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Illustrator Tutorial: Draw a Realistic Mango With the Mesh Tool

Diana Toma — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:14 +0000

Follow this Adobe Illustrator tutorial if you want to learn how to draw a realistic mango. Everything here is made using the Mesh Tool therefore if you want to master this tool better, this is your chance. Let’s get started!

Draw the Shape of the Mango

1. Open a new document. First, take the Pen Tool (P) and draw a mango-shape like in the image below. If you believe that it is easier, you can search for a photo with a mango fruit and use it to trace the outline. Before you continue, make a copy of the shape because you will need it later. Now, take the Mesh Tool (U) and click somewhere in the middle of the shape. As a result you will obtain the first vertical mesh line and the first horizontal mesh line.

Next, focus on the vertical mesh line and using the Mesh Tool (U) click on it in the spots indicated to add three more horizontal mesh lines on the top half. Do the same thing at the bottom and add other four lines.

2. Now, let’s add more lines on the left side of the first vertical mesh line. Click on the mango-path in the three spots indicated to add the vertical lines then zoom in on the area shown in the close-up. Add 5 mesh points very close to each other as indicated and you will obtain 5 more vertical lines.

3. In the right side of the first vertical mesh line, click in the four spots indicated to get the last 4 vertical lines. At this point, you are done with the Mesh Tool (U) and all that is left to do is to adjust some of the handles in the areas where it is necessary.

4. In the image below you can see the main areas on the surface of the mango based on the color shades that I’ve used.

5. Taking into account the areas shown above, I chose the most important color shades used in order to exemplify. If you need all the colors, please check the Ai. file for reference because it would have been kinda difficult to indicate every color that I’ve used for all these points and also quite tedious.

Create the Texture

6. To make the Mango fruit look not artificial, we need to create a texture. Open the Symbol Libraries menu and under Artistic Textures find Charcoal. Drag it into your working area and press the Break Link to Symbol button. Having the resulting texture selected, from the fly-out menu of the Transform Panel choose Flip Vertical then scale it about 130%.

7. Put this texture over the mango (black) then make another copy (blue) and arrange it above the first one as in the next image. Now, select one of the textures, go to Effect menu > Warp and apply the Arc effect. The settings that I’ve used for the black and blue textures are shown below. At the end, select Expand Appearance from the Object menu for both.

8. At this step, you need the copy of the mango-shape drawn at the first step. Bring it in front then make another copy. Now, select one of them and also one of the textures and click Crop from the Pathfinder Panel. Do the same thing for the other texture using the second copy of the mango-shape.

9. Fill the two texture groups with a linear gradient from white to black. Set the texture from the top to Soft Light and lower the Opacity to 50% then set the other one from the bottom to Lighten and reduce the Opacity to 13%. You are done with the mango for the time being.

Draw the Stalk of the Mango

10. Let’s continue with the stalk of the fruit. Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a rectangle having the dimensions shown then give it any fill color. Now, take the Mesh Tool (U) and add the first mesh point right in the center, which will also generate the first horizontal and vertical mesh lines. Above the horizontal line, add 3 more lines by clicking with the Mesh Tool (U) on the path as indicated. Then add two more lines under the first horizontal lines.

11. Now it’s time to shape the stalk. To obtain the wavy sides, simply select using the Direct Selection Tool (A) the mesh points individually and move them towards the inside and also move the handles if needed. For the corner points, you can use the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift+C) or the Convert selected anchor points to smooth option.

12. Use the Mesh Tool (U) to add other two vertical lines by clicking in the spots indicated, one on the left and one on the right side of the first vertical mesh line. The stalk-shape is ready and you can see in the image below the main areas that we will color next.

13. Select each mesh point individually from the highlight area, using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and change the colors following the numbers written next to each one. Continue with the other mesh points and use the colors indicated.

14. In the next image, you can see how to color all the other areas. Follow the numbers and the colors indicated to finish the stalk.

Draw the Leaf

15. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw an oval shape having the dimensions shown. Select only the left anchor point using the Direct Selection Tool (A) then press the Convert selected anchor points to corner option. Next, take the Mesh Tool (U) and click in the center of the shape to add the first horizontal and vertical mesh lines. By moving the points individually and also their handles you will obtain the leaf shape as in the image.

16. Next, take the Mesh Tool (U) and click on the existing vertical mesh line in the spots indicated to add the four horizontal lines. Zoom in to the middle area of the leaf and add two mesh points very close to the center point, one above and one under it, as shown in the close-up. As a result, you will get two new lines right next to the first horizontal mesh line.

17. Follow the numbers and color each of the mesh points as indicated. You can see the result in the second part of the image.

18. Continue with all the other points and finish the leaf.

Draw the Stem of the Leaf

19. Start by drawing a 34×2 px rectangle then take the Mesh Tool (U) and click in the center. Using the Direct Selection Tool (A) select only the three points from the middle and move them up. Also using the Direct Selection Tool (A) select only the two top corner points and drag the handles as in the image. Do the same thing with the other two points indicated from the right side. Finally, move the three points from the left side as shown below.

20. Let’s add more mesh lines. Zoom to the middle area of the stem and click on the existing vertical line using the Mesh Tool (U) to add the two points, one above the center point and one under it. As a result you will get two more lines. Also click in the spot indicated on the left side to obtain a mesh line as in the image. The stem is ready and you can start coloring. Follow the numbers next to each mesh point and fill them with the colors indicated.

21. In the next image you can see the colors that I’ve used for the points on the left side of the stem. In the second part of the image you can see the final stem and now you can attach it to the leaf.

22. Place the stalk of the mango as in the next image then arrange the leaf and the fruit is ready.

Draw the Slice of Mango

23. First, use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape that looks like a slice of mango. Next, take the Add Anchor Point Tool (+) and add the four points, two on each side as shown in the image. The reason why we need to do this will become clear at the next step.

24. Use the Mesh Tool (U) to add the first mesh point very close to the top edge of the shape and you will get the first horizontal and vertical mesh lines. Zoom the right side and select using the Direct Selection Tool (A) only the mesh point indicated and move it over the point from the corner as shown in the close-up. Do the same thing to the other side.

Note: Without the points added at the previous step, at this point the bottom curve of the slice would have been distorted. We don’t want this to happen because the slice-shape must remain unaltered.

25. Take the Mesh Tool (U) and add another point very close to the first one. Using again the Direct Selection Tool (A) move the resulting points from the sides over the ones from the corner as you did at the previous step. Do the same thing three more times then continue up to the bottom. At the end all the horizontal mesh lines should look like in the image below, like they all would start from the top corners.

26. Zoom in the area indicated and add one more mesh point very close to the last one added at the previous step. This new line defines the edge between the pulp of the fruit and the skin.

27. Let’s continue with the vertical mesh lines. Take the Mesh Tool (U) and click in the spots indicated to get the two lines on the left side then add the other three mesh lines. At this point you can adjust the handles of some of the points if needed to obtain smoother lines, as shown in the second part of the image. When you are done, add the last three lines on the right side by clicking in the spots indicated and the slice is ready to be colored.

28. First, take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and drag the cursor over all the points from the top left corner and color them using the shade of yellow indicated. Do the same thing on the right side. In this case also, I chose only the main colors that I’ve used in order to give you an example on how to color it. The mesh points are too many therefore please check the Ai file if you need all the colors.

Final Image

Here is the final image. Let me know what you think of the tutorial. Hope you like my mango.

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Premium Tutorial: Gradient Mesh Car

Dinesh Kumar — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:50:46 +0000

I am writing this advanced car tutorial for intermediate illustrator users who want to attain an expert level. In this tutorial, I will reveal lots of secret tricks on gradient on how to draw objects with photorealism in Illustrator. This is a great car tutorial not to be missed!

Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced tutorial
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator

What will you get?

Instant download of PDF e-book (89 pages, 249 steps)
Comes with Ai file for easy reference
Detailed step by step tutorial to create a gradient mesh car

Tutorial Screenshots:

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Premium Tutorial: Vector Headphone

Chinthaka Sandaruwan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:00:41 +0000

This tutorial will take you through the process of creating a classy headset step by step. Most of the process is based on Gradient Mesh tool. And this tutorial will show how to use the Gradient Mesh tool effectively and also some tips on creating raster effects like Gaussian blur.

Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced tutorial
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator

What will you get?

Instant download of PDF e-book (34 pages, 13 steps)
Comes with Ai file for easy reference
Detailed step by step tutorial to create a photorealistic headphone

Tutorial Screenshots:

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Illustrator Tutorial: Cozy Wooden House

Abolic — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:14:29 +0000

In this tutorial, we will create a cozy looking wooden house surrounded by greenery and bright yellow wild flowers.

We will build the house step by step using basic drawing tools and simple techniques. Then we will create the background with the bright blue sky, the meadow and the conifer trees. In the end, we will enhance the surroundings by creating the grass patches and bright yellow wildflowers.

So let’s start building our house!

Drawing the House

Our house is made up of four main parts – the wooden walls, the roof, 3 balconies and doors and windows. We will begin by building the walls which is the basic structure of our house.

The Walls

1. Create a new document in Illustrator with width 2800px and height 1900px. This will give us ample space to create the entire scene. Draw two separate shapes with the Pen tool (P) for the two walls as shown. I have drawn the dotted grey lines just for reference. The furthest end of each wall will be narrower because of perspective. Make sure the vertical lines of the walls are parallel to each other.

2. As the walls are made of wood we will color them in shades of brown. Select each wall individually and with the Gradient tool (G) fill gradients as shown.

3. For the lines on the wall, draw two lines with the Line Segment tool () at the top and bottom of the wall as shown below (green lines). Keep the line weight 5pts and line color # 471A0F. I have used green lines for ease of explaining. We are going to use blend to create the lines in between. For this, first specify appropriate options for the blend. Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and enter values in the dialogue box as shown. Click OK.

4. Now select both the lines and go to Object > Blend > Make. The lines will blend in 12 steps to create our desired effect. Your result should look something like this but with brown lines.

5. We will repeat the same process for the smaller wall now. As the upper part of this wall is very narrow we will have to use 2 separate line blends for the top and bottom part of the wall. For the bottom part draw two lines as shown with line weight 5pts and line color # 754C28. Select both lines and go to Object > Blend > Make. The lines will blend in 12 steps. Illustrator uses the same blend options you specified the last time you have used blend.

6. For the top part of the wall we need lesser lines, so we will specify only 2 blend steps. Draw two lines as shown, keep the same line weight as before and make the line color # 3B2314. Click OK. Our walls are ready!

The Roof

7. The roof of the house is made of very simple shapes that can be drawn with the Rectangle tool (M) or even the Pen tool (P). Draw closed shapes as shown below.

8. Color each part of the roof separately. We will assumr that the light is coming from the left side in our picture. Notice how all planes that face left are lighter.

9. For the little house like structure over the roof, use the Pen tool (P) and draw shapes as shown.

10. Fill colors as indicated below.

11. To create the line texture on the wall, use the same blend process as before. Draw a line each at the top and bottom of the wall with line weight 5pt. Keep the line color # 3B2314. Select both lines and blend them in 5 steps this time.

12. Draw the grey part of the roof with the Pen tool and color it as shown.

Roof Windows

13. For the topmost windows, draw a rectangle with the Rectangle tool (M) (as step 1 below). To get the perspective of the window right, tweak the corners of the rectangle to match the line texture beneath it (step 2).Now duplicate this rectangle 3 times, scale it to make it smaller and arrange each one on top of the other as shown (step 3). Fill each rectangle with colors values as shown in steps 4 to 7.

14. Draw a skewed rectangle as shown in step 8 and then select all the shapes together and click Window > Pathfinder > Divide. Delete the unwanted parts of the window. Unite the parts that we do not want divided using the pathfinder panel. Delete unwanted nodes and shapes thoroughly. Fill colors as shown in step 9 to complete our window.

15. Duplicate the window two times. Scale the duplicated windows to make them smaller and arrange them as shown.

The Chimneys

16. The two small chimneys are nothing but two vertical rectangles. Draw the chimney walls as shown with the Rectangle tool (M). Tweak the rectangles by moving nodes with the Direct Selection tool (A). Color them as shown. Duplicate the chimney once, scale it a bit to make to smaller and place it behind the top roof.

17. This is how our house looks at this stage.

The Red Windows

18. We will build the red windows along the textured lines of the side walls. Let us start with the closed window first. Draw a rectangle with the Rectangle tool (M) (step 1). With the Direct Selection tool (A) tweak the corners of the rectangle to match the lined texture of the wall (step 2). Duplicate this rectangle twice, scale it to make it smaller and arrange each one on top of the other as shown (step 3). Color each rectangle with color values as shown in steps 4 to 6.

19. Draw a vertical thin rectangle to make the division of the window and color it a darker red. For the texture on the window doors use the handy blend option and follow the steps we used before (for the texture on the walls). For the lines I have used line color # 981B1F. Duplicate this window 2 times, tweak its perspective to create the remaining two windows. Always follow the texture of the walls for correct perspective.

20. To create the open windows, simply follow the steps as shown below. Draw rectangles with the Rectangle Tool and tweak them with the Direct Selection tool (A) (step 1). Fill colors as shown (step 2). Draw 2 more triangular shapes for the shine on the window glass (Step 3). Color these shapes as shown with a white gradient from Opacity 100% to 0%.

The Doors

21. The doors are similar to the windows but taller. For the closed door, follow the same steps used for the closed windows. For the opened doors follow the steps and colors used for the open windows. Again, use the lines on the walls for correct judgment of drawing.

22. This is how the house should look once the doors are done.

The Balconies

23. As all the balconies are at a different eye level we will first define the base of each balcony. The next step will be to build the railing. The lines of the front wall will be our guidelines for perspective.

24. Draw shapes for the base of the balconies as shown with the Pen tool. Fill them with #404041.

25. First we will create the middle balcony. The other two balconies can be built by following the same steps. The railing for each balcony is made up of 3 stripes. Draw shapes as shown for thickness of the balcony base and the bottom part of the railing.

26. In the drawing above, the green outlined shape is the thickness of the balcony base. The yellow outlined shape is the front side of the railing stripe and the red shapes are the sides of the railing stripe. Color these shapes as shown.

27. Group all parts of the stripe of the railing we just created, copy the group and paste it in front at the same place (ctrl+F). Select it and shift it up by pressing the up arrow key a few times. Repeat this process one more time to make the third stripe of our railing. The railing for the middle balcony is done!

28. Build the other two balconies similarly. Repeat the process followed but with appropriate perspective. Our house is now completely built!

Creating the Sky Background

29. Our house will look even more beautiful with a great background. To create the bright blue sky, make a new layer and place it at the bottom of the layer panel. With the Rectangle tool (M) draw a rectangle covering the entire artboard and fill it with a radial gradient as shown.

30. To make the top part of the sky a bit darker than the rest of the gradient, we will add a linear gradient at the top. Draw a rectangle which covers the width of the artboard. Use a dark blue gradient and reduce the opacity of the color at the bottom to 0%. The new gradient should appear merged with the colors below it.

The Meadow

31. For the meadow, draw the shapes with the Pen tool and color them as shown.

The Trees

32. For the coniferous trees, open the Symbols panels by going to Windows > Symbols in the main menu. Click on the panel menu on top right corner and select Open Symbol Library. Select the Nature library. In the Nature library you will find the ‘Trees 1’ symbol. Drag it onto the artboard on a separate layer. Select the symbol and click the Break Link button that appears in a row just below the main menu. This will break the link of the symbol and you can edit it freely.

33. As the trees are a part of the background, we will make them lighter so that they don’t stand out too much. Apply colors to the trees and arrange them behind the shapes of the ground as shown. Make color variations for different parts of the trees to make them more interesting.

The Yellow Wildflowers

34. For the stem of the plant, draw a slightly bent thick line with the Pen tool (P) and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke in the main menu (step 1). Fill the resulting shape with a green gradient using the gradient tool (step 2). Draw the leaves with a pen tool as shown (step 3) and fill shades of green as shown in step 4.

35. To create the flower, go to the Symbols panels, click on the panel menu on top right corner and select Open Symbol Library. Select ‘Flowers’ Library. You will find the ‘Daisy’ symbol in the library. Drag it onto the artboard (step 5) and click Break Link button like before.

36. Select the petals and color them in shades of yellow. I have used # F9EC31 for yellow and # FAAF40 for orange shades (step 6).

37. Select the flower with the Selection tool (V). Click on the top middle node of the bounding box and drag it down. This will make the flower a little flatter (step 7). Group the flower plant, duplicate a few times and make different size variations and arrange them on the meadow.

Grass and Clouds

38. To enhance our picture, we will add patches of grass on the meadow and clouds in the sky. Access the Symbol library once again and open up the Nature library. Drag the ‘Clouds 2’, ‘Clouds 3’ and ‘Grass 4’ symbols onto the artboard.

39. Break links to the symbols and make color and size variations in them. Arrange them as you like, but make sure the grass at the farthest end should be smallest in size.

Our cozy looking wooden house is ready!

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Premium Tutorial: Photorealistic Diamond

afsal cmk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:00:45 +0000

This tutorial will take you through the process of creating a realistic diamond. Through this tutorial, you will learn how to use the mesh tool effectively. Also, you will learn a unique technique of drawing variety of objects with dynamic effects. This tutorial will be fun and easy for beginners. A prior knowledge in using the pen tool as well as in creating fills and strokes will be great for the succeeding steps. After this tutorial, you will gain insights on drawing a vector diamond, which can be used in advertising posters or magazines.

Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced tutorial
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator

What will you get?

Instant download of PDF e-book (53 pages, 153 steps)
Comes with Ai file for easy reference
Detailed step by step tutorial to create a photorealistic diamond

Tutorial Screenshots:

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Illustrator Tutorial: How to Create a Vector Stopwatch

Phil Christie — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:53:36 +0000

In this tutorial, I’ll be showing you how to make a stylish vector stopwatch icon with the use of some basic techniques in Illustrator. You will learn lots of useful Illustrator tricks to speed up drawing of a clock face. Hope you enjoy this Illustrator tutorial and maybe even discover some new methods along the way.

Creating the Stopwatch Case

1. For the first step open a new document 600px wide and 800px in height. It doesn’t really matter about the color profile but I like to work in RGB.

2. Next make sure smart guides are turned on by going to View > Smart Guides. Then with the Ellipse Tool (L) selected, find the center of the art board, hold down Alt/Option and click one time the center of the art board to bring up dialogue box. Enter the value 370 for both width and height and click okay to create a perfectly centered circle.

3. Fill this circle with the linear gradient shown and set the angle to -90 degrees. The colors are (196, 196, 196), (132, 138, 147) and (68, 75, 76).

4. With the circle still selected go to Object > Path > Offset Path, set the value to -5px and then give it a linear gradient using the colors (218, 218, 218), (153, 158, 163), (233, 233, 234) and (76, 83, 84).

5. Repeat step 4 this time giving an offset path of -30px and use the linear gradient (153, 158, 163) and (233, 233, 234).

6. Repeat this two more times making offset -5px for each. Give the first the same gradient as your original circle (196, 196, 196), (132, 138, 147) and (68, 75, 76) but in the gradient box click the Reverse Gradient button so that the darkest color shows up at the top. For the second circle, simply give it a solid fill color of light gray (245, 245, 245).

7. Now we’re going to go backwards. With the solid gray circle still selected once more bring up the offset path options but this time enter 20 for the value. Then swap the fill to a stroke (X) and give it a weight of 2px. After this go to Object > Path > Outline stroke.

8. Give it a linear gradient with the following colors (153, 158, 163), (223, 223, 224) and (76, 83, 84).

9. Select the solid gray circle which we’ll be using for the watch face and in the Effect menu select Stylize > Inner Glow. Change the color to a dark gray (102, 102, 102) and enter the values below. Then press OK.

10. Use the Ellipse Tool (L) click once again locate the center of the art board and holding down Alt/Option click once. Enter the value 280px for Width and 13px for Height. Click OK. Then using the Selection Tool (V) while holding shift to keep it in a straight line, drag the new ellipse to the top of the stopwatch face so that the edges and somewhere in the center of the metal casing but don’t worry about being too accurate. From the Effect menu choose Warp > Arc, insert a bend of 62% then click OK. We don’t need it to stay editable so go to Object > Expand Appearance.

11. Now using the Rectangle Tool (M) draw a rectangle the same width and height as the object you just arced then fill with a basic black and white linear gradient. Change location for center to be about 32.

12. Keeping it selected go to Select > Next Object Below. Then holding Alt/Option and Shift on the keyboard reselect the rectangle just created. With both shapes selected in the transparency window’s right hand corner, click to bring up a drop-down menu and select Make Opacity Mask.

13. Select the Ellipse Tool (L) and change the stroke to white with no fill. Then Alt/Option in the center of the art board and create a circle that is 330px. Change the weight of this to 20px and then in the stroke panel give it the Profile: Width Profile One.

14. Now go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points and using the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the point at the very top and remove it using the Delete key on your keyboard.

15. Keeping it still selected, go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke to turn it into a solid shape. Change opacity to 55% and change the Blend Mode to Soft Light. Make a copy using Ctrl/Cmnd + C and Paste in Front with Ctrl/Cmnd + F. Now flip this shape 180 degrees using the Direct Selection Tool and holding shift move it to the top of the stopwatch, approximately 60px or until it looks like below.

Creating the Face

16. Now select the watch “face” with the inner glow then Copy and Paste in Front. Set the fill to none and stroke to 1px black. Then give this an offset path of -6px.

17. For the next step, select the Line Segment Tool (/) and click somewhere on the art board that is not the stopwatch itself. Enter the following values and click OK. Now change the stroke color to something bright and easily recognizable and give it a weight of 2px. Do this two more times making a line that is 9px and one that is 6px. Change the colors of each making sure that all 3 lines are different. Then change the smallest stroke to a weight of just 1px.

18. Select all three lines using the Selection Tool (V) and then holding down Shift click on the watch “face”. Let go of shift and then click once more on the face. You’ll see that it now has a thick blue line around it meaning it’s a Key Object.

19. In the Align panel select Horizontal Center followed by Vertical Top and it will put all three lines in the center of the art board and at the top of the watch’s face, exactly where they need to be.

20. Holding shift click on the face of the watch to deselect it and then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke to making the lines solid shapes. Click anywhere on the art board to deselect the newly formed rectangles. Now reselect the largest of the three, select the Rotate Tool (R) and then from the View menu select Outline. This allows you to see the center more accurately and if you’re using Smart Guides (Ctrl/Cmnd + U) it will snap into place. With the Rotate Tool hold Alt/Option and click in the center of the stopwatch to bring up a dialogue box. Being the longest rectangle we want it to represent every 10 seconds that passes and if you don’t want to do the math Illustrator will do it for you. There are 6 “10 seconds” in one minute and 360 degrees in a circle so simply type 360/6 to get the number 60. Now hit Copy.

21. Keeping the copy selected Transform Again by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmnd + D and make four more copies. Before deselecting it, go to Select > Same Fill Color and then hit Ctrl/Cmnd + G to group them together.

22. Now repeat steps 20 and 21 this time with the mid-sized rectangle and do do the math 360/12 since it represents every 5 seconds. You should end up with an angle of 30 degrees. Copy until all positions are filled. Then do the same for the smallest marker which is for 1 second, this time using an angle of 6 (360/60). Hit Ctrl/Cmnd + Y to exit Outline mode.

23. Select all three lengths of of the seconds markers and then in the Pathfinder Window hit Unite to make them all the same shape and color. Change the fill to black.

Adding the Seconds

24. Using the type tool type the number 60. I used the default font Myriad Pro with a weight of 24px but feel free to experiment with others. Center it with the art board and drag it to the appropriate position on stopwatch face. With the text still selected pick the Rotate Tool (R) and holding Alt/Option click in the center of the stopwatch. You may need to go back into Outline mode (Ctrl/Cmnd + Y) to for this. In the dialogue box enter 30 for the angle and hit Copy. Then Transform again using Ctrl/Cmd + D and fill the rest of the clock.

25. Now we have to rotate all the numbers so they face the right direction. Simply keep the last “60″ selected and go to Object > Transform Each. Scale should be 100% and Move values set to 0. The only thing we want to change here is the angle, enter 30 degrees and click OK.

26. Select the next number and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmnd + D Transform again. You’ll need to hit the D key the appropriate number of times for each or you can just hold it down to speed things up. Once everything is in place change the numbers to the seconds they correspond to, making the 60, 15, 30 and 45 bold and color filled with red. You may also need to drag the number 5 a little to the right to make it fit better. You should end up with something like this.

27. Select the Ellipse Tool (L) and set stroke to a weight of 1px black with no fill. Alt/Option click on the center of the art board to bring up the dialogue box and enter the value 60px for both width and height. Holding Shift drag this new circle up to the appropriate position.

28. With the circle still selected, give it an offset path of -5 then click OK. Now using the Line Segment Tool (/) draw a line that connects the two rings you just created. Keep this line selected and then use the Rotate Tool (R) Alt/Option to click in the center of these smaller circles and enter 12 for the angle then hit Copy. Transform again 28 times.

29. Next select the numbers 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 & 60 then Copy and Paste in Front. Holding Shift together with Alt/Option scale down roughly to the size of the smallest circle you just made, centering them by eye is fine for now. Use the Eyedropper Tool (I) and click on the number 60 to change them all to bold and in red, adjust the size of the font to around 9px and finally with everything still selected group them together using Ctrl/Cmnd + G. To center them accurately hold Shift, click on the circle just outside the numbers then release Shift and click again. This creates a Key Object and you can align the numbers to it vertically and horizontally.

Making the Hands

30. Now onto drawing the hands. Select the ellipse tool and Alt/Option click in the center of the watch face. Enter 10 for both values in the dialogue box. Fill this with a radial gradient using the colors (242, 220, 142) and (201, 150, 26).

31. Keep the circle selected and give it an Offset Path of 2px. Then go to Windows > Swatch Libraries > Gradients > Metals and select Bronze. Set the angle to -90.

32. Create another Offset path from this new circle, give it the value of 4px and fill it with a dark gray (51, 51, 51). Keep it selected go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points. Do this twice. Select the point at the very top using the Direct Selection tool and then drag it while holding Shift just above the number 60.

33. Now select the anchor point at the very bottom of the circle and hold down Shift on the keyboard and nudge it down three times using the arrow keys. Then zoom in and use the Direct Selection Tool (A) pull the handles of the anchor point until it’s the same width as the circle itself. Select all three shapes and group them together.

34. Copy then Paste Behind using Ctrl/Cmnd + C followed by Ctrl/Cmnd + B. Holding Shift, nudge the duplicate to the left two or three times and then up until it’s inline with the millisecond portion of the stopwatch. Release shift and make smaller nudges if necessary. Grab the point at the very top of this shape using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and drag it down while holding shift so that it’s just larger than the entire millisecond part. Then do the same for the bottom, dragging it up to cover half of the 30. Now nudge right and back into the center.

35. Now let’s rotate them. Select the largest hand and then use the Rotate Tool (R) click on the center of it. Holding Shift rotate 45 degrees. Repeat for the second hand this time making -45 degrees.

Reflection

36. For the last part of the stopwatch’s main body we just need to do the glass. Copy and Paste in Front the main section of the face which has the outer glow and then set fill to default (D). Remove the stroke since we won’t be needing it then go to Object > Arrange > Bring to front. Give it an opacity of 55%. Now, with the circle still selected hold down Alt/Option drag it off to the bottom left. This creates a copy so simply stretch out the right side forming an ellipse.

37. Holding shift select both pieces of glass and in the Pathfinder window hit Minus front. Make two copies of this new reflection and paste both in front. Drag the top shape to the left and make it bigger so you only have a small section of what’s beneath it showing. Once again select this and the shape beneath it and then in the Pathfinder select Minus Front. Change the opacity to 65%. Go to Select > All and group together using Ctrl/Cmnd + G.

Putting a Lid On It

38. For the top portion of the stopwatch we need to select the ellipse too and make a rectangle 9px in height and 70px in width. Then fill it with a linear gradient at -90 degrees, using colors: (153, 158, 163) and (53, 58, 59). Next using the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the top anchor point and then Copy and Paste in Front twice. While the second is still selected hold down Shift and nudge up 3 times. Now select the anchor point to the left of this and hold Shift ans select the same anchor point for the copy below. Hit Ctrl/Cmnd + J to joint the point. Repeat for the right side to close the shape. Fill this shape with a linear gradient using colors (76, 83, 84) and (153, 158, 163)

39. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) and draw a rectangle approximately 1.5px in width and just make sure it’s longer than the shape you just created. About 40px should do the trick. Hold alt/option and drag a copy about 2px to the right. Then keeping the copy selected hold down Ctrl/Cmnd + D to make enough copies to cover the area of the shape created earlier.

40. Once you have enough, select all of the rectangles and in the pathfinder while holding down Alt/Cmnd + Unite them and Expand. Now go to Object > Arrange Send to Back. Make a copy of the biggest shape paste it in front. Holding shift also select the ridges you previously sent to the back then in the Pathfinder panel Alt/Cmnd click on Intersect and Expand. Now fill with the linear gradient (76, 83, 84);,(233, 233, 244), (153, 158, 163) and (218, 218, 218). Select all three of these shapes and align horizontally to the center of the art board.

41. Next create a rectangle 55px wide and 50px in height and center horizontally to the art board. Go to Effect > Warp > Arc and give it a bend of 8% then click OK. This should do fine so now go to Object > Expand appearance and then drag it below the “lid” we created earlier. Now give it a linear gradient fill using colors: (76, 83, 84); (233, 233, 234), (153, 158, 163) and (218, 218, 218).

42. Copy this shape and Paste in Front four times. Then holding Alt/Cmnd drag the edges in slightly then release and do the same dragging up so you have a shape now thinner but taller than the original. Keeping it selected hold Shift and select the shape behind it. Alt/Cmnd click on Minus Front in the Pathfinder palette and then Expand. Change opacity to 33% and change Blend Mode to Screen.

43. Draw an ellipse roughly the same size as pictured and then move it to the left. Select the third copy you made of the section behind it and then in the Pathfinder select Minus Front. Set this new shape to an opacity of 40% and give it a Blend Mode of Multiply. Finally draw another ellipse similar to the one pictured, select it and the final copy of the main portion behind it the Alt/Cmnd click the Intersect button in the Pathfinder. Change this shape’s opacity and Blend mode to previous shadow you created by using the Eyedropper Tool (I).

44. Group all of these new shapes together, position them correctly and send them to the back.

Creating the Start/Stop Button

45. For the start/stop button we can simply make a copy of the piece we just did. Holding down Alt/Option, drag it to the left. Since it’s grouped together you’ll need to double click on it in order to edit what’s inside. First delete the ridges as we don’t need those. Then remove the bottom shadow and side highlights. Use the direct selection tool, draw a rectangle to select the bottom three points and the entire ellipse all together. While holding shift, nudge them all down about 3 times.

46. Select the top part of the start button and use the Eyedropper Tool (I)to match it’s gradient with the bottom section. Copy and paste in front. Now draw a curved as pictured using the Pen Tool (P). In the Pathfinder window make sure this new shape and the copy beneath it are selected then choose Minus Front. The gradient of the new shape will need to be adjusted so use the Gradient Tool (G) to drag it so that it is the same width as everything else. Now go to Color Guide panel and click in the top right hand corner for the option Recolor Artwork. This opens up a new box and near the bottom select Global Adjust then make the Luminosity 50%. Click OK. Double click anywhere on the art board to exit Group Editing.

47. Select the button once more and then in the tool bar double click the Scale Tool. Make sure Uniform is the default and enter a value of 70% and hit OK.

48. Now when that’s done, simply rotate it about 40 degrees and position it.

Finishing Touches

49. For the last part of the the stopwatch, we need to just add that metal ring at the top. For this have the Ellipse Tool (L) selected and click on the art board–preferably away from the main design. When the dialogue box appears enter 140px for both values. With it still selected make an offset path of -22px and click OK. Select both circles and in the Pathfinder hit the Minus Front button. Fill with gradient using colors: (218, 218, 218), (153, 158, 163) and (76, 83 84) with an angle of -90. Make a copy and Paste it Behind, then double click on the Scale Tool. Enter the value 103% and hit OK. Select the front shape and give it a radial gradient with colors: (218, 218, 218), (153, 158, 163), (76, 83 84); (233, 233, 244); (129; 133; 138) and (218, 218, 218).

50. Keep it selected, copy and past in front twice. Then drag the front copy down so that the top intersects roughly with dark gradient in the middle. In the pathfinder, select Minus Front. Set the fill to white and then ungroup it by right clicking on it and selecting Ungroup. Set the top piece’s opacity to 65% and the bottom to 55%.

51. Repeat step 50 where you copied the original ring except this time drag up from the bottom. Minus front again changing the fill to a dark gray (102, 102, 102). They ungroup and set the top shape to 25% and the bottom to 45% opacity. Select all of the ring and group. Center it horizontally and drag it to the correct position.

52. Next we’re going to make a clipping mask. Do this by drawing a rectangle taller than the width of the ring but the same width as the piece the ring will go behind. Now draw an ellipse which is the same thickness as the ring and about 3 or 4px wide. Line the center of the ellipse to the the edge of the rectangle you just made. Duplicate and drag is to the opposite end. When it’s in position select both plus the rectangle you drew and then Minus Front in the pathfinder.

53. Draw a circle slightly larger than the ring and send it behind the shape you just created. One again go to pathfinder and select Minus front. This new shape is what you’ll use as a clipping mask. Select it and the ring behind it then hit Ctrl/Cmnd + 7 on the keyboard to clip it. For the final touches you can add a shadow by drawing an ellipse approximately the same width as the stopwatch. Set it’s fill to white then duplicate this shape, fill it with a gray of your liking and then from the Object menu choose Blend > Make. For a more better blend you can also select the outer ellipse using the Direct Selection Tool and set it’s transparency to 0.

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Premium Tutorial: Photorealistic Watch

Dinesh Kumar — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:43:49 +0000

Learn how to create an amazing photorealistic watch in this new premium tutorial. This tutorial is written for intermediate illustrator users to attain an expert level in illustration. In this tutorial, you will get an indepth knowledge about creating objects with photorealism.

Let’s see how to create a photorealistic watch in this tutorial.

Difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced tutorial
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator

What will you get?

Instant download of PDF e-book (42 pages, 125 steps)
Comes with Ai file for easy reference
Detailed step by step tutorial to create a photorealistic watch

Tutorial Screenshots:

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