INFOGRAPHIC SERIES - Wreath with a Red Bow

'Tis the season and so I though a nice holiday wreath would be cool to create. This one uses the Draw Inside feature as well as opacity to give the dimensional effect on the bow and wreath. The bold outline gives it a great look. Enjoy!

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Create a circle, fill with a lighter green, add a darker heavy green stroke to the edge.

Select the circle, the select the Rotate Tool. hold OPTION then click away from the selected circle as shown. 

This will open the dialog box and set the center of rotation. Set the copy angle to 15° the click COPY. 

Use COMMAND + D to create circles to form a complete set.

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Select all the circles and use the Pathfinder Shape mode UNITE to make it all one shape. 

Draw a Polygon with 3 sides. Fill with red then add a darker heavy red stroke to the outside. 

Use the Corner Widgets to round all the corners slightly. 

Draw a rectangle. Use the Eyedropper tool to select the triangle to pick up the attibutes and apply them to the rectangle.

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Use the Curvature Tool to select the center bottom anf move it up to round the end. 

Draw a circle and use the Eyedropper tool to select the triangle to pick up the attibutes and apply them to the circle. Arrange all the shapes to make the bow. 

Add some lines to make the bow lok like it is pulled together into a knot.

Duplicate one of the traingles, use the Direct Selection Tool to delete the points of two of the tips, leaving just the "candy cane"

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Take the candy cane, set the opacity to 35%, then copy it. Click on the wing and choose the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. Paste the candy cane "into" the wing, position it to create a shadow. Click back onto the Normal drawing mode button at the bottom of the Tool bar to exit out of Draw Inside mode (this is just another way of creating a clipping mask).

Select the 2 bottom tails, Unite them using the Pathfinder Panel shape mode UNITE.

Draw a circle, fill it with the dark red and set it to 35% opacity. Cut it, then select the tails, click the Draw Inside Mode at the bottom of the Tool Bar. 

​Paste the circle "into" the tails and position it as shown. Click back onto the Normal drawing mode button at the bottom of the Tool bar to exit out of Draw Inside mode.

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Add a highlight noodle to the knot by using the Arc Tool. 

On the wreath, create a circle from the middle of the wreath, fill it with the dark green and set the opacity to 35%.

Cut the circle, then use the Draw Inside mode to place it "into" the wreath. Then go back to Normal Drawing mode. 

Add a higlight noodle to the wreath. 

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And you are done. Happy holidays everyone, enjoy the time
​with friends and family and use the time to create more cool icons too!!