Illustrating the Flower Pattern 247
Since Web Designer Wall was launched last week, I received several emails regarding on how I made the main illustration background. I thought I should put up a quick Illustrator tutorial so everyone can share. This article will outline the main steps on how I made the flower pattern in Illustrator. Hopefully, this can answer your question.
1. Sketch
Always draw your illustration on paper first. This will save your time.
2. Trace
The illustration was traced in Adobe Illustrator using my favorite tracing technique. First, import the scan in Illustrator and set Layer Opacity to 20%.
3. Coloring
After you've done the tracing, go to Colourlovers.com (or any color palette sites) and find the color themes that you like. What I did was copy the sample image from the site, then paste it directly in Illustrator.
With the Eyedropper tool active, select the path, then click on the image to pick the color. That's it. Quick and easy.
thanks for this tutorial… i hope i can draw as good as u… my drawing is so awful… haha…
Great, simple tutorial. Now featured on Design Shack!
Great tutorial! Now if only I could get the pen tool to cooperate with me! Looking forward to some great posts in the future!
Colourlovers.com! Ah yes! Just signed up last week!
thanks for the tutorial. Colourlovers.com looks like a very useful site!
Wow that must have taken a while. But a very nice design none-the-less
@Jenn
I too have problems with the pen tool.
Great tutorial, I had always wondered how it was done, my graphical skills being poor. Could the same be achieved using live trace or would this require you to go around grouping all the paths in order to fill them?
From personal experience – it’s getting good with pen tool that’s the hardest.
But once you nail that down…the following is much easer, obviously.
good tutorial – keep up the great work!
I like tutorials that don’t drag on by explaining every little detail just so incompetent users can follow along. Thanks for making it practical – I’m an Inkscape user myself, and your tutorial was more then easy enough to understand and apply using Inkscape even though I’m not familiar with Illustrator.
@Jenn: The pen tool just needs some TLC. Once it begins to play nice you’ll wonder how you ever did without it. :)
I really suck at drawing and my scanner it’s not quite good :/ Awesome tutorial.
Great illustration, great tutorial, great job!
I love colourlovers too. Is a great source for palettes.
A very nice and concise tutorial. Thanks for sharing how you achieved such a beautiful result. I too must brush up on my pen tool skills as well as Illustrator skills period!
Any hope on a tutorial about the watercolor effect in your background?
perhaps i can do it easy on coreldraw. i’m not comfortable with illustrator :D nice tuts though :)
Thanks for getting back to my email, I have wanted to do this for a long time but havent worked out how. Great tut by the way.
Great tutorial. i hope u also provide the water effect
Hehe, so now we just have to learn to draw with pencils. Another vote for seeing you write a watercolor tutorial!
Outstanding work! I simply love it… :)
I remember at school, we called illustrator “Frustrator”, a very apt name I would say.
BUT seriously a very good tutorial and love it