Super Cool Abstract Vectors in Illustrator and Photoshop
One of the best tools in Illustrator in my opinion is the Blend Tool. There are so many things we can do with the blend tool, mixing shapes, replacing the Spine path to create crazy forms. Also I try to learn how the real masters like Andy Gilmore create those fantastic pieces. I don't even know if he uses Illustrator but some of his artwork can be done with the Adobe vector app mixing with a bit of Adobe Photoshop.
In this tutorial I will show you how to create a abstract sort of flower using the Blend Tool in Illustrator then playing with it in Photoshop to produce a very colorful wallpaper.
Step 1
Open Illustrator and create a new document, then with the Arc Tool create an arc. Duplicate the arc and rotate it to create a sort of leaf. With the Direct Select Tool (A) select the to 2 top vertices and Join them, go to Object>Path>Join. Repeat the same thing for the 2 bottom vertices and you will have a nice shape.
Step 2
Duplicate the shape and rotate it 90º. Then select the Blend Tool (W). Click on one shape then on the other one to create the blend. After that with the Ellipse Tool (L) create a ellipse holding shift. Then with the Direct Select Tool (A) delete 3 segments of the circle.
Step 3
Select the path of the Blend Object and the arc you created and go to Object>Blend>Replace Spine. That command will replace the line SPINE, that is the Blend Object default path with any path you want.
Step 4
To edit the Blend Object just double click on the Blend Tool icon or go to Object>Blend>Blend Options... Change the Spacing to Specified Steps and use the number of steps you want. Also for the Orientation use Align to Path. You will have to rotate the 2 shapes because the Blend Options will automatic rotate the shapes. So double click on the Blend Object to edit the Blend and rotate the 2 shapes. Use the image below for reference.
Step 5
Change the color of the 2 shapes you used for the blend. I used red and yellow. The go again to the Blend Options and increase the number of steps. Use 4 or 5. You will notice that the Blend Tool will create the tone colors from red to yellow.
Step 6
Duplicate the blend object, rotate, and align it with the first blend object. Also replace the colors to yellow and green and send ir to back, go to Object>Arrange>Send it to Back.
Step 7
Duplicate the blend object, rotate, and align it again, now with the second blend object. Replace the colors to green and blue. Also send ir to back, go to Object>Arrange>Send it to Back.
Step 8
Duplicate one object one more time and close the flower using blue and red. Again send it to back.
Step 9
Go to Object>Expand. Then with the Direct Select Tool (A) select the red, yellow, green, and blue shapes. Delete them because they are duplicated from the blend.
Step 10
Ungroup the objects, go to Object>Ungroup. Then select all elements and go to Window>Transparency. Change the Opacity to 75% and play with the Blend Modes. Below you can se some of the Blends I tested.
Step 11
Just an experiment trying to create a typeface, my cousin said it looks like a caterpillar, so I named it catypellar.
Step 12
Copy the flower from Illustrator and paste it in a new document in Photoshop as Smart Object. I used 1900x1200 pixels. Also the background has to be black. Position the flower at the bottom of the document like the image below.
Step 13
Go to Layer>Layer Style>Bevel and Emboss. Use Inner Bevel for the Style, 1% Depth, Direction Up, Size 1px and soften 0px. For the Shading use 90º for the Angle. For the Highlight Mode use Color Dodge in white and 100% opacity. For the Shadow Mode use Color Burn in Black and 15% Opacity. Also change the Blend Mode of the layer to Screen.
Step 14
Duplicate the layer and resize it, make it a bit smaller, like the image below.
Step 15
Again duplicate the layer and resize it, make it a bit smaller than the previous layer. Use the image below for reference.
Step 16
Repeat the same thing as the previous step, this time however change the Blend Mode of the layer to Darker Color.
Step 17
Again, duplicate the layer and resize it. Use Multiply for the Blend Mode and also add a Color Overlay. Use black for the Color and 100% Opacity.
Step 18
Once again duplicate the flower, not the one with the black color overlay. Resize it and change the Blend Mode to Normal. Then duplicate the layer again and just change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge.
Step 19
Add another layer on top of the others and with the Gradient Tool (G), select Radial for the type and black and white for the color. Then fill the layer with the gradient, start from the center and bottom of the page exactly where the flower starts to grow. After that change the Blend Mode of the layer to Multiply.
Step 20
Add another layer again and go to Filter>Render>Clouds, make sure that you had black and white for the colors. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Use 5 pixels for the Radius. Change the layer's Blend Mode to Multiply as well.
Conclusion
You can add a bit of noise or more elements if you want. The idea is play with the blend modes and of course Illustrator, where all the magic was done. If you want to create a version with a lighter background you will have to change the blend modes. Instead of Screen, use Multiply and play with the opacities like I did in the lighter version in the image below. It's just a nice tecnique, inspired, again, by the incredible Andy Gilmore.
Click here to view the Light version and here for the Dark version.
Download the Photoshop File
Click here to download the Photoshop file used for this tutorial
About the author
My name is Fabio Sasso, I'm a graphic/web designer from Porto Alegre, Brazil and I'm the founder of Abduzeedo. I hope we can share lots of information, tips, and ideas through Abduzeedo. Also you can follow me on Twitter or my personal site at http://fabiosasso.com.
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30 Comments
Beautiful :)
I love this kind of designs..
Great tutorial, Fabio! I've not experimented too much with Blend yet, so it's great to see that tip on reassigning the spine path -- I'm sure that'll save shed loads of time that would otherwise be spent scratching my head at Illustrator.
Rob
Graphic & Web Design - Brixton, London
http://www.rob-barrett.com
Very cool effect.
http://photoxic.blogspot.com
the light one is beautifull, really. "minimal" in the idea, colorfull and maybe baroque in the end. love it
You have misspelled a word and got ugly :) see this screenshot.
Hm, Good but not that excellent.
I was playing around with blend tool too. I got few things. Like making swirls, and blending them with simple white bg. If to work a bit good could get to awesome work.
Anyways, thanks for tut =)
P.S. Thanks that reminded me about blend tool :P
Mandou super bem Fabio excelente tutorial
Creative use.
------------------------------------------------
http://picturetopeople.blogspot.com
Get Inside Computer Graphics
Wow, what a coincidence. Two days ago, I asked Nik Ainley how to make those lines. And he said it was the blending tool. Nice one!!
As always, love the tuts and info.
sweet!
Hmmm I really wanted to try out this tutorial but step 4,5 and 6 got me kinda mixed up :S
Don't know if other people got it on first try, but I don't know how it's suposed to look like after i use the blend mode. If you could include more pictures or a quick video of that part that would be great.
Not hating tho, since i do most of this site's tutorials :)
I had an easy time with photoshop once I figured out how to rotate the flower segments in Illustrator. Love the site! Keep them coming! I learn so much each time a try one.
Tzolking: In step 4 make sure the blend is only set to 1, as it was three for me by default then you will have to rotate one of the flower "pedals" until the blend becomes a similar shape to the other two. Once you get that down it's really smooth sailing as long as your rotating the blend properly.
[IMG]http://www.merreck.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/YunSig.jpg[/IMG]
I just got CS4 in the mail and I can't wait to try this out. Great tutorial...Thanks for posting it.
Rachel
allgraphicdesign.com
Very beautiful and creative.
I never used Blend Tool, it 'll be my first try, thanks.
I took the whole idea and moved it in another direction which i like!
Nice tut!
http://flickr.com/photos/alexanderblacker/3027728603/
This is a great tutorial, stylistically.
I found it hard to get the petals to arc nicely, on some of my tries there was a huge gap in the middle, a white shape/
So I found that using a circle as a template helped, make sure the petals are touching the edge of the circle at the top, middle and bottom then you can adjust them enough.
I'm using illustrator cs2 and for some bizarre reason I haven't had any luck replicating the tutorial.
I am having a lot of trouble with getting step four right. I've gotten everything up til then, but I have had no luck getting the petals right. Is there any one that can help me?
fabio... this looks great, but the tutorial is hard for me to follow... i'm new to both illustrator and photoshop and got lost even after the first step... not sure if using illustrator cs4 is making it harder for me.
woow
so cool.
This tutorial makes absolutely no sense, particularly in step 2. You need to actually show what the steps are, because this is impossible to follow.
I agree, step 2 is nonsense. A little bit more detail and clarity would be helpful. The rest is a very good.
THANK YOU, someone else had problems at step 2. i'm totally lost. 3 segments of what? my blend looked nothing like the one i'm assuming is pictured.
I really want to do this but the steps are impossible and I can't get beyond the first one...lol
more info pleeze???pretty pleeze?
Hey Fabio, thank you so much for sharing this tutorial! I've read a similar tutorial on Veerle's blog before, but sadly her method was to manually create a palette and colour each shape, which can be a little too tedious if one is working on really complex designs. I like it that you've used Blend to make the process a lot easier.
Step 4 is indeed a little confusing, but I managed to figure it out after 20 minutes or so. I like it that your steps are clear and concise, short and sweet. Perhaps you might want to add a little more details to Step 3 and 4? Some people are a little lost...
Anyway, here's my creation. Thanks for the inspirational tutorial!
p/s: Have a great weekend, and happy #followfriday on Twitter!
oh.. thx for sharing.. It's so nice, but i dont get step3. Am i missing out something??? : (
I'm sorry but this is a terrible tutorial. The end result is great but the tutorial omits a huge amount of extremely important details especially in the early stages. I have spent HOURS in frustration following the steps exactly and also using trial and error but i still cannot get a shape like the one in step two. it's exactly this kind of negligence that makes it so difficult and dispiriting for fledgling designers. Its not only this tutorial; many others by different authors are similar in their omission of crucial steps i would hope by oversight; i.e. they take for granted the pupil's skill level, in which case i would ask what's the point of posting a tutorial like this is in the first place? Because if you have sufficient knowledge to fill in the gaps in the tutorial you should be able to develop your own techniques to achieve the end result. Otherwise the only other reason I can think of is a very cynical one which I'm sure has crossed the mind of others in my position. Well i don't want to be ungrateful as it's wonderful people are posting free tutorials but please include all the necessary details otherwise it amounts to empty self promotion.
Thank you for your kindful explanation.
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