Drawn elements are certainly something that can enhance an illustration. Even if you’re not very good at drawing, you can still create a quality piece. All you need is a good idea and some Photoshop skills. And if you don’t believe me, you will definitely change your mind after reading this tutorial. So let’s take a look inside!

Final Image Preview

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Tutorial Details

• Program: Photoshop CS3
• Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
• Estimated Completion Time: 2 hours

Introduction and Preparation

It’s a themed illustration about "No Beauty," this hides an idea that no beauty lasts forever. Suddenly all that’s great and beautiful falls apart. All the happiness is gone with the colorful pieces. The final outcome has its own mood, even thou it’s colorful, it’s still kinda frightening.

And as I said this is kinda simple but you may be wondering why this tutorial is labeled as advanced level. Well everything is fine as long as you have some base to work on. Here we have absolutely nothing, we will create this piece from scratch. So what’s hard, is all the illustration depth, shading and colorization. Beside that, there are some things you just need to feel.

Ok, now let’s take a look what we’re going to use:

a piece of paper, from 123rf.com
face, from 123rf.com
scratchy texture, sxc.hu

Step 1

I always try to work on a big canvas, but for the tutorial purposes I will go use a document that is 815 px by 1050 px. Just to save you some money from buying large pictures. Anyway, drag the paper texture to our document, duplicate it twice and to each copy hit Command + T (Free Transform) and then select Distort. Refer to the second image below and look how to transform these two paper copies, they need to create a perspective as shown.

Now in the same image – two green frames show you where to cut the main paper to get a good connection. Finally, grab the Patch Tool and get rid of the bad looking textures (third image below).

Step 2

Next use Command + U and lower the Saturation of this background paper texture a bit. If the texture still needs some work (first image below), then use the Patch Tool or Clone Stamp Tool to cover some imperfections.

Then, let’s say that the paper background is some kind of a room, so I thought these walls need some more contrast. To make the texture look better, use the Burn Tool (Range – Midtones), and burn in the connection lines to make it look more like a room.

Step 3

Now, while you still have the Burn Tool selected, make the diameter very small and paint in the top and bottom edges (first image below – where the arrows indicate). This should help to keep the walls, floor and ceiling separated.

OK, look at the second image below. From my experience I knew I’d give this image more contrast in the final product so for now I kinda lowered the overall contrast giving the feeling that all these walls are very light. To do this use levels as shown in the second image below.

Step 4

I assume you have merged all your wall layers together for easier work. If you didn’t, let’s do it now. Then duplicate (Command + J) the “walls” layer and change its Opacity to Overlay. Now go to Filter > Other > High Pass and add the value of 1 or 2. You should immediately get the result shown in the first picture below.

Now hit Command + Shift + A to select the whole canvas, then Command + Shift + C (Copy merged), and Command + V (Paste). Turn the previous “walls” layer off. Leave only the white background layer visible and the new merged layer.

Create a new layer above all, change its Opacity to Multiply, grab the Eyedropper Tool and sample some dark brown color. Then use the Brush Tool with 0% Hardness and around 3% Flow, and then paint as shown in the second picture below to create some irregular shading. Notice how the floor and ceiling is being created by doing this.

Step 5

Select the merged layer (the one with the whole canvas) and use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select the top part of the image, then hold Command and drag this part down. This will help us repair the perspective, because in the beginning we made it pretty much random (if you can imagine this, the diagonal wall lines should cross in the center of the image). Next, look at the second image below and use the Patch Tool to get rid of the straight line indicated by the arrows (which is a result of repairing perspective).

Step 6

Let’s open the scratchy texture (link in introduction) and hit Command + Shift + U to Desaturate it. Then you can add Levels (Command + L) and enhance the whites, just to make these tiny scratch lines more visible. Take a look at the second image below, what we need to do is place this texture in the floor spot.

There is also alternative way to do this step by stretching the texture (as you see in the third image below) to get the right perspective (using Command + T > Distort), but well, as not everyone has the correct eye to make this right, we can stick to the position in the second image below.

Step 7

As you have positioned this texture, go to Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All. This will make the texture totally invisible. So then grab the Brush Tool, make your brush setting very soft (Flow at around 4% and Hardness at 0%). Then use white for the color and paint on the layer mask of the texture.

The first image below shows the full mask view, and it’s shown where I painted to reveal the texture. Now look at the second image below, and notice how nicely this texture blends with the white background.

Step 8

Use the same technique from the previous step to create the ceiling surface. Now open the face picture. Now grab the Eraser Tool set to 100% Hardness and 100% Flow, and get rid of the surrounding skin flowers. An accurate cut out is not necessary, as we will work the face shape in the following steps. For now we also need to resize down this face to make it more suitable to the illustration (third image below). Everything needs its own place in a quality piece, let your own eye be the judge of proportions.

Step 9

Now let’s shape up this face. Grab the Pen Tool and draw a curvy path around the whole face. Pay attention to make lots of cavity shapes (absolutely no squares). After you’re done, turn the path into a selection and hit Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection (first image below), then hit Delete. Now you should get something similar to the second image below.

When you work on an illustration like this you need to do a lot of work and planning. In the third image below I wanted to show you how I pictured in my head – what the next steps might look like. I sketched the face falling apart, and basically I wanted to do this by smudging the skin, but ultimately this turned out as splashes.

Step 10

I made some further corrections to the face, as I didn’t like the face center (first image below). So if you want you can use the Pen Tool to cut more of the face. Pay attention to her nose, the holes are looking kinda weird (like the right one is barely noticeable). To correct this use the Burn Tool (with Range set to Midtones) and a small diameter. Burn the right nose hole (second image below). Be careful, the Burn Tool can affect the nose skin also, so that’s why we need a small diameter to make it with precision.

If you still have the Burn Tool selected, make your diameter bigger and paint where the green arrows indicate (third image below). I wanted to enhance some shadows and also the bottom of the face. Soon we will drop some shadow below this face, and to make everything work properly it’s good to add shade to the bottom part of this skin.

Step 11

The face seems kinda pale so let’s warm it up a little. Select the “face” layer, hold Alt and go to the Layers Palette, and pick Gradient Map (check option Use Previous Layer To Create Clipping Mask). Look at the first image below and use similar colors as mine. Select the Gradient Map layer, change its Blending Mode to Soft Light and lower its Opacity to around 20-30% (not to overload the face with color). Then using Alt again, add another Adjustment Layer, which is Curves and adjust it just a little bit to get the similar look as in the third image below.

Step 12

OK, now make sure you no longer need to change anything in the color of the face and then select these two adjustment layers (Curves and Gradient Map) and also our “face” layer. Then hit Command + E to merge them. Next use Command + J to duplicate the “face” layer, drag the copy below original one and move it a little to the top left (first image below).

You can achieve even more variety and less plane results if you rotate this face (second image below). Then grab the Lasso Tool and make a selection around the indicated part above the nose, hit Command + Shift + I to inverse the selection (third image below) and use delete to get rid of all the unwanted parts.

Step 13

And what is this all about? This face looked very flat to me. To avoid that look it’s good to add some depth. As you can see, the first image below is the view that we get after deleting all the unwanted parts from the previous step, and the face cut is barely visible.

We’re going to use the Burn Tool (with Range set to Midtones) to add the skin depth by giving some shade to the duplicated “face” layer lying below the original one (second image below).

Step 14

I hope I clear up to this step, because if you didn’t understand the previous one, this will be kinda confusing. You may want to review if needed. Now we need to repeat Step 13 to personally chosen parts of the skin. So use the Burn Tool (Midtones) to paint in cavity spots as in the previous step. Then use the Dodge Tool (Midtones) in convex spots (first image below, spots indicated by green arrows).

You can do this to each skin edge, but remember, this may not look good applied everywhere. Also notice that I did those cuts with different angles (on purpose) to get some irregular depth.

Step 15

This may be difficult to understand as well, but don’t get terrified, the explanation is straight-forward. Look at the first image below. The selection that you see is nothing else than all these cuts merged together in one layer (the ones we did in previous step). And it looks so weird because there are some skin remains under our original face.

So I hold down Command and left-clicked on the merged “skin” layer’s thumbnail to get this selection. So now that you have this selection, create a new layer just below the “face” layer, but above the merged “skin” layer. Now change its Blending Mode to Multiply and pick a dark pink or dark brown color color (like #653737). Grab the Brush Tool, with the settings as usual (Flow at 3% and Hardness at 0%). Then do the same thing as previously, darken the cavity spots again.

Use the same process for convex spots, create a new layer above the previous one, change its Blending Mode to Overlay. Now use the same brush settings (but with a very light, brownish color, almost white) to paint in the convex spots.

This step may not be necessary for you, but I always pay extra attention to details and well, it’s important to make this look quality. And I did this because the burn tool and dodge tool don’t always do the best job and sometimes you just need to correct it manually.

Step 16

OK, if you’re done with the face cuts, I believe you can merge all the “face” layers including: “skin,” “shading,” “lights,” and “face.” Then make a new layer below the “face” layer.

Go to the Layers Palette, recall the selection of face (Command-click on the layer’s thumbnail). Grab the Paint Bucket Tool, pick a dark color with a little red or brown tone (something like #5b5555). Fill this selection with it (on the new layer) – see the first image below.

Then deselect, and use Command + T to make face shadow (second image below). Lower the Opacity of the “shadow” layer to around 20-40%.

Next you can use the same color and a very soft brush to paint on a new layer in the shadow spot. Do this to correct shadow imperfections (third image below).

Step 17

Now, I took a fresh look at the image and decided to remove a small part of the face because it bothered me. So you can do the same using the Pen Tool (first image below). And you see, it’s good to have the “face” layer merged, now you can work easily. It’s even better when you have a backup of each part.

In the second image below I used the Dodge Tool on her eyes and eye shadows (first with Midtones, then a little bit of Highlights). When you take a fresh look, many new things can be noticed. Remember to work dynamically!

Step 18

In these final steps we will do some overall adjustments. Go to the top of the Layers Palette and create a new Adjustment Layer there of Black and White. Change its Blending Mode to Soft Light and adjust the Opacity to make it work for you fine.

The adjustment layer should automatically have its own layer mask. So now click on the layer mask and use a soft black brush to paint on the parts that you don’t want to get affected the Black and White adjustment layer (I picked mostly the darkest illustration spots).

Step 19

Now, add some more adjustment layers in the top of the Layers Palette. First go for Curves and make the tones of the whole illustration look similar (like everything came from one picture). Then make some more adjustments using Color Balance, and basically it’s the same idea. Fill it with your personal settings.

Step 20

Next we’re going to add some room shading (first image below), create a new layer above all to do this, and use the Brush Tool with very soft settings (as usual). Pick a dark purple color (like #1a0a18) depending on how your illustration is colored – mine looks kinda cold purple to me.

Now create another new layer above all, hit D on the keyboard to set the colors to default. Grab the Gradient Tool, set it to Radial (from white to black) and fill the whole canvas (second image below).

Finally set this layer’s Blending Mode to Overlay and turn the Opacity down to 15%. You can look at the third image below, the spot indicated with green circles shows where we added a little bit of focus by doing this.

Step 21

OK, now this is not necessary (as we will do this in the final product) but to successfully end this part, I hit Command + A (select whole canvas), then Command+ Shift + C (copy merged), then Command + V (paste), and added Filter > High Pass of value 1. Then I turned the Blending Mode of this merged layer to Overlay. This way we get a nice sharpened outcome.

Conclusion

It’s great what you can achieve from scratch, having just two textures and a woman’s face. The outcome is complete for now. To get the piece done, first we needed the place and main motive – character. So here it is. Now that you have the overall look, we can start planning what kind of effects we want to fill this illustration with, to make it fully complete. And for this we will take care in Part 2. Check it out soon!

Thanks for reading the tutorial. You can view the final image below.

[Via tutsplus]

Burger Icon in Illustrator

In this delicious tutorial I’ll show you how to create a three-dimensional, scrumptious burger using Adobe Illustrator. Remember that I’m a vegetarian, so you should definitely appreciate the effort!

Final Result

The bottom bun

Create a new document in Illustrator and set the canvas to 72×72 pixels. This icon size is used for Android launcher icons. I won’t go into the details of pixel-perfect icon creation, preventing blurry lines etc. That’s for another tutorial.

You should make a sketch every time you design anything to block out the shape and the colors and check out the perspective. I did my sketch directly in Illustrator, painting with the Blob Brush using a tablet. I cannot recommend a tablet enough so start saving today…

Zoom in until the canvas fills the screen and draw the shape for the bottom bun (1a), filling it with the proper gradient (1b).
Add some Inner Glow from the Effect menu (1c) to make the bun appear round.

Draw the inside of the bun (2a) and fill it with a lighter gradient (2b). SInce it falls out of the bottom shape we need to crop it. Duplicate the bottom shape and place it above the inside (2c). Now select both shapes and hit Cmd+7 to create a clipping mask: now the inside is cropped to the bottom (2d).
We’ll use this technique every time an object needs to be cropped to another so keep referring to this step.

The filling

The first item to add is a leaf of lettuce (3a) filled with a strong green gradient (3b).

Add the patty (4a) and select a meaty gradient, burnt to a crisp (4b).

Add a slice of tomato on top of the patty (5a) using the proper colors (5b). As you can see we don’t waste time drawing the texture of the meat or the inside of the tomato because these details won’t be visible at the final size, they’ll only add visual noise.

The fillings cast a shadow onto the bottom bun so duplicate the lettuce and make it black. Set it to Multiply and lower the Opacity to 35% (6a). Go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and choose the appropriate settings (6b).

As you can see the shadow bleeds out from the bun’s outline (7a) so we need to crop it with a clipping mask (see previous step) (7b).

Let’s also add a drop shadow below the bun, this is not a flying burger. The shadow is a black ellipse set to Multiply with an Opacity of approximately 50% and a good dose of Gaussian Blur added to it. I guess you now know how to create shadows!

Wait a minute, no cheese? Of course! Draw a squarish shape but make it droop at the corners like a good slice of semi-melted cheese does (8a). Check out the cheesy gradient (8b)! Duplicate this shape and move it up (8c). Make it lighter, modifying the color stops in the gradient (8d).

All we need to do now is draw the shadow cast by the cheese on the tomato and the filling is complete.

The top bun

Mmh, the hamburger is almost complete.
Draw the top bun much like you drew the bottom bun (9a, 9b).

Create a smaller shape to act as top highlight and set it to Screen and 85% Opacity (10a). Add some Gaussian Blur to smooth its edges (10b) then use the clipping mask method to crop it to the bun (10c).

Finishing touches

Let’s not forget the top bun casts a shadow onto the cheese so just like before add your blurry shadow (11a). Finally draw a bunch of small, light yellow ellipses on top of the bun: the unrenounceable sesame seeds (11b).

First Aid Icon in Illustrator

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate
• Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour

Step 1

Open up a new document and select the Rectangle Tool (M). Create a rectangle and fill it with red.

Step 2

Got to Effect > Stylize > Round Corners and apply a radius of 30pt to the rectangle. Go to Object > Expand Appearance. This will apply the rounded corners. Make a copy of the shape, as we’ll need it again later.

Step 3

Now go to Effect > 3D > Extrude & Bevel and apply the settings you see in the image below. Make sure you add an extra highlight and a bevel.

Step 4

Go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and choose the settings you see in the image below.

Step 5

Create a rectangle filled with gray. This will become the cross for the first aid icon. I filled it with gray for now, but later we will change it to white.

Step 6

Select the rectangle, hit Command + C + F (this will paste the object on top) and then select it with the Selection Tool (V) and rotate it 45 degrees.

Step 7

Select the two rectangles and apply the Unite option in the Pathfinder Palette.

Step 8

Apply another round corner effect (see Step 2) and set the radius to 12pt.

Step 9

Once the shape has been expanded (Object > Expand Appearance), fill it with white.

Step 10

With the cross still selected, open up the Symbols Palette and drag the cross into it. Name it "Cross" and set the type to Graphic.

Step 11

Go back to the red box and open up the Appearance Palette. There, double-click the 3D Extrude & Bevel layer to edit the effect. In the pop-up window, click on Map Art, choose “surface 1″ and select the "Cross" we just added into the Symbols Palette. Place it into the middle of the box top.

Step 12

This is what we have so far for the first aid icon.

Step 13

Let’s create an illusion of a separation to the box, so it looks like it has a top and a bottom that opens up. Take the copy of the rectangle we made in Step 2 and set the fill to none and the stroke to 1pt red.

Step 14

Select the object and go to Object > Path > Outline stroke.

Step 15

Apply the same 3D Extrude & Bevel Settings from Step 3, but add no Bevel and set the Extrude Depth to 5pt.

Step 16

Create a rectangle and fill it with a white to black gradient. Place it on top of the rectangle we just created. Make sure you set the gradient direction like you see in the image below. We will add an Opacity Mask and the black will hide the object and the white color will show it.

Step 17

Select the object and the gradient and go to the Transparency Palette and click on the small arrow on the right and apply the Opacity Mask.

Step 18

This is what it should look like.

Step 19

Now move the object on top of the box.

Step 20

Let’s get on to the box clips. Create three similar shapes like you see in the image below. These object are fairly easy to create. Fill them with gray and the compound object with a gradient of black to white.

Step 21

Apply a 3D Extrude & Bevel again.

Step 22

Once you applied the 3D effect on all three objects, move them together. These three objects make up the clip for the first aid box.

Step 23

Group the three shapes (Command + G) and make a copy. Then place them on the front of the first aid box.

Step 24

Last but nor least, create a shape with the Pen Tool (P) and fill it with a white to gray to white linear gradient. Place it on top of the box and set the Opacity in the Transparency Palette to 80%. This will be the highlight of the first aid icon.

Conclusion

This is the final image. I create a 384px, a 192px, a 64px, and a 32px version. Even as small as 32px, the first aid icon is till recognizable. I hope you had fun creating this little icon.

[Via vector.tutsplus]



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A Briefcase Icon

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a briefcase icon with rectangles, ellipses, and gradients. This briefcase icon is great for web designs and user interfaces. Moreover, you can easily apply these techniques to other icons, logos, and illustrations.

Final Image

Below is the final icon we will be working towards.

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4
• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Topics Covered: Shape tools, Gradient panel, Effects
• Estimated Completion Time: 20-30 minutes

Step 1

Create a new document and with the Rectangle tool (M), create a rectangle for the main body shape of the briefcase.

Step 2

With the rectangle selected, go Effect > Stylize > Round Corners. In the Round Corners dialog, change the Radius to 10 px. This value might be different depending on the size of your main rectangle. Next, go Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 3

Fill the shape with a radial gradient form the Gradient panel. Change the first color stop in the gradient to a light brown color and the second color stop to a dark brown color. With the Gradient tool (G), scale the circumference of radial gradient vertically, expand the gradient past the left and right borders of the shape, and move it slightly towards the bottom of the shape.

Step 4

With the Rectangle tool (M), create a rectangle about a third tall and slightly wider than the size of the main shape. Place the new rectangle over the top part of the main body shape. This will be our flap.

Step 5

With the flap shape selected, go Effect > Stylize > Round Corners and change the Radius in the Round Corners dialog to 10 px. Next go, Effect > Warp > Arc Lower. In the Warp Options dialog make sure Horizontal is selected and change the Bend to 18. Now go Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 6

Fill the flap shape with a linear gradient from the Gradient panel. For this gradient we are going to add two color stop giving us a total of four color stops in the gradient. To add the color stops, simply click just below the Gradient Slider in the Gradient panel twice. Change the first color to a brown color, the second to a light brown color, the third the same brown color as the first color stop, and the last one to a dark brown color. Select the second color stop and change the Location from the Gradient panel to 16 and change the Location of the third color stop to 34. Next, change the Angle of the gradient to -90.

Step 7

With the Rectangle tool (M), create a rectangle half the height and same width as the main shape. Go Effect > Warp > Arc Lower. In the Warp Options dialog, make sure Horizontal is select and change the Bend to -9. Expand the Appearance, fill the shape with your dark brown, and go Object > Arrange > Send Backward (Command + [ ).

Step 8

Select the main shape and go Object > Path > Offset. In the dialog, change the Offset to -8 px. Take off any fill and change the stroke color to white. From the Stroke panel, change the Weight to 2 pt and select a 5 pt Dashed Line. From the Transparency panel, change the Opacity to 25. Next, go Object > Arrange > Bring Forward (Command + ] ).

Step 9

Select the flap shape and go Object > Path > Offset and change the Offset to -8 px. With the new offset still selected use the Eyedropper tool (I) and sample the dashed line you created in the first step. Next, with the Direct Selection tool (A), select the top line in the new dashed line and delete it by pressing the Delete button.

Step 10

Create a small square with the Rectangle tool (M) and place it where the bottom of the flap shape arc. Fill the square with a linear gradient with the first color stop a gray color and the second color stop white. In the Gradient panel, change the Middle Point of the gradient to 18 and the Angle to -90.

Step 11

Offset to square by 2 px and press the Reverse Gradient button from the Gradient panel.

Step 12

Select the original square, Copy (Command + C), and Paste in Front (Command + F). With the Selection tool (V), select the top of the square and scale it vertically down to about two thirds of its original size.

Step 13

Select the offset square, Copy (Command + C), Paste in Back (Command + B), and move down slightly with the Selection tool (V). Next, change the fill to your dark brown color.

Step 14

Draw a small ellipse in the bottom half of the square shapes and draw a thin rectangle coming out of the bottom of the circle. Select both shapes and press the Unite button in the Pathfinder panel.

Step 15

Fill the new shape with a linear gradient, change the first color stop a dark gray color, the second an even darker gray color, and change the Angle to 90. With the shape still selected, Copy (Command + C), Paste in Back (Command + B), move down slightly, and change the fill to white.

Step 16

Create a rectangle from the top of the buckle shapes to slightly above the flap shape. Use the Eyedropper tool (I) and sample to flap linear gradient and change the Angle to -90.

Step 17

Select the new rectangle, Copy (Command + C), and Paste in Back (Command + B). With the Selection tool (V), widen the shape slightly and make the top of the copy line up with the top of the flap. Change the copy to your dark brown color and set the Opacity to 45 from the Transparency panel.

Step 18

Create a small rectangle on top of the flap shape. Fill the rectangle with a three color stop gradient. Change the first color stop to a gray color, the second white, and the third to a gray color.

Step 19

Use the Selection tool (V), Hold down Alt/ Option, hold down Shift, and drag a copy of the rectangle to the opposite side of the top flap.

Step 20

Use the Rounded Rectangle tool and create a thin rounded rectangle connecting the two small rectangles. With the rounded rectangle selected, go Effect > Warp > Arc, make sure Horizontal is selected, and change the Bend to 18. Next, go Object > Expand Appearance.

Step 21

Fill the arc shape with a linear gradient, change the first color stop to a dark gray color, the second color stop to black, and change the Angle to -90.

Step 22

Offset the arc shape by -4 px and change the stroke color to a gray color. Select both arc shapes and send them behind the smaller square shapes.

Step 23

Select all the artwork we have created so far, Copy (Command + C), and Paste in Front (Command + F). With the copies still selected, go Object > Transform > Reflect. In the Reflect dialog change the Axis to Horizontal. Next, move the reflected copies right under the original artwork.

Step 24

Create a rectangle over top half of the reflection. Fill the rectangle with a linear gradient, change the first color stop to white, the second color stop to a rich black and change the Angle to -90.

Step 25

Select the reflection and gradient and choose Make Opacity Mask from the pop-up menu of the Transparency panel. Next, change the opacity of the mask to 60.

Step 26

Create an ellipse bigger than the main briefcase artwork and fill it with a radial gradient. Scale the ellipse down vertically to about an eight of its original size. Set the Blending Mode to Multiply from the Transparency panel and place the ellipse over the bottom part of the briefcase. Select the ellipse and opacity mask and send them behind all other artwork. All done! You can also place your icon on different color backgrounds. In my example I placed the icon on a dark gray radial gradient background.

Final Image

Below is the final image again.

[Via vectips]