This year
we’re celebrating the Year of the Rooster according to the Chinese calendar. 2017 is predicted to be a good year as the Rooster is a positive symbol.
Let’s bring some more luck into our lives by depicting a cute rooster in
Affinity Designer, symbolizing the Chinese New Year!
We’ll be
using a lot of vibrant gradient fills, applying Blend modes to create shadows
and highlights, and modifying simple shapes to create our newborn rooster.
By the end
of this tutorial, you’ll be able to design a stylized character that can be used
as a sticker or an element of a congratulation postcard, invitation, greeting card
or banner to celebrate New Year of the Rooster.
If you want to take a closer
look at how the elements are designed or you want to get this character with alternative facial expressions, make sure you check out my Rooster Character on GraphicRiver.
1. How to
Draw a Cartoon Rooster
Step 1
We’ll start
by creating a background. Take the Rectangle
Tool (M) and make a 600 x 600 px
square which is equal to the size of our document. Fill it with purple, and let’s add some depth. Use the Fill
Tool (G) to add a gradient fill to the background. Set the Type to Elliptical in the control toolbar on top and edit the colors by
clicking the circles of the gradient sliders and applying the colors in the Colour panel.
Step 2
Let’s make
the body of our rooster. Grab the Ellipse
Tool (M) and make a 250 x 320 px
oval. Use the Fill Tool (G) to apply
a vivid gradient. This time, set the Type
to Linear, and apply yellow color to the top part of the slider and orange color to the bottom one.
Convert to Curves in the control panel on top in order to make
the ellipse fully editable.
Select both
side nodes with the Node Tool (A)
and move them down a bit using the Down
Arrow key to make the bottom of the body flatter.
Step 3
Now we’ll create the eye of our chicken. Use the Pen
Tool (P) and hold Shift to draw
a short stroke. Set the Stroke color
to dark brown in the Colour panel
and switch to the Stroke panel to
set the Width to 8 pt, making the line thick. Set the
Cap to Round Cap, making the tips of
the line rounded.
Now we can
use the Node Tool (A) and drag the
node handles up, placing them vertically. This way we’re making the line
arched, forming an eyelid.
Step 4
Duplicate (Command-C > Command-V) the line and then select the bottom
copy in the Layers panel. Set its Weight to 16 pt, making the line much thicker. Set its Blend mode to Screen on
top of the Layers panel, thus
creating a brighter overtone around the eye.
Step 5
Now let’s
depict a beak. Take the Diamond Tool
and create a 70 x 55 px shape, filling
it with vertical linear gradient of yellow tints. Use the Corner Tool (C) to make the top and bottom corners of the shape
rounded. You can adjust the corner Radius
from the control toolbar on top, setting it to 15 px.
Step 6
Switch to
the Ellipse Tool (M) and let’s form the inner part of the beak. Make a 60 x 12
px oval and apply an orange-red vertical linear fill.
Convert to Curves and select its left and right nodes with the Node Tool (A).
Convert the nodes to Sharp from the control toolbar on top, thus making the corners of
the mouth pointed.
Step 7
Let’s
create another ellipse for the tongue. Make a 45 x 10 px shape, filled with pink linear gradient. And now we need
to place the tongue inside the mouth. To do this, head to the Layers panel and drag and drop the
tongue shape over the mouth shape (the orange ellipse). You will see a short
blue stripe, indicating that you’re placing one object inside of the other, like inside a container. The
shapes are still editable and are combined into a group.
Step 8
Duplicate (Command-C > Command-V) the yellow beak shape and make the
top copy a bit smaller. Fill it with linear gradient from yellow on top to
black in the bottom, and set the Blend
mode to Screen. The black part of
the fill becomes transparent in Screen
mode, creating a gentle highlight.
Step 9
Let’s
create a similar highlight on the body of our chick. Duplicate the body shape and make the top copy somewhat smaller.
Apply a vertical linear fill from yellow to black and switch to Screen mode.
Add a
smaller ellipse for the tummy, applying the same fill in Screen mode.
Step 10
Let’s
continue adding details to the face by making the eyebrows. Use the Rounded Rectangle Tool (M) to make a 20 x 10 px shape with fully rounded corners, setting the Corner value to 100% in the control toolbar on top.
Rotate the
shape to about 15 degrees and
duplicate it. Flip the copy Horizontal, using the Transforms panel in the control toolbar
on top, and move the second brow to the opposite side of the face.
Step 11
Now we’ll
add the wings to the body. Use the Ellipse
Tool (L) to make a 50 x 100 px
shape, and fill it with linear gradient from light orange to dark orange, as
shown below.
Duplicate and Flip
Horizontal, adding a second wing on the opposite side of the body. Select
both wings and Move to Back
(Shift-Command-[), placing them beneath the body.
Step 12
Take the Pencil Tool (N) and let’s make a crest
on top of the rooster’s head. Draw a shape and edit its nodes with the Node Tool (A) if needed.
Apply a
linear fill from orange on top to red in the bottom, adding dimension to the
crest.
2. How to
Draw a Cracked Eggshell
Step 1
Use the Ellipse Tool (M) to create a 320 x 320 px red circle. Take the Pen Tool (P) and make a zigzag line
across the egg.
Step 2
Select both
the circle and the zigzag line and apply Subtract
Operation from the control panel on top to split the circle apart. Now we can
delete the unneeded top part of the circle by selecting the nodes with the Node Tool (A) and deleting them.
Apply
elliptical gradient fill to the eggshell, making it slightly lighter in the
center, thus adding dimension.
Step 3
Duplicate (Command-C > Command-V) the egg shape and make the top copy
slightly smaller.
Fill it
with linear gradient from black on top to red in the bottom and switch to Screen mode, making a gentle highlight.
Step 4
Let’s add
some vibrant feathers to the tail of our rooster. Use the Pencil Tool (N) to draw a tail shape and fill it with vivid linear
gradient of turquoise, blue, and purple colors. Place the tail behind the
rooster by pressing the Shift-Command-[
keys.
Step 5
Let’s add
some subtle shadows in order to separate the elements from each other and to
make the overall illustration a bit more realistic.
First of
all, duplicate (Command-C >
Command-V) the beak and select the bottom copy. Apply a linear fill from
brown on top to white on the bottom, and set the Blend Mode to Multiply
in the Layers panel, thus making the
white part transparent. Extend the shape a bit, making it slightly larger than
the beak.
Step 6
Now we need
to add a gentle shadow on the tail behind the chick. First of all, let’s Duplicate (Command-C > Command-V)
the body of the rooster (together with the wings) and Ungroup the elements of the copy if needed. Now, keeping the copies
of the wings and body selected, apply the Add
Operation from the control toolbar on top, merging the elements
into a single silhouette.
Fill the copy with linear gradient from white on top to blue on the bottom, and
switch it to Multiply Blend Mode.
Step 7
Place the shadow between the body and the tail of the rooster by either moving it
manually in the Layers panel or by
pressing Command-[ a few times.
Make the
shadow a bit larger than the body.
Finally,
select the shadow shape in the Layers
panel, and drag and drop it above the tail shape layer. You will notice a short
blue bar indicating that one shape is placed inside the other, like inside a
container, hiding the unneeded parts.
Step 8
Now we can
add a shadow over the rooster’s crest. Make another copy of the body shape,
turn it into a semi-transparent shadow in Multiply
mode and place it inside the crest layer.
Step 9
Now let’s
add one more shadow beneath the eggshell.
Use the Ellipse Tool (M) to make an oval and
apply elliptical gradient fill in Multiply
mode. You can adjust the shape of the gradient, making it squashed enough to
fit the oval.
Step 10
Don’t
forget to add a shadow from the eggshell, thus adding depth to our image. Duplicate the eggshell and move the
nodes of the bottom copy using the Node
Tool (A). Fill it with linear gradient and switch to Multiply mode, making the shadow semi-transparent.
Here is how
our rooster looks with all the shadows applied. Only a few minor details left!
Step 11
Let’s add
another drop of cuteness to our image by adding a subtle touch of blush to the cheeks. Use
the Ellipse Tool (M) to make a tiny
oval and apply an elliptical gradient fill from pink in the center to white at
the edges. Switch it to Multiply
mode, creating a blush.
Select the
shape, hold Option-Shift and drag to
the right, creating a copy on the opposite cheek.
Looking
great! Our rooster is already finished! We can leave it like that or continue
adding minor details, making the illustration more diverse.
Wonderful!
Our Chinese New Year Rooster Is Finished!
Great job! I hope you’ve enjoyed following this tutorial and learned some new
tips and tricks that will help you to create more fancy characters in Affinity Designer, applying
vivid gradients and adding depth by working with shadows and highlights.
If you
wish, you can add a Chinese hieroglyph ‘rooster’: ?. You can either add it
using the Artistic Text Tool (T)
(you’ll need to have the Chinese font installed though) or you can get this Rooster Character for Chinese New Year which includes the symbol in curves with golden
gradient fill. Apart from that, you’ll find our rooster character in various formats and
with various facial expressions.
Happy New
Year! Stay creative!
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