Hello everyone this is Chris from Spoon Graphics
back with another video tutorial.
Today I wanted to show you an example of how super cool artwork can be created in Adobe
Illustrator with just a handful of basic tools, simple shapes and flat colours.
Abstract vector illustrations like this can be applied to anything, it could be printed
on the back of a business card, applied as a skateboard deck or even made into a vehicle
wrap! That's the power of vector graphics, their infinite scalability and crisp lines
makes them really versatile and ideal for printing.
In this video tutorial I'll take you through the process of creating this artwork that
uses a limited colour palette and various shapes to build up a fun composition. I'll
show you the techniques you need, then it's up to you to experiment and just keep adding
elements to build up the design until you're happy with the result.
So begin by opening up Adobe Illustrator. I'm just creating a basic landscape A4 document.
The beauty of vector artwork is if I decided I wanted this applying to my office wall,
I could quite easily scale it so it could be printed onto wallpaper or plotted out of
vinyl stickers. Unlike in Photoshop where you have to make sure you get the size and
resolution down in advance.
Working with a limited colour palette helps keep things simple while adding to the stylised
look. I like to find cool palettes from ColourLovers.com, like this one named Brr!!!gght.
Take a screenshot and paste it into the artboard, then draw a circle with the ellipse tool.
Grab the selection tool then hold the ALT and Shift keys while dragging the shape to
create a duplicate. Press CMD+D, which is the shortcut for Transform Again, 4 times
to create a total of 5 circles.
Select the Eyedropper tool, make sure the fill icon is active in the toolbar, then Shift-Click
the colours from the screenshot to apply them to the circles.
Quick Tip: You can toggle between the selection tool and eyedropper by holding the CMD key,
which helps you quickly select each circle in turn.
Go to View and turn on Smart Guides, then select the Rectangle Tool. Hold CMD to temporarily
switch to the Selection tool in order to click the first circle, which loads its fill colour
so it's ready to use with the rectangle tool.
Use the Smart Guides to snap to the corner of the artboard, then drag out a large rectangle
to cover the whole area.
Press CMD+2, or go to Object > Lock > Selection so you don't accidentally move this element
out of place.
Grab the Line tool, then draw a short horizontal path somewhere on the artboard.
Select the Eyedropper tool, then activate the Stroke icon from the toolbar. Shift+Click
a colour from the circles, then increase the stroke weight to 10pt.
Switch back to the Selection tool, then hit the Enter key, which is a shortcut to bring
up the Object > Transform > Move window. In the vertical option, enter 10 followed by
P T for points. Illustrator will automatically convert the units into whatever the document
is set to. Press the Copy button to make a duplicate of the stroke aligned perfectly
with the original.
Press the CMD+D shortcut twice to Transform Again and create two more copies, then use
the Eyedropper tool and change the stroke colours. Remember to hold Shift while clicking,
otherwise Illustrator will copy the exact appearance and apply the colour as a fill.
Since we're using the darker colour as the background, add the leftover colours to these
paths.
Draw a selection around the stripy paths then click the New icon at the bottom of the Brushes
panel. Select Art Brush, then hit OK on the settings.
Select the Pen tool then hold Shift while clicking at either side of the artboard to
create a diagonal line. Click the new brush from the Brushes panel
to apply the stripy effect.
Hold CMD and click anywhere on the artboard to deselect the current path, then draw a
new path, this time with a corner somewhere in the artboard. Remember to hold Shift the
entire time to keep the angles restricted.
Draw a third path, this time getting a little more adventurous with two corners, then draw
a fourth but leave an open end within the artboard.
You can always adjust the paths using the Direct Selection tool. Click and drag the
straight lines, or individual points to adjust their shape. Keep holding the Shift key so
they don't go out of line.
Draw a selection around all the stripy lines, then go to Effect > Stylize > Round Corners.
Turn on Preview and enter a figure like 30mm that generates nice flowing bends.
You can enlarge the stripes by changing the stroke width. Up the weight to 2pt for all
strokes, then select a couple of individual lines and make them slightly smaller at 1.5pt.
The stacking order of elements can be adjusted by right clicking and heading under the Arrange
menu. Take a moment to learn the shortcut for these commands because they'll really
help you out later.
Send the second line we drew to the top so it sits above the other lines.
Ideally this line would overlap the lower line, but flow under the upper one. In order
to do this the path needs splitting into two pieces. Select the Scissors tool and click
to snip the path.
The second portion can now be adjusted with the CMD+[ shortcut until it sits under the
other objects.
Send the last line to the bottom so the lines weave under and over each other.
Select the path that has an open end within the artboard and go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Zoom in then move each end point with the Direct Selection tool to stagger their positions.
Select the Ellipse tool and draw a circle in some empty space. Do a quick test by scaling
the circle to see if the stroke changes size. If it does, you'll need to turn off Scale
Strokes and Effects in the preferences.
Select and delete two of the four points that make up the circle to leave a quarter circle.
Rotate this path by 45 degrees and position it on the end of the first extended stripe.
Use the Eyedropper tool to match the colour to the existing line.
Switch back to the Selection tool then hold ALT to drag out a copy. Position this shape
on the end of the next line. Turning on Outline mode can really help you snap these points
together.
Add bends to the other two lines and colour match them with the Eyedropper tool.
The position of these bends can be adjusted by moving them with the Selection tool while
holding shift, then use the Direct Selection tool to snap the end point back again.
You can also extend the line after the bend with the Pen tool. Click the open end point
to continue the path, then hold Shift and click. CMD+click on the artboard to deselect
the shape before making adjustments to the next one, otherwise it will try and continue
the current path.
Draw a small circle in some empty space, followed by a square that surrounds it. Clear out the
fill of the square so it's invisible, then make sure they're aligned centrally using
the Align panel.
Select both shapes then drag them into the swatches panel. Change the fill of the circle
then drag in a couple more swatches.
Use the Pen tool to roughly trace around an empty space in the composition. Keep the outline
overlapped within the stripes, but make sure you don't click on any open points. Apply
one of the circle swatches to add a cool dotty pattern.
Use the Arrange shortcuts to send the dot pattern below the stripes to hide its outline.
It's quicker to send them to the back with CMD+Shift+[, then step back up with CMD+]
multiple times.
Repeat the process in a couple of other empty spaces to make use of those different coloured
dotty patterns.
Select the Rectangle tool and draw a long thin rectangle in some empty space. Give it
a fill using one of the colours from the palette.
Hold the ALT and Shift keys and drag out a copy, leaving a small gap between the original.
Press and hold the CMD+D shortcut to create a series of evenly spaced lines.
Draw a selection over these lines then right click and select Make Compound Path.
Draw a circle over these rectangles, then select all the objects and click the Intersect
button from the Pathfinder panel.
Rotate the resulting shape by 45 degrees so the lines flow diagonally, then scale and
position it into the composition. You can make copies of this shape, and rotate and
change the colour to fill out other areas of empty space.
Alter the stacking order with the CMD+[ and CMD+Shift+[ shortcuts.
Cool effects can also be created by simply building up areas of colour using basic circles.
Hold Shift and draw multiple overlapping circles near a stripe of the same colour. Select all
the shapes and adjust the stacking order so they sit underneath the stripe lines.
Keep building up the composition by placing circles of various colours from the palette
across the design. The more elements you add, the more detailed the artwork becomes. If
you see an area that looks a little sparse, just adding in a basic shape can quickly fill
it.
When your design is complete, draw a rectangle across the entire artboard. Select everything
again, then right click and select Make Clipping Mask to hide the elements that extend beyond
the edge.
So that finishes off my tutorial on how to create fun vector illustrations using basic
shapes and colours. If you enjoyed it or learned anything new a share with your friends would
really help out. If you want to see more tutorials from me be sure to hit the subscribe button
on YouTube, or join my mailing list to receive all my free design resources and tutorials
straight to your inbox.
So as always thank you very much for watching and I'll see you in the next one.