This tutorial shows you how to create a shield design with Path Tools using Illustrator
Step 1
Create a new document (Command + N). Pick Print as the New Document Profile to get a Colour Mode of CMYK and a Raster Effects setting of High. You can change the Colour Mode and Raster Effects by going to File > Document Colour Mode and Effect > Document Raster Effects Settings.
Change the other settings of Units to Inches, and a document Width and Height of 7 inches by 7 inches, then hit OK.
Step 2
Make a square shape with the Rectangle Tool (M).
Step 3
Click and hold the Rectangle Tool icon and choose the Polygon Tool. Then create a 3-sided polygon with a 2″ radius. Stroke it with white.
Using the Rotate Tool (R) rotate the triangle 180 degrees (hold shift while rotating to constrain the rotation to nice regular 45 degree increments, like 180 degrees).
Step 4
Using the Selection Tool (V) choose the triangle. Navigate to Object > Path and choose Add Anchor Points.
Step 5
Select the triangle and click the Pen Tool (P). Option-click + drag the top centre point, and move the handle you’ve created away from the centre. Add Shift to constrain the handle to horizontal.
To turn on and off the Smart Guides navigate to View > Smart Guides or hit Command + U.
Do the same Option + drag to the other two centre points without pressing In the Smart Guides you will notice that the drag snaps to the straight line.
Step 6
The Selection Tool (the black one) is used for selecting groups and/or transforming items. It gives to you four corner and four centre handles which you can drag to transform the selection. The other two arrows are for selecting points or paths. The Direct Selection tool (the plain white arrow) is for selecting and moving either points or edges (the lines between the points). The Group Selection tool (the white arrow with the plus sign) is for selecting and moving the entire path around all together.
But for now we just want the Direct Selection Tool.
Step 7
Using the Direct Selection Tool, click on the top middle point. Hold Shift and press the Up Arrow Key (to make the movement faster) a couple of times to move up the point. Do the same with the left and right midpoints to make them move about. Move the points until you have something similar to that shown below.
Step 8
Delete all of the left hand points, and make the shield more symmetrical!
Step 9
Select the points and choose the Reflect Tool (O) (in the Rotate Tool). Click the top centre point to establish it as the reference point. Then, Option + Shift + drag to duplicate a mirror-image of it to the left.
Step 10
Choose the black background square and lock it by moving to Object > Lock > Selection, or Command + 2.
Using the white Direct Select Tool, click and drag over the top centre point. Then click and drag to select those top centre points. Then navigate to Object > Path > Join. A dialog saying there’s one of several possible problems that won’t allow the Join command to work!
Navigate to the Layers Palette, and click the layer’s triangle to expose a drop-down list of that layer’s objects. You’ll notice other triangles. Go ahead and open them all up.
Retry the Join command above, and confirm that you want a Smooth point, not Corner. Repeat the action for the lower centre points also but confirm it as Corner point. Each of those blue dots in the Layers Palette indicates an item that’s selected. Click one of those larger blue dots, and simply drag it into the other’s group.
Step 11
Move the points until they look like a shield. Then repeat Steps 8, 9 and 10 to make it symmetrical.
Step 12
Fill the shield with a radial gradient from a light 7% gray to a dark 50% gray. Use the Gradient Tool (G) to define the gradient’s centre point and radial extent by clicking near the upper left and dragging to the lower right.
Step 13
Select the path and navigate to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter -10pt If you do the math, you’ll find that recalculates to -0.1389 inches.
Step 14
Redefine the gradient going the other way, so that the first one should be from upper-left to bottom-right, and this new one is bottom-right to upper-left.
Step 15
Select the third path and navigate to Object > Path > Offset Path. Then use -10pt again (Illustrator has remembers the last offset so just hit OK). Fill it with a new Radial Gradient with the lighter part in the top left.
By using the two gradients going in opposite directions, we’ve created a sort of 3D effect. It’s also created the appearance of shiny metal.
Step 16
Add a simple Drop Shadow and a bit trickier Inner Shadow to the orange layer. Select the orange shield and navigate to Effects > Stylize > Drop Shadow.
Step 17
Copy (Command + C) the shape, and Paste in Front (Command + F). Delete the new one’s shadow by dragging the Effects Icon to the Trash in the Appearance palette. Now, in the Transparency Palette, set the mode to Darken. Navigate to Effects > Stylize > Inner Glow.
Step 18
Lighten the background slightly. Add a hard 10 point Drop Shadow to the very first gray metal layer.
Step 19
Draw an ellipse with the Ellipse Tool (L). Then fill it with a tinted radial gradient. Use the same darker orange used on the shield gradient.
Step 20
In the Transparency palette, set its mode to Overlay and its Opacity to 80%. Using the Rotate Tool (R), rotate it.
Step 21
A mask is a window of any shape that shows anything it contains within its bounds and hides anything outside of its bounds.
With the Direct Selection Tool (A) Option-click the shield’s orange shape. Pressing option has turned the white arrow temporarily into the Group Selection Tool
Copy the fully selected orange shape, and Deselect everything (Command + Shift + A). Then choose the ellipse and navigate to Edit > Paste In Front (Command + F). This will be your mask. Without leaving the selection, Shift-click the rotated ellipse and navigate to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Command + 7). The new orange shape has lost all of its fills and effects.
Step 22
Now Deselect everything (Command + Shift + A) and choose the mask shape by Option + clicking with the Direct Selection Tool (A). Copy this (Command + C), Deselect (Command + Shift + A) and Paste in Front (Command + F). This de-links it from its association with that mask. Now Option + drag it downward, as shown below. Option + dragging clones it, leaving the original untouched.
Step 23
Choose both of them and in the Pathfinder palette click the second icon from the left top row labelled Subtract From Shape Area.
The Pathfinder command has reduced the two shapes to only the area that they had in common at their intersection. This has created a shape that we’ll use to make an eyebrow-like shadow. Fill this intersecting shape with the same yellow to orange radial gradient and set its Transparency to Multiply.
Step 24
Since the background is still locked, choose everything by going to Select > All (Command + A). Then navigate to Object > Hide > Selection (Command + A). Switch to Outline View by going to View > Outline (Command + Y). The background’s box has a convenient centre point represented in Outline View by a little tiny x.
With Smart Guides turned on, choose the Line Segment Tool (Backward Slash \). Then position the cursor at that centre mark and notice its Smart Guides light up. To constrain it to vertical, Click and Shift + drag up until you intersect with the black box’s outline. Again notice the Smart Guides telling you it’s intersecting.
Step 26
Select the vertical line. Using the Rotate Tool (R) Option-click at the lower point of the line. It’s the one at our box’s centre. Clicking that point sets it as the reference around which the line will rotate. It will also open the Rotate dialog box. In that dialog box enter an Angle Value of -5 degrees and click Copy.
Step 27
With the Direct Selection Tool (A), click and drag a marquee to choose those two upper points. Then join them (Command + J). Option-click to choose this shape. Then with the Rotate Tool (R) Option-click the lower point again; enter -10 degrees, and hit copy. Now navigate to Object > Transform > Transform Again (Command + D) thirty-four more times, until you’ve got a complete starburst pattern.
Step 28
Choose All (Command + A), and then fill with white. Set the Opacity to 30 and Mode to Overlay in the Transparency Palette. Now, with the Ellipse Tool (L), Option + Shift + drag a perfect circle from the burst’s centre (Option sets the origin to centre; Shift constrains it to a perfect circle). Make it just a little bit smaller than the burst’s circumference. Go back to Preview View (Command + Y). Then fill this circle with a white-to-black radial gradient.
Step 29
Choose all (Command + A). Then navigate to the Transparency Palette. In its upper right corner, click the little triangle to reveal a fly-out menu. Select its Make Opacity Mask command.
The pure white in the opacity mask is a clear window of its contents. The pure black is a solidly opaque mask. Continuous tones in between pure black and pure white mask show their relative darkness or lightness.
Step 30
Navigate to Object > Show All (Command + Option + 3). Move our shield shapes above the radial.
Step 31
Now Unlock All (Command + Option + 2). Then with the black Selection Tool (V), choose the burst. Then navigate to Object > Hide > Selection (Command + 3). Choose the black box and hide it too (Command + 3). Now show all (Command + Option + 3) and Send to Back (go to Object > Arrange > Send to Back, or just hit Command + Shift + Left Bracket).
Step 32
Choose the burst and enlarge it with the Selection Tool (V). Use the tool while pressing Option + Shift, and be sure to scale from the centre while constraining its proportions.
It’s not visible against the white background because its Transparency Mode is set to Overlay. If you need to mask it, you could choose the black box, Copy it, select the burst and Paste the box in Front of it. Then select both through hiding and then showing all. Then Mask the burst with the new box via Command + 7.
Final Image
|
|
|
|
|