We recently launched the VECTORTUTS PLUS section of the site. We have another great PLUS tutorial exclusively available to members today! Learn the process of creating shaded and textured vector artwork entirely in Illustrator. This tutorial covers the entire creative process in creating this illustration while giving plenty of advice on professional techniques – including explaining the use of features in Illustrator CS4. Learn more at the jump!

Learn to Create Whimsical Artwork in Illustrator CS4

Drop your pencils and paper, turn off the scanner, and forget about Live Trace, it’s time to illustrate with vectors. This tutorial will step through the process of creating artwork — from concept to finished product — entirely in Illustrator. If you’d like to see more of my artwork, most of it created entirely in Illustrator, visit chrisleavens.com or catch up with me on flickr.

The final image is shown below. Members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now!

This is a High Quality Tutorial that Covers a Complete Creative Process

Illustrator offers artists so many amazing options for creating art that if you are interested in drawing using only vectors, there are a ton of benefits and time-savers that might get you hooked on bezier curves and points forever. What follows isn’t so much a tips and tricks tutorial; it’s a step-by-step breakdown of my creative process with some techniques, ideas, and opinions thrown in along the way.

Sign up for PLUS today and get access to this awesome new vector illustration tutorial. Members can Log in and Download! Otherwise, Join Now! Below are some images from the tutorial.

VECTORTUTS Plus Membership

As you know, we run a premium membership system here called VECTORTUTS Plus that costs $9 a month (or $22 for 3 months!) which gives members access to the Vector Source files for tutorials as well as periodic extra tutorials, like this one! If you’re a member you can log in and download the tutorial. If you’re not a member, you can of course join today!

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the VECTORTUTS RSS Feed to stay up to date with the latest vector tutorials and articles. Be the first to hear about the next PLUS Vector Pack as it’s released!