6 dividers for radial and 6 dividers for concentric. Click OK.

Select the Polar Grid and choose Object>Ungroup.

Select the outer most ring and delete it. (The outer ring doesn't divide correctly which is why it gets deleted.)

Delete all the inner rings, leaving just the 2 rings shown.

Select remaining components and choose the divide function in the Pathfinder Panel.

Select one slice and slide it out of the overall shape.

Add a heavier stroke to all the lines.

Add some circles.

Add some lines with rounded ends, and some arcs as well for texture.

Draw a rectangle to start the cheese drips.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the bottom edges and pull the Corner Widgets into the center.

Duplicate the shape, then add a rectangle on the top of both shapes. Select all the shapes

Use the Pathfinder Unite to make them all one shape.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the inner corners of the center and round the edges.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to angle the top of the graphic to match the edge of the slice. Move the drips into position

Select the drip and the slice and use the Pathfinder Unite mode to combine the two shapes together.

Add color to the areas as you like.

Select the outer ring and copy the shape, click the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. Paste the shape, remove the border, add a darker color fill, move it into position to create a slip shadow, then click on the Draw Normal mode.

Repeat the process with all the outer shapes and so the same with the inner wedges.

Go around the circle and do all the slices one-by-one. Takes a little time...

In the end you end up with a quick and easy pizza icon. Enjoy!

1 Comment

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Digital Fingerprint Icon

2/12/2018

2 Comments

You have seen these icons everywhere for your fingerprint password or identification. Here is how you create this icon... and you may be surprised just how it's done, and this doesn't require the pen tool or any drawing of curves. The Polar Grid Tool is the trick on this!

Access the Polar Grid Tool nested in with the Line Tool.

Click on the document with the Polar Grid Tool to call up the settings. Set the width and height to 1200 pt and the concentric dividers to 14, no radial dividers.

Click OK and you will get this set of concentric rings, perfectly spaced. Ungroup the rings.

Delete the outer 7 rings to leave the 7 inner rings.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the bottom half of the 7 rings and delete, leaving the upper half of the rings.

Select the Polar Grid Tool, click on the document to redraw the identical set we began with.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select and then delete the upper half of the rings.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select and then delete the left half of the rings.

Move the 1/4 ring into place matching up the lines exactly with the upper half of the 7 rings from the previous steps. Select everything and ungroup it.

Using the center of the rings, draw a circle from the center (hold OPTION / ALT to draw from the center) and match the size to the outer ring.

Select everything and use the Pathfinder Divide Mode to chop off all the extra lines.

Ungroup everything. Using the Direct Selection Tool remove the small segments at the lower edges of the lines as show.

Select everything and rounded the ends and round the corners as well.

This will be the result of removing the end segments and leaving the arced tails.

Double-click on the Eraser Tool. Set the size to 45 pt and click OK.

Use the eraser to erase the paths to break the lines. Use the right bracket ( } ) to make the eraser larger, left brakcet ( { ) to make the brush smaller to vary the spacing if desired.

The end result is a fingerprint icon that required no drawing of arcs or manipulating the spacing. Yes, it really is that easy!

2 Comments

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Security File Folder

2/5/2018

4 Comments

Here is a simple way to create a Security File Folder using Illustrator. Simple lock symbol with a file and a file folder complete with an action line to show the file going into the folder. Enjoy!

Create a rectangle, filled and a contrasting stroke.

Draw another rectangle offset on the top. Select both shapes.

Use the Pathfinder Minus Front mode to remove the smaller rectangle, leaving the file folder tab.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the upper right corner of the tab, them move it to the left to create an angle. (Remember to click OFF the folder before clicking on the upper corner point or the entire shape will move).

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select all the corner and pull the corners in to create equal corners, here I did a 35mm corner. You can see this measurement in the Control Bar.

Create another rectangle with the same rounded corners, fill with a lighter color.

Round the stroke corners using the stroke panel.

Draw a circle with no fill.

Move the circle behind the body of the lock.

Create a circle and a triangle for the key hole.

Stretch the triangle taller and place it on the circle.

Place the key hole in position on the lock body. Group all the shapes together in the lock.

Create a rectangle with rounded corners on the stroke.

Create a rectangle, rotate it 45° and place the center of the rectangle on the upper right corner of the vertical rectangle.

Select both shapes and use the Pathfinder Minus Front Mode to create a file icon.

Create an arc from the file into the folder.

Set the stroke weight to 50pt and add rounded end caps (hotdog the ends). Click the dashed line check box. Set the dash length to ZERO and the gap to twice he stroke weight.

Illustrator does not have a dotted line option, so creating a dashed line with rounded end caps and ZERO length dash creates 2 half circles and puts them together to for a dot!

To get the dotted line, you only need to fill in the first two fields for the dash and gap, not all six.

Copy the dotted line, Choose Edit>Paste In Place and set the color of the stroke to white and reduce the stroke weight to half of the underlying stroke weight.

For the folder slip shadow, copy the folder rectangle, click on the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool bar, choose Paste, remove the stroke, darken the fill color and shift it to one side. Click on the Draw Normal Mode when done.

.Create a white line on the file and the folder. Create a random dashed line using the Stroke Panel and the values shown above

You have just created a file folder with a security icon!

4 Comments

Design Points n PixelS

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES -Blender Icon

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Pizza Icon

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Digital Fingerprint Icon

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Security File Folder

Archives