Blog Archives

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Classic Rocket

7/31/2017

Classic Rocket, fun to create and so cool! Few basic shapes, Draw Inside Mode and you have a cool rocket ship to blast off!

Start with a circle.

Duplicate the circle and overlap the first one by half.

Select both circles and use the Intersect shape mode in the Pathfinder Panel .

Draw a rectangle over the bottom of the shape.

Select both shapes and use the Minus Front mode in the Pathfinder Panel.

Drag the bottom pull handle down to stretch the shape to make the rocket body.

Draw another circle, darker color fill.

Duplicate the circle vertically about 25%. Select both circles.

Use the Minus Front command in the Pathfinder Panel.

Place the arc behind the body of the rocket. Draw a vertical line, add a stroke and round "hot dog" the ends.

Use the Width Shape tool to widen the top of the line.

Draw a rectangle over the top of the rocket body.

Use the Divide Mode in the Pathfinder Panel. Use the Direct Selection Tool to delete the extra shape leaving the tip.

Draw a circle for the window, add a light blue fill.

Select the center leg and Expand the line under Object>Expand.

Select all the shapes and add a 15 px stroke of 70% gray.

Duplicate the tip and body.

Use the Pathfinder Panel to unite the two shapes into one. Remove the stroke.

Set the opacity of the shape to be 30% and the blend mode to Multiply. Copy the shape.

Select the body and use the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. Paste the shape into the body and place it offset to create a slip shadow.

Select the tip and repeat the Draw Inside Mode and paste the shape into the tip, move it into place and then click back on Draw Normal at the bottom of the Tool Bar.

Time to blast off in your rocket!

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INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Fly Swatter

7/26/2017

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With summer here, things are flying around and it just occurred to me that creating a fly swatter in Illustrator is super simple. This uses the Rectangle Grid Tool to make the fun and easy.

Select the Rectangle Grid Tool in the Tool Bar.

Draw a grid, hold down the mouse (don't let go) and use the UP ARROW to add rows and RIGHT ARROW to add columns, then let go of the mouse.

Draw a rectangle for the attachment to the handle.

Pull the corner widgets into the shape to round the corners.

Draw a skinny rectangle for the handle.

Draw a rectangle that is wider and shorter for the base of the handle.

Place the 2 parts together and use the Pathfinder Unite mode to make them one unit.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the lower two corners and move the corner widgets in to round the base.

Select the inner mid corners and pull the corner widgets out to inverse round the corners.

Move all the items into place and add a white circle for the hole at the end of the handle. Add colors to the handle and grid as you want!

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INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Super Simple Scissors

7/17/2017

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7 steps to create super simple scissors. Lines, circles and the width shape tool make this so easy to create.

Start with a line, round the ends using the rounded cap in the stroke panel.

Use the Width Shape Tool to pull one end wider.

Right+Click on the line, then choose Transform>Reflect. Click the COPY button.

This will copy the shape and flip it. Draw a white circle at the crossover point.

Draw an oval, put a heavy stroke on the shape.

OPTION + CLICK & drag the oval to duplicate it to the other side.

Add a line, rounded end caps in white to create a highlight. Done!

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INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Lawn Sprinkler

7/10/2017

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Playing in a lawn sprinkler is nothing but fun. Creating one is fun too! Learn a few cool tricks to making the water look like dots or flowing water streams in this tutorial.

Create an Arc with the Arc Tool. Hold SHIFT to create a perfect 1/4 arc.

Change the color of the stroke to blue and cap the ends of the stroke in the Stroke Panel.

Select the Arc and RIGHT + CLICK on it. Choose Transform>Reflect

Reflect the arc on the vertical axis and click COPY.

Place the 2 arcs apart to allow for other arcs in between. Use the BLEND TOOL and click on the first Arc, then the second Arc.

Double click on the Blend Tool in the tool bar to open the dialog box. Select Specified Steps from the drop-down menu.

Click the Preview button to see the results then increase the number of steps.

This is the result of the blend tool blending both shapes. Keep in mind that these lines in between are an effect, not real lines yet.

To turn the Blend Effect into lines, choose Object>Expand. Then click OK.

Once these have been expanded, all the lines will now be editable.

To change the length of the water streams, open the Stroke Panel, click on Dashed Line, then add random lengths of gaps and strokes in the lines

This is the result of the random length strokes and lines.

Use the Direct Selection Tool to increase the heights of the lines to get more of a crown-look to the water.

To create the base, start with a rectangle.

Direct-Select the top 2 corners and pull the corner widgets in a small amount.

Create another wider rectangle for the base.

Select both shapes, and Unite the shapes in the Pathfinder Panel.

Group the water spray together then create a rectangle over the water sprays. Make sure the box cuts off the bottom edge of the water to give it a flat edge.

Select both the box and the water spray then choose Object>Clipping Mask>Make. Or COMMAND + 7. This will clip the water and give the appearance of the flat bottom.

Add some highlight lines to the base, I added a few dots to give it a reflective look.

Select the base shape, click on the Draw Inside button at the bottom right of the Tool Bar.

Create a rectangle that is darker that covers about 1/2 the base. Then click the Draw Normal button at the bottom left of the Tool Bar to exit this mode.

One trick to get perfect round dots on a line is this tip here. Create a line with rounded end caps, then used the Dashed line feature. set the dash length to ZERO.

Dotted line are lines with ZERO length and rounded ends. Basically it is 2 rounded ends together with no length that give you a dotted line.

Either way, the lines look like a fun time with the water spraying. Enjoy!

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INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Popsicle

7/5/2017

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Summer is here and things are getting hot. Create this popsicle to stay and look cool with your Illustrator skills.

Start with a rectangle for the body of the popsicle.

Use the DIRECT SELECTION Tool to select the top 2 corners, them drag the corner widgets into the center to the maximum amount.

Direct Select the bottom corners and pull the widgets in a small amount to form the rounded corners.

Create 4 rectangles the same width as the body of the popsicle.

Use the Selection Tool to shorten some of the rectangles, keeping the tops aligned.

Use the Pathfinder Panel to Unite all 4 shapes together.

Direct Select JUST he lower section of the united block and pull the corner widgets into the center the maximum amount to create the drips.

Add a fill and stroke to the shape the color you want the popsicle to be. Copy this shape for a later step.

Fill and stroke the body the same colors and stroke weight. Click the Draw Inside Button at the bottom of the tool bar.

Draw Inside is the 3rd button. Draw Normal is the first button.

Paste the copied shape "into" the body. Click the Draw Normal button to get out of Draw Inside Mode.

Double-Click to isolate the "drips" from the background shape. Open the Appearance panel. Click on the Fill section and click on the triangle "twirly" to show the opacity of the fill.

Click on the Opacity link in the Fill section of the Appearance Panel and set the blending mode to Multiply.

Multiply will darken the color over the body.

Here, the Lighten Blending Mode lightens the color over the body.

Create the stick. Make a rectangle, fill and stroke it with darker wood tone colors.

Use the DIRECT SELECTION Tool to select the bottom 2 corners, them drag the corner widgets into the center to the maximum amount.

Use the Arc tool to create highlight "noodles" for the top and the stick. Use the Appearance Panel to set the opacity of the white highlights to 80%

Cap the ends of the highlight noodles with rounded ends…"hot dogging" the ends.

And here is your cool, refreshing popsicle.

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Design Points n PixelS

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Classic Rocket

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Fly Swatter

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Super Simple Scissors

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Lawn Sprinkler

INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Popsicle

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