Character
design is always fun and creative. If you love it as much as I do, then jump into this tutorial and learn how to create a cute
gingerbread man character in vector form.
At
the beginning you will create the body of the gingerbread man, and
then you will create the gingerbread texture using two effects and a
Scatter Brush. After shading and highlighting, your gingerbread man
will look 3D, and after that comes the creative part, where you
will create the face, add the icing and all the decorations.
If
you are interested in other character designs, you can purchase vector characters over
on Envato Market.
Let’s begin!
1. Start a New Project
Launch
Illustrator
and
go to File
> New to
open a blank document. Type a name for your file, set up the
dimensions and then select Pixels
as
Units
and
RGB
as
Color
Mode.
Make sure that Align
New Objects to Pixel Grid is
not checked.
Next,
go to Edit
> Preferences > General and
set the Keyboard
Increment to
1
px and
while there, go to Units
to
make sure they are set as in the following image. I usually work with
these settings, and they will help you throughout the drawing process.
2. Create
the Body of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Start
with the head and draw a circle with the Ellipse Tool (L). Continue
with the legs, which are two rounded rectangles.
Step
2
Grab
the Pen Tool (P) and draw the shape of the body between the head and
the legs. After that, draw the hands like in the next image.
Step
3
Now,
select the head, the body and the legs and press Unite in the
Pathfinder panel. Make some extra adjustments, if needed by moving
some of the anchor points with the Direct Selection Tool (A) and also use the Convert Anchor Point Tool
(Shift-C) to generate handles because the corners should be smooth.
3. Create
the Texture of Gingerbread
Step
1
Select
all shapes and fill them with a warm brown; then go to Effect >
Stylize > Inner Glow and apply the settings shown. Before you
continue, send the hands behind the body.
Step
2
With the shapes still selected, go to the Appearance panel and add a New
Fill above the first. Use white as the fill color; then go to Effect
> Artistic > Film Grain and apply the settings from below. Set
this Fill to Blending Mode Soft Light and 22% Opacity.
Step
3
Still
with the shapes selected, add a New Fill in the Appearance panel.
Use white as the fill color; then go to Effect > Texture >
Texturizer and apply the settings shown. Set this Fill to Blending
Mode Multiply and 77% Opacity.
4. Add
Shadow to the Gingerbread Man’s Arms
Step
1
Use
the Pen Tool (P) to draw a path right between the left arm and the
body. Select a 3 pt Stroke and the Width Profile 1 in the Stroke
panel. Next, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a
Radius of 3 px. Reduce the Opacity to 75% and after that, send this
path behind the body but in front of the left hand.
Step
2
Copy
and Paste in Front (Control-F) this path, change the fill color and
delete the Gaussian Blur effect from the Appearance panel. Bring this
path in front of the body to create more definition.
Step
3
Next,
draw a path right between the right arm and the body with the Pen
Tool (P). Select a 1 pt black Stroke and the Width Profile 1 in the
Stroke panel. Go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a
Radius of 4 px and then reduce the Opacity to 50%. Send this path
behind the body but in front of the right hand.
5. Add
Shading to the Gingerbread Man’s Body
Step
1
Grab
the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N) and draw the five paths in
the left side of the body (1). Select a 10 pt Stroke and the Width
Profile 4 but press the Flip Along option in the Stroke panel (2).
Keeping all the paths selected, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian
Blur and apply a Radius of 5 px (3).
Step
2
Next,
draw six paths like below following the edge of the gingerbread man’s
body (1). Select a 10 pt Stroke and the Width Profile 4 in the Stroke
panel (this time don’t flip) (2) and then apply a 5 px Gaussian Blur
(3).
Step
3
Draw
a path at the neck, select a 10 pt Stroke and the Width Profile 4 in
the Stroke panel. Go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply
a Radius of 5 px; then set to Blending Mode Color Burn and 15%
Opacity.
6. Add
Highlights to the Gingerbread Man’s Body
Step
1
Use
the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N) to draw five paths following
the right side of the gingerbread man’s body (1). Select a 10 pt
Stroke and the Width Profile 1 in the Stroke panel (2). Still having
these paths selected, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and
apply a Radius of 5 px (3).
Step
2
Next,
draw a path like below. Select a 10 pt Stroke and the Width Profile 4
in the Stroke panel. Apply a 3 px Gaussian Blur and then set the
Blending Mode to Soft Light.
7. Mask
the Gingerbread Man’s Body
Step
1
Select
the body and the hands and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V). Remove all existing appearances from the
Appearance panel and press Unite in the Pathfinder panel. Let’s
name the new shape “full body” and before you continue, make a
copy for later.
Step
2
Select
everything on your artboard and go to Object > Clipping Mask >
Make (Control-7).
8. Add
Details to the Gingerbread Texture
Step
1
Grab
the Pencil Tool (N) and draw five paths like in the following
image, one over each hand, each leg and one over the head (1).
Select a 0.5 pt yellow Stroke and the Ink Spatter 1 Scatter Brush that you can
find in the Brush Libraries Menu under Artistic > Artistic_Ink.
Open the Stroke Options window from the Appearance panel and change
the settings as shown (2). Group (Control-G) these paths and set the
Blending Mode to Soft Light (3).
Step
2
Grab
the Pencil Tool (N) again and draw six random paths like in the next
image (1). Select a 0.5 pt black Stroke and the Ink Spatter 1 Scatter
Brush and then change the settings in the Stroke Options window (2).
Group (Control-G) these paths; then set to Blending Mode Overlay and
55% Opacity (3).
9. Create
the Eyes of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Use
the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw two white circles as the eyes of the
gingerbread man. With both eyes selected, go to Effect > Stylize
> Inner Glow and then to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and
apply the settings shown.
Step
2
Draw
two smaller circles and fill them with brown.
10. Create
the Eyebrows of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Draw
two paths above the eyes (1) and give them a 9 pt blue Stroke. In the
Stroke panel, press the Round Cap option to obtain the rounded ends
(2). With both paths selected, go to Object > Expand (3).
Step
2
Select
the eyebrow shapes and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow.
Apply the settings and hit OK.
Step
3
Still
with the eyebrow shapes selected, add a New Fill in the Appearance
panel above the first. Use white as the fill color; then go to Effect
> Distort & Transform > Transform and apply the settings
from the next image. Now, go to Effect > Stylize > Feather and
apply a Radius of 8 px.
Step
4
Still
having the eyebrow shapes selected, go to Effect > Stylize and apply the Drop Shadow effect.
11. Create
the Mouth of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Use
the Pen Tool (P) to draw a path as the mouth and give it 7 pt red
Stroke. Go to Object > Expand in order to turn the stroke into
a fill.
Step
2
Select
the mouth shape;
then go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow and apply the settings
from below (1).
Add
a New Fill above the first and select pink as the fill color. Go to
Effect > Path > Offset Path and apply an Offset of -2 px (2)
then go to Effect
> Stylize > Feather
and apply a Radius of 3 px (3).
Step
3
Still
having the mouth shape selected, apply the Drop Shadow effect using
the settings from the next image.
12. Create
the Hair of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Use
the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a curly path as the
hair of the gingerbread man. Select a 6 pt brown Stroke, Round Cap
and then go to Object > Expand.
Step
2
Having
the hair shape selected, apply the Inner Glow effect using the
settings shown below and after that, apply the Drop Shadow effect
using the same settings as for the mouth shape.
13. Create
the Buttons
Use
the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw two circles as the buttons on the body.
Select blue as the fill color and apply the Inner Glow effect using
the settings shown (1).
Add
a New Fill above the first and set the fill color to white. Go to
Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform, apply the
settings from the image below and hit OK. Now, go to Effect
> Stylize > Feather
and apply a Radius of 8 px. Reduce the Opacity to 66% (2).
Still
with the buttons selected, apply the Drop Shadow effect using the
same settings as for the mouth shape (3).
14. Add
Icing on the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Grab
the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a wavy path on the arms and legs. For
the two paths in the left side (closer to us) select a 9 pt Stroke
and for the two paths in the right side, select a 8 pt Stroke. Also
select the Round Cap option in the Stroke panel. After that, go to
Object > Expand.
Step
2
Having
the icing shapes selected, apply the Inner Glow effect and then the
Drop Shadow effect.
Step
3
Next,
grab the Pen Tool (P) and draw the shape of the pants followed by the
two lines. Give them a 5 pt white Stroke and then go to Object >
Expand.
Step
4
Having
the pants shape and the two lines selected, apply the Inner Glow
effect using the settings shown and then the Drop Shadow effect using
the settings shown earlier.
Step
5
Draw
a new wavy path on the pants, give it a 6 pt white Stroke, and then go
to Object > Expand. Apply the Inner Glow effect and the Drop
Shadow effect using the same settings.
15. Create
the Bow Tie
Step
1
First,
draw two triangle-like shapes and a small circle between them, and
select red as the fill color.
Having
only the triangle shape from the right selected, apply the Inner Glow
effect using the settings from the next image. Add a New Fill above
the first and set the fill color to white. Go to Effect > Distort
& Transform > Transform and apply the settings shown; then go
to Effect
> Stylize > Feather
and apply a Radius of 8 px. Reduce the Opacity to 66%.
The
other two shapes have pretty much the same settings, but for the
triangle on the left side delete only the Inner Glow effect from the
Appearance panel.
Step
2
Apply
the Drop Shadow effect using the settings shown to the three shapes
that compose the bow tie. At this point the gingerbread man is ready.
16. Create
the Shadow of the Gingerbread Man
Step
1
Grab
the copy of the “full body” that you made earlier in the
tutorial and fill it with black. Move this shape to another layer
behind the gingerbread man. Now, go to Effect > Distort &
Transform > Free Distort and drag the corner points as shown below
to distort this shape.
Step
2
Still
with the black path selected, go to Object > Expand Appearance
in order to expand the Free Distort effect. Make the shadow shape a
little longer by dragging the bounding box with the Selection Tool (V) upwards or use the Direct
Selection Tool (A) to select only the top portion of the shape (head
and arms) and move these points upwards.
Step
3
Replace
the black fill with the linear gradient shown. Go to Effect > Blur
> Gaussian Blur and apply a Radius of 3 px and after that, reduce
the Opacity to 80%.
Congratulations!
You’re Done
Add
the background of your choice, and the illustration with the gingerbread
man is ready. I hope this was a fun tutorial, and let me know if you
want more character design.
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