INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Space Ship

Ready for your space travel? Create this space ship with a radar beam as it flies through space. 

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Start with 2 circles, place them half over each other and select both.

Use the Pathfinder Intersect mode to create the space ship body.

Draw a large oval over of the body, having the oval touch the tips pf the body. 

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Use the Pathfinder Divide mode to create two shapes. Ungroup the shapes. Add a lighter color to the bottom, darker color on the top.

Add lines with round ends using the Stroke panel and choosing the arrow heads & tails sections to choose a rounded end. Scale the end to fit the look of the line. Put the lines under the body for legs.

Create the glass pod on top of the shape ship by stating with a rectangle filled with light blue. 

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Use the Direct Selection Tool to select the upper two corners and pull the Corner Widgets into the center of the rectangle. 

Place the pod on the space ship. Use the Curvature tool to select the center of the bottom edge and pull down to create a curve. 

Duplicate the pod two more times and overlap the shapes with a slight offset. Select both shapes and use the Pathfinder minus front mode. 

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This will leave a sliver to use as a highlight. 

Set the pod to an opacity of 40% and the highlight to an opacity of 60%.

To create the clouds, create several circles randomly overlapping. 

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Select all the circles and use the Pathfinder Unite mode or use the Shape Builder Tool and join them all together as one shape. 

Place the clouds behind the space ship. Object> Arrange> Send to Back.

Add stars using the star tool. 

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To create the radar beam, create an oval and duplicate it, set is further away and make it a different size from the first oval. 

Select both ovals and set the Blend Options under Object>Blend. Set it to Specified steps and insert eh number of rings you want between the first and last ring.

Select Object> Blend> Make to create the rings in between the original two rings. 

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Place the rings. Add a moon by create two offset circles and the Pathfinder Minus front Mode. 

Add some circles to the space. 

Add a few shooting starts by using the Arc tool to create arc, round the ends (hot dog them) in the stroke panel. Use the Width Shape tool to pull one end wider to create the look of a shooting star. 

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Scan, photograph or create some rough texture. I create this in Photoshop using one of the random brushes to create texture. 

Place the image into Illustrator (File> Place) and open the Image Trace Panel under Window. Set the Mode to B&W. Click the preview in the lower left. Open the Advanced settings section at bottom of the panel and click on the ignore white (very important). Adjust the sliders to get the right look of the texture. Click on the EXPAND button in the control bar or in the Properties Panel to get the image to render as a vector.

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Select the clouds, Click on the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. Paste the texture into the shape, Adjust the size, fill the texture with a color close to the could color, Adjust the opacity of the texture to make it blend into the clouds a bit. Click on the Draw Normal mode when done. ​

Using the Pencil Tool, draw a few free form lines around the objects. Set the line color to white. Used the Dashed line feature in the Stroke Panel and set the DASH length to ZERO and GAP to 12. Set the end caps of the line to rounded (hot dog the ends). This method will create dots. 

I added a small alien eye in the pod for fun. Now you are ready for your space journey.