Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based drawing program and, as such, all artwork is created as mathematically based shapes. There are many tools in the program for creating shapes – we show you a variety of tools & applications in our Illustrator courses.
To create the illustration shown here we would first create a new file, for example 100 x 100mm if it’s to be printed. Otherwise we’d use pixel dimensions for web or screen artwork. The frog is created using the Ellipse tool for the head, and choosing a green from either the colour swatches or picker. One eye is created using the Ellipse tool, then copied across by pressing Alt (Mac: Option) and dragging with the Selection tool. The three green objects are then grouped and the Roughen effect is added from the Effects drop-down menu.
The black pupils are created also using the Ellipse tool, but pressing down on Shift to constrain the width & height, thus creating a perfect circle. Then the mouth is created using a constrained Ellipse, with a red Stroke & no Fill colour. The top anchor point is selected & deleted, creating a semi-circle.
The ladybird is created with the Ellipse tool, then cut in half using the Knife tool. One half is then coloured black and the other red. The black spots & white eyes are also created using the Ellipse tool; the wings using the Line tool. The antennae are drawn with the Pen tool and mirrored using the Reflect tool. And the flight path is custom brush created by dragging a black ellipse into the Brushes panel, and the Spacing adjusted. The background is a Rectangle placed behind the artwork by right-clicking > Arrange > Send to Back.
And finally the artwork is cropped by creating a Rounded Rectangle over the whole lot, then selecting all (Ctl+A) and right-click > Make Clipping Mask. The design can then be saved as a PDF or Saved for Web (from the File menu).
Whether you’re a complete beginner or self-taught, our courses will help you gain self-confidence in your Illustrator workflow, as well as adding to your professional skill-set. See many examples of our Illustrator clients’ work on our Facebook page.
Other related Illustrator Blog Posts:
Illustrator workspace
Illustrator basics
Illustrator clipping masks
Illustrator live trace
Illustrator brushes