In the following Adobe Illustrator tutorial
you will learn how to create a detailed scanner illustration. We'll
start with a bunch of simple shapes, some basic vector shape building
techniques, several effects and the round any corner script. Once we
have our starting shapes we'll continue with some Pathfinder options,
several new effects plus some basic masking techniques. For the final
touches we will use some simple blending.
Before we get started, here is a preview of the illustration we'll be creating.
Step 1
Hit Control + N to create a new document. Enter 600 in the width and
height box then click on the Advanced button. Select RGB, Screen (72ppi)
and make sure that the "Align New Objects to Pixel Grid" box is
unchecked before your click OK. Now, turn on the Grid (View > Grid)
and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Next, you'll need a grid
every 5px. Go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid, enter 5
in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box.
You can also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live
preview with the size and position of your shapes. Do not forget to set
the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Unit
> General. All these options will significantly increase your work
speed.
Step 2
Pick the Rectangle Tool(M), create a 480 by 345px shape, fill it with
a flat green then grab the Direct Selection Tool(A). Select the left
anchor point and move it 80px to the right then select the right anchor
point and move it 80px to the left. This will turn your rectangle into a
trapezoid. Next, you'll need the Round Any Corner script. You can find
it in this article.
Save it to your hard drive, return to Illustrator and continue with
the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the bottom anchor points
(highlighted in the second image) and go to File > Scripts > Other
Script. Open the Round Any Corner Script, enter a 50px Radius and click
OK. In the end your shapes should look like in the third image.
Step 3
Reselect the shape created in the previous step and go to Effect >
Warp > Arc Lower. Enter the data shown below, click OK and go to
Effect > Warp > Bulge. Again, enter the data shown below, click OK
and go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Step 4
Pick the Rectangle Tool(M), create a 410 by 270px shape, fill it with
a flat yellow and place it as shown in the first image. Grab the Direct
Selection Tool(A) and focus on this new shape. Select the left anchor
point and move it 65px to the right then select the right anchor point
and move it 65px to the left. Again, you'll need the Round Any Corner
script.
Continue with the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the bottom anchor
points (highlighted in the second image) and go to File > Scripts
> Other Script. Open the Round Any Corner Script, enter a 10px Radius
and click OK. In the end your shapes should look like in the third
image.
Step 5
Reselect the shape created in the previous step and go to Effect >
Warp > Arc Lower. Enter the data shown below, click OK and go to
Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. Again, enter the data shown below,
click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Step 6
Reselect the shape created in the previous step and go to Object >
Path > Offset Path. Enter a 3px Offset and click OK. Fill the
resulting shape with black.
Step 7
Reselect the black shape created in the previous step and make a copy
in front (Control + C > Control + F). Select this copy along with
the green shape, open the Pathfinder panel and click on the Minus Front
button. Once again, you'll need the Round Any Corner script.
Grab the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the four anchor points
highlighted in the second image and go to File > Scripts > Other
Script. Open the Round Any Corner Script, enter a 3px Radius and click
OK. In the end your shape should look like it does in the third image.
Step 8
Pick the Rectangle Tool(M), create a 300 by 20px shape and place it
as shown in the first image. Select it along with the black shape and
click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Move to the
Layers panel and drag the resulting, black shape below the yellow one.
Step 9
Reselect the green shape and replace the flat color used for the fill
with the linear gradient shown below. Move to the Layers panel, double
click on this shape and name it "main".
Step 10
Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid) then go to Edit
> Preferences > General and make sure that the Keyboard Increment
is set at 1px. Reselect "main" and make two copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and hit the up
arrow twenty times (to move it 20px up). Reselect both copies and click
on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel.
Move to the Layers panel and you will find a group with three new
shapes. Select it, ungroup it (Shift + Control + G) and delete the two,
top shapes. Select the remaining shape and fill it with the linear
gradient shown in the third image. Move to the Layers panel and name it
"mainBottom".
Step 11
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 3px down.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient
shown in the final image.
Step 12
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the bottom copy and move it
3px up. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from
the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=199 G=203 B=203.
Step 13
Focus on the shapes created in the last two steps. Select the first
one and go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 4px radius
and click OK. Select the second one and go to Effect > Blur >
Gaussian Blur. Enter a 2px radius and click OK. Reselect both shapes and
group them (Control + G). Next, you need to mask this group. Reselect
"main", make a copy in front (Control + C > Control + F), fill it
with white and drag it above the group (in the Layers panel).
Open the Transparency panel. Select the fresh, white shape along with
the group, open the fly-out menu of the Transparency panel and simply
click on the Make Opacity Mask button. In the end your masked group
should look like in the sixth image. Move to the Layers panel and lock
it.
Step 14
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px
up. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=175 G=175 B=175.
Step 15
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px
down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient
shown in the final image.
Step 16
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 10px
to the left. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button
from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a
compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make), fill it with R=100
G=100 B=100 and lower its opacity to 5%.
Step 17
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 10px
to the right. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button
from the Pathfinder panel. Again, turn the resulting group of shapes
into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make), fill it with
R=100 G=100 B=100 and lower its opacity to 5%.
Step 18
Reselect "mainBottom" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 10px
up. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=100 G=100 B=100 and
lower its opacity to 10%. Unlock the masked group created in step #13
then select "mainBottom" along with all the shapes created in the last
seven steps and group them (Control + G).
Step 19
Reselect "main" and make two copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and open the
Transform panel (Window > Transform). Check the middle, top reference
point and the "Constrain Width and Height Proportions" button then
simply enter "385" in the height box.
Step 20
Select this resized copy along with the other copy created in the
previous step and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder
panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown in the
second image.
Step 21
Reselect "main" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 25px up
and 12px to the left. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front
button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes
into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make), fill it with
R=242 G=245 B=245, lower its opacity to 20% and change the blending
mode to Soft Light.
Step 22
Reselect "main" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 25px up
and 12px to the right. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front
button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes
into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make), fill it with
R=242 G=245 B=245, lower its opacity to 20% and change the blending
mode to Soft Light.
Step 23
Reselect the black shape and replace the flat color used for the fill
with the linear gradient shown below. Move to the Layers panel, double
click on this shape and name it "interior".
Step 24
Reselect "interior" and make two copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px to
the down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from
the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=70 G=70 B=70.
Step 25
Reselect "interior" and make two new copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the bottom copy and move it
2px to the down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front
button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=235
G=235 B=235.
Step 26
Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Pick the Ellipse
Tool(L) and create a 150 by 45px shape. Fill it with the linear gradient
shown below and place it as shown in the following image. Move to the
Layers panel and drag this new path right below the "interior" shape.
Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Select this squeezed
circle and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F >
Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px up.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=140 G=140 B=140.
Reselect the squeezed circle and make two new copies in front (Control +
C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the bottom copy and move
it 2px down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button
from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=235 G=235
B=235.
Step 27
Select "main" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px to
the left. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from
the Pathfinder panel. Ungroup the resulting group of shapes and delete
the right shape. Fill the remaining shape with the linear gradient shown
in the final image and bring it to front (Shift + Control + ] ).
Step 28
Reselect "main" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px to
the right. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from
the Pathfinder panel. Again, ungroup the resulting group of shapes then
delete the left shape. Fill the remaining shape with the linear
gradient shown in the final image and bring it to front (Shift + Control
+ ] ).
Step 29
Select "interior" along with all the shapes created in the last five
steps and group them (Control + G). Move to the Layers panel and drag
this new group below the yellow shape.
Step 30
Now focus on the yellow shape. One last time, you'll need the Round
Any Corner script. Grab the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the top
anchor points (highlighted in the first image) and go to File >
Scripts > Other Script. Open the Round Any Corner Script, enter a 5px
Radius and click OK. In the end your shapes should look like in the
third image.
Step 31
Reselect the shape edited in the previous step, replace the yellow with the linear gradient shown below then name it "cover".
Step 32
Select "cover" and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control
+ F > Control + F). Select the bottom copy and move it 1px down.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=70 G=70 B=70.
Step 33
Reselect "cover" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px down.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient
shown in the final image.
Step 34
Reselect "cover" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 3px up.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with black and lower its
opacity to 10%.
Step 35
Reselect "cover" and make two new copies in front (Control + C >
Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 10px up.
Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white and lower its
opacity to 50%.
Step 36
Select "cover" along with all the shapes created in the last four steps and group them (Control + G).
Step 37
Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Pick the Ellipse
Tool(L), create a 145 by 20px shape and place it as shown in the first
image. Fill it with R=90 G=90 B=94, lower its opacity to 75% and go to
Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 2px radius and click OK.
Move to the Layers panel and drag this blurred shape below the group
created in the previous step.
Step 38
Select the "main" and "cover" shapes and duplicate them (Control + C
> Control + F). Drag these copies outside their groups and bring them
to the front (Shift + Control + ] ). Turn them into a compound path
(Object > Compound Path > Make) and fill it with a random flat
color.
Step 39
Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Pick the Ellipse
Tool(L), create a 590 by 230px shape and place it as shown in the first
image. Select this squeezed circle along with the compound path created
in the previous step and click on the Intersect button from the
Pathfinder panel. Move to the Layers panel and you will find a new group
with three shapes. Fill the middle one with R=150 G=150 B=153 and lower
its opacity to 2% then fill the other two with R=70 G=70 B=70 and lower
their opacity to 5%.
Step 40
Pick the Rectangle Tool(M), create a 90 by 15px shape and fill it
with the linear gradient shown below. Select it and go to Effect >
Stylize > Rounded Corners. Enter a 7px radius, click OK and go to
Effect > Warp > Arc Lower. Enter the data shown in the following
image, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Step 41
Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Reselect the shape
created in the previous step and make two copies in front (Control + C
> Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 1px
down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the
Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=201 G=201 B=201.
Step 42
Reselect the shape created in step 40 and make two copies in front
(Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and
move it 2px down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front
button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=140
G=140 B=140.
Step 43
Reselect the shape created in step 40 and make two copies in front
(Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and
move it 2px up. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front
button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=235
G=235 B=235.
Step 44
Again, reselect the shape created in step 40, focus on the Appearance
panel and add a second fill using the Add New Fill. Select it, drag it
in the bottom of the Appearance panel, set its color at R=100 G=100
B=100 and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a 1px Offset
and click OK.
Step 45
Reselect the shape created in the fortieth step once more, add a
third fill and use the linear gradient shown in the first image. The
yellow "0" from the gradient image stands for opacity percentage. Select
this new fill, drag it to the bottom of the Appearance panel, lower its
opacity to 50% and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a 4px
Offset and click OK.
Keep focusing on the Appearance panel and add a fourth fill for your
shape. Select it, drag it to the bottom of the Appearance panel, add the
linear gradient shown in the second image, lower its opacity to 50% and
go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Again, enter a 4px Offset and
click OK.
Step 46
Enable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). For the following
step you will need a grid every 1px. So, go to Edit > Preferences
> Guides & Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box. Pick the
Rectangle Tool(M), create a 1 by 20px shape and fill it with R=100 G=100
B=100. Place it as shown in the first image and go to Effect >
Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the following image
and click OK.
Step 47
Return to "Gridline every: 5px". So, go to Edit > Preferences
> Guides & Grid and enter 5 in the Gridline every box. Select all
the shapes created in the last seven steps and group them (Control +
G). Place this new group as shown in the following image.
Step 48
Pick the Ellipse Tool(L), create a 240 by 50px, fill it with the
linear gradient shown below and place it as is shown in the first image.
Add a 1pt stroke for this shape, set its color to R=120 G=120 B=120 and
align it to the inside. Finally, send this squeezed circle to the back
(Shift + Control + [ ).
Step 49
Select all the shapes created so far and duplicate them (Control + C
> Control + F). Select these copies and click on the Unite button
from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white.
Step 50
Disable the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Reselect the white
shape created in the previous step and make a copy in front (Control + C
> Control + F). Select this copy, move it 3px down and send it to
the back (Shift + Control + [ ). Make sure that this copy is still
selected, lower its opacity to 5% the replace the white used for the
fill with black.
Select this black shape and make a copy in front (Control + C >
Control + F). Select it, move it 2px down, raise its opacity to 10% and
go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 4px radius and click
OK.
Step 51
Reselect the white shape created in step 49. First, replace the white
with R=39 G=170 B=225. Next, lower its opacity to 10%, change the
blending mode to Overlay and you're done.
And That's That!
That wraps up this all new Adobe Illustrator tutorial. Once again,
here is what the final result should look like. Feel free to leave any
questions or thoughts you might have in the comment section.
