Have you ever heard the saying, “April showers bring May flowers?” This
phrase has been on my mind lately, so I decided to create a spring
illustration! Iowa is still pretty chilly, so I hope this illustration
will bring home some warm spring breezes.
Today, we will create a
rain boot full of daisies using basic shapes. As usual, we will use the
warp effects and the Pathfinder panel. It’s going to be an easy process
with detailed explanations which will lead you to a cute illustration.
I
recommend going to GraphicRiver to remind yourself what a
rain boot looks like and also to brighten your eyes with some
inspiration.
Whenever you’re ready, let’s begin!
1. How to Create a Rain Boot
Step 1
After
opening your Adobe Illustrator and creating a New Document at 850 x 850 px
Width and Height, we will start by drawing the rain boot.
Using
the Rectangle Tool (M), create a rectangle. In the image below, you can
see which Fill color you need. To give the rectangle an irregular
shape, go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Enter the options you see
below.
We’re going to apply another effect immediately. While keeping
this shape selected, go to Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. In the new
window, adjust the options to the ones you see below (see the second
image). Expand this shape (Object > Expand Appearance). Finally, add a blue rounded rectangle by
using the Rounded Rectangle Tool.
Here, you can see the Arc Upper options.
Step 2
Let’s continue forming our wonky shape so that it looks more like a boot.
Create
a rectangle with the Rectangle Tool (M) and make it overlap the rounded
rectangle on the bottom. Keeping this rectangle and rounded rectangle
selected, go to the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and press
the Minus Front button. You’ll need to cut the bottom part of the
rounded rectangle.
Finally, keeping these two objects selected
(the irregular top shape and the cut, rounded rectangle), Unite them by
pressing the Unite button on the Pathfinder panel (Window >
Pathfinder).
To create the shape of the rain boot shown
below, move the handles by using the Direct Selection Tool (A). Start
by adjusting the handles to make the boot shaft smoother. After that,
work with the handles to make a nice vamp.
For the sole, create
two ovals using the Ellipse Tool (L) and place them as in the image
below. Adjust the handles of the larger oval to get the result similar
to below.
Step 3
Select all shapes created in the
previous step and Unite them (hit the Unite button on the Pathfinder
panel). Now, we want to create a visual separation of the sole from the
rest of the boot.
Make a Copy of the boot by holding down the
Alt and Shift keys as you drag this shape up. Make this new copy a bit bigger.
Return to the original
boot shape and make a Copy in Front (Control-C, Control-F). Now you have
three boots: two original, one over another and one bigger copy which
we moved up. While keeping one of the original boot shapes selected, also
select the bigger copy which we moved up, and press the Minus Front button
on the Pathfinder panel. This action will leave us with the portion of
the shape that will be used as the sole. Make this part a bit darker.
Step 4
Let’s
continue creating the rubber boot. Make an overlapping rounded
rectangle as shown in the image below. Create a Copy of the boot in
front (Control-C, Control-F), and while keeping this copy selected,
select the rounded rectangle as well. Then hit the Intersect button on
the Pathfinder panel. You will end up with a partly light colored boot
on the part that overlaps with the rounded rectangle.
Step 5
It’s time to decorate our rubber boot with some dots!
Draw
a small light pink circle in front of the boot. To make an even circle,
use the Ellipse Tool (L) while holding down the Shift key. Make more Copies of the circle (move the original circle into different directions
while holding the Alt key) and place them all over the boot as you
wish.
Once all the dots are placed, we need to cut off the
unnecessary parts of the circles which are outside of the boot’s borders. Make
a Copy of the boot in front (Control-C, Control-F), cut it off
(Control-X), and place in front of everything (Control-F). (A little
explanation here: when you create a copy in front of the boot, this copy
will appear just in front of the original boot, not in front of all
circles. Then we need to cut off this copy and place it in front of
everything, now in front of the boot and the circles). This front copy
of the boot will be used as the cutter.
Keeping this front copy
of the boot selected, Select All circles. To select all circles at once,
grab the Magic Wand Tool (Y) and hit on one of the circles which are
visible outside of the boot. By pressing on one of the circles, this
tool will select all similar objects, in this case, all circles. Once
you’ve selected all circles along with the top copy of the boot, press
Crop in the Pathfinder panel.
And finally, keeping all cropped circles selected, go to: Object > Path > Clean Up. If you want, you can place the sole over the cropped circles (Control-X, Control-F).
Our rubber boot is now ready!
2. How to Create the Background
Now that we have our rain boot, let’s place it on a background.
Hit
the Rectangle Tool (M) and click on your artboard. Once the dialogue
window pops up, enter 850 px Width and Height, and then click OK. Make sure
that the background stays behind the rubber boot. To make the background
exactly in the middle of the artboard, look at the Align panel (Window
> Align), and make sure that in the pop-up menu, Align To: is checked, Align to Artboard. Select the background and press the Horizontal Align
Center and Vertical Align Center buttons on the Align panel.
3. How to Create the Daisies
Step 1
Using
the Ellipse Tool (L) and holding down the Shift key, draw a yellow
circle. Add a white ellipse behind as the petal using the same tool, but
this time, don’t hold the Shift key. Continue adding white petals,
placing them randomly (not perfectly).
Step 2
Now, we will
create a side-view daisy. First, place a few ellipses as the rear
petals. Then add a yellow ellipse in the middle and a few white petals
in front. The green ellipse will represent a sepal, where all the petals
sit. As our flower is rotated to the left, make the green ellipse also
slightly rotated to the left. Using the Direct Selection Tool (A),
select the top anchor point of the green ellipse and shift it down a
bit. Our side view of the daisy is ready.
Step 3
Here’s the
third daisy. Start with a yellow ellipse, and then add a few white petals
behind. Notice that the upper petals are smaller because the flower is
looking up.
You should now have three different daisies. Group (right-click > Group)
each flower separately—later it will help you to move them easily—and
don’t leave any petals behind.
Step 4
Place the flowers on top of the rubber boot, and just one daisy lying on the ground.
Step 5
Delete
the Fill color and set the Stroke color to green. Now select the Arc Tool,
which we will use to draw the stems. Make sure the stems stay behind the
daisies and the rubber boot. If you need to change some of them, move the
handles of the anchor points using the Direct Selection Tool (A). Don’t
forget to add a stem to the one that’s lying on the ground.
Step 6
Daisy
leaves look similar to the herb dill and are very easy to draw. Delete
the Stroke color and set the Fill color. First, create a very long and
narrow ellipse, then add smaller ones on the sides, and then, even
tinier ones. Group it (right-click > Group).
Step 7
As
leaves in nature are not perfectly straight, we want to warp them.
Select the leaf and go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Adjust the options
you see below. To create another leaf, create one more Copy of the
existing one.
Go to the Appearance panel and you’ll find two words there, Warp:
Arc. Click on it and a new dialogue window will pop up. You’ll have to set Bend
to -30%, so move the slider in the opposite direction to get 15%. Feel free to
create as many leaves as you want. Expand each leaf (Object > Expand
Appearance).
Note: It’s better to group each leaf separately
(right-click > Group).
Place the leaves close to the stems and behind the rain boot.
4. How to Create a Ladybug
Step 1
Start
with a red ellipse to form the ladybug’s body. Using the Direct
Selection Tool (A), move the top anchor point of this ellipse down. In
the middle of the shape, draw a very narrow and long dark grey ellipse.
To make it exactly in the middle of the red shape, look at the Align
panel (Window > Align), make sure that in the pop-up menu, Align To: is
checked Align to Selection. Having both shapes (grey and red) selected, press the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons on the
Align panel. Last but not least, add a few dark grey circles.
Step 2
To
create the ladybug’s pronotum (I know it’s a weird word—it is the
thorax of a bug), draw an ellipse with the same dark grey Fill color as
before. Add a white circle on the side. Holding the Alt and Shift
buttons, move this circle to the right. See? You just moved the copy
straight to the right.
Select the pronotum again and make a Copy in Front (Control-C, Control-F). Keep this selected and select one of the
white circles. Press Intersect in Pathfinder. Repeat the same method: a Copy of the pronotum in front (Control-C, Control-F), select the last
circle with the pronotum, and press Intersect in Pathfinder.
Step 3
Place
the pronotum behind the wings. Then add a dark grey ellipse as the
head. And finally, draw the antennas using the Arc Tool, and
check Round Cap on the Stroke panel. Group the whole ladybug together, and now it is
ready!
Make a few Copies of this cute bug and place them on the boot and the flowers.
Step 4
You
should also add a small detail, the shadow, so that the boot doesn’t
look as if it’s flying in midair. Add an ellipse over the background
and behind the rubber boot. We are done!
Conclusion
Good
job, everyone! I’m sure your result turned out great. If you have any
questions or would like to share your result, feel free to post it here,
in the comments below. Thanks a lot for going through this process with me!
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