Cool 3d Logo

9NOV/090

Cool 3d Logo

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4 and who carez???
• Difficulty: Beginner/ 
• Estimated Completion: Half hour
• In this post I'll show you process of creating 3d logo for some 'company'.

3d logo

1. Draw some simple object, like this:

object

2. Select logo ( or whatever this is, but imagine it's a logo ),
and put some lighter color, like blue ( for easier rendering, or to see what's rendering ).

select logo

3. Then while selected, go to Effects >> 3d >> Extrude & Bevel

extrude & bevel

4. Click OK, and while object is selected ( logo ), go to Object >> Expand Appearance

5. Okay, we expanded it now, but it's still in one group, so we have to ( while selected -.- ) go to Object >> Ungroup

Or you can select object and press Shift + Ctrl + G few times, that will ungroup it also.

6. Next step, it's ungrouped and we can select any parts of it.

7. Lets create some gradient, like this:

logo gradient

8. Apply gradient to every section, surface, bevel etc

more gradient

9. And final looks like this:

3d logo final

Thats it!

Creating Road Maps in Adobe Illustrator

Creating Road Maps in Adobe Illustrator

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4 and who carez???
• Difficulty: Beginner/ 
• Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour

Sooner or later every designer comes across the exciting job of producing a map, whether it’s on a leaflet or website the overall aim is to visually document a particular area of land to allow for people to find their way to a place of business or event.
An important factor is the amount of detail required for the map, for most situations the map should be basic enough to provide a recognisable road structure without too much intricate detailing. As you will have seen on existing maps, the use of graphics and colours are important to distinguish between different types of road, this tutorial will cover the process of using Illustrator brushes to create a map of a small road network.

The finished map graphic needs to be crisp and clear which is why the map will be created in vector format in Illustrator. Imagine if the map needs to be enlarged on the leaflet as a client requirement, in Photoshop you would be left with fuzzy pixelated edges. Plus, the complete map will be editable allowing the road shapes to be tweaked without having to delete and redraw the complete line.

Start by drawing a straight line (hold Shift) on your new documents, add a quite thick blue stroke. This will be the base for our UK Motorway, being the largest type of road this line needs to be the thickest.

Copy and paste the line back into place (CTRL / CMD + F), and change the weight to a thinner stroke and colour in white. This will give a blue and white striped appearance to simulate the dual carriageways.

Select both of your strokes and click the 'New Brush' icon in the brushes window.

In the option box select the 'New Art Brush' radio button.

In the next dialog box you have the option of naming your new brush, in this case it's a 'Motorway'. Also check the direction is running along the length of the brush and not across it.

You will now notice your new brush appears in your Brushes Palette. (I have deleted the default brushes here to allow for easier access)

Go ahead and repeat the previous steps to create a selection of brushes to represent the different road types. Experiment with different stroke weights and arrangements to produce some interesting effects. Remember to produce these brushes according to the hierarchy of the roads they represent, for example a minor road needs to be thinner and less prominent than a major road.
TIP: Extend the inner stroke outwards slightly on roads that will need to interconnect, this will allow them to merge together without the outline running across the joint.

As well as the road graphics, use circles to produce matching junction icons. Using similar fill and stroke colours will allow them to blend with the roads.

Now we're ready to draw the actual map, create a container box for reference and press CTRL / CMD + 2 to lock it. Don't worry about any roads extending beyond this container, we'll clip these later.
Use the Pen tool to draw your first major road, refer to an existing map to ensure the shape and scale is correct. This is where all you USA residents have it easy! The UK is full of curly whirly roads which are great for driving on, but a pain to draw up!!

Add the appropriate brush to the new path, transforming it into a Motorway.

Add in a couple of junctions where necessary and use the text tool to provide additional information.

To add an interconnecting road draw the path as required, then use CTRL / CMD + [ to send the new path to the back of the stack allowing for the junction circles to remain on top.

Continue drawing paths and selecting the appropriate brush to produce a network of roads.

Go in and add in the junctions and roundabouts by copying and pasting the junction circles created earlier.

Work down the hierarchy onto the minor roads, which will be even more intricate. Draw each path and add the Minor Road brush. This is where the tip mentioned above comes in handy, allowing the roads to interconnect without the outline running across the joints.

To add some names to your roads, use the Pen Tool to draw a path in a similar contour to a particular road.

Then, select the Type tool and hover over this line until you see the Type of Path icon appear. Type out your road name and you will notice the text flow follows the line, you can use the little handles to edit the position of the text, or use the Direct Selection Tool to fine tune the shape of the path.

Finally, trim off the excess roads from beyond the container. Copy and Paste the container shape (CTRL / CMD + Alt + 2 to unlock the object), then select all (CTRL / CMD + A). Go to object > Clipping Mask > Create and notice how the lines are trimmed back to the outline of the box.

How to Create a Recycling, Paper Bag Icon

Final Image Preview

Tutorial Details

• Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4 and who carez???
• Difficulty: Beginner/ 
• Estimated Completion Time: 1 hour

 

Step 1

Open up a new document and select the Rectangle Tool (M). Create a rectangle. We don't care yet about color and stroke.

Step 2

Select the Shear Tool. This tool can be found under the Transform Tool.

Step 3

Click on the bottom-right corner once with the Shear Tool and start moving the mouse cursor. You will see how the rectangle gets transformed. Try to achieve a similar shape as you see below.

Step 4

Create another rectangle and transform it as well with the Shear Tool, but this time in the other direction so it aligns perpendicular with the first shape.

Step 5

Select both shapes and fill them with a beige-brown and set the stroke to none.

Step 6

Select the Pen Tool (P) and add path points to the upper line of the rectangles. We'll manipulate them slightly as shown. This is to to create a worn look on the top of the paper bag. If you need some practice with then Pen Tool, then review the tutorial Illustrator's Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide, as we'll be using the Pen Tool throughout this tutorial.

To do this, select the points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and move the added points around. Start giving the shapes a tailored look and fill them with a brown to beige gradient. Place the gradient highlight towards the top.

Step 7

Add more anchor points if necessary.

Step 8

With the Pen Tool, create another shape that is placed on top of the left shape. Try to follow the shape, but keep it half the size. Fill it with a darker gradient. This will simulate a glued paper bag side.

Step 9

Create another shape similar to the one in the image for the right side and place it behind the front shape. Fill it again with a gradient, but try to place the gradient highlight towards the back.

Step 10

Add a small triangle to the left side on the bottom of the bag. Fill it with a darker color or gradient.

Step 11

Create an outer shape with the Pen Tool (P) around the paper bag. The shape is totally up to you. Just make sure that the shape overlaps with the other shapes.

Step 12

Create a copy of all shapes, then select them all and go to the Pathfinder Palette. There, select the Unite shape mode.

Step 13

This is what you should have after uniting all shapes. Just make sure that you still have all the other shapes. If not, undo (Command + Z).

Step 14

Take the united shape and place it behind all the other shapes. Make sure you delete the extra outline shape, since we don't need it anymore.

Step 15

Create a black filled funky shape and place it under all shapes. This will be the shadow, which is falling towards the back, since we want to simulate that the light source comes form the front.

Step 16

Select the shadow shape. Then apply a Gaussian Blur effect of 10 pixels.

Step 17

Set the Transparency Opacity to 14%

Step 18

Let's make the recycle icon next. Create a Polygon with the Rectangle Tool (M). Click once on the Artboard, and in the pop-up window, set the radius to 50pt and the sides to 3 . Then click OK. Fill the triangle with a brown color.

Step 19

With the triangle selected, go to Effect > Stylize > Round Corners and apply them.

Step 20

With the triangle selected, expand the appearance (Object > Expand Appearance). Now go to Object > Path > Offset Path and apply a 10pt offset as shown.

Step 21

Select both shapes and click on the Exclude button in the Pathfinder Palette.

Step 22

Create more triangles just like we did in Step 18. Place them in the middle of each triangle side as shown.

Step 23

Click the Divide button in the Pathfinder palette, which will break these into individual shapes as shown.

Step 24

With the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the highlighted part in the image below and apply the Unite Pathfinder button. Repeat this as needed to make each arrow attach to a curve as shown..

Step 25

Ungroup the shapes if necessary and move them slightly apart from each other, which creates a gap between each arrow and curve.

Step 26

Skew the recycle icon using the Shear Tool as shown. Place the it on the front of the bag as shown.

Step 27

To make it a bit more interesting, create a copy of the side and fill it with undulated fine dots (a pattern you can find under Window > Swatches > Patterns). Set the Opacity to 27%.

Step 28

Repeat Step 27 for the front. Set the Opacity to 27%.

Step 29

Create a copy of the back shape behind itself (Command + C + B) and make it slightly bigger. Change the direction of the gradient so the top part is lighter.

Conclusion

Have a look, the eco-friendly paper bag icon is ready. I hope you enjoyed this entry level tutorial.