Quick Tip: Create a Shiny Shield with Illustrator
Tutorial Details
- Program: Illustrator CS4 or CS5
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Length: 5:19 min
In this Quick Tip, you’ll learn how to harness the Appearance panel to make the basic structure of a shiny, beveled shield. Once the structure is in place, a few well-placed gradients are all it takes to achieve a sharp, polished look.
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By Cheryl Graham
Cheryl Graham trained as a traditional artist in drawing and painting. These days she spends more time in front of the computer than the easel. Her Illustrator work has been featured in the "The Adobe Illustrator WOW! Book" and "Real World Illustrator CS5." She wrote the now-defunct Illustrator blog at freetransform.net.
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Good job, Cheryl :)
thanks for tutorial, nice blog :D
Great video, brief but still packed with great tips and techniques!
Great tut, although you can use fills instead of strokes, and use Effect->Path->Offset path. This way you can use gradient on the shield’s outlines. It’ll make a more advanced Graphic Style for you to save.
offset path method i prefer as well, but you cannot save it as a graphic style, unless there’s another way?
I am new to AI so i haven’t figured that one out.
You can make offset as a style, go to the Fx button at the bottom of the appearance panel, its in Path > Offset Path
I’m just amazed by the simplicity and efectiveness of this tut, bravo!
Very nice tut Cheryl!
Great job, thanks a lot for sharing this video.
I´m not sure what I´m doing wrong but It doesn´t turn out like your image. When I get to the part where the fill are (the inner part) is divided with an arc and filled with a black to white gradient it doesn´t work with the blending mode screen. It just turns white and I have tried to change the fill and it turns all white anyway. I don´t know how to do that inner part. None of the other blending modes works the way you describe it either. Everything else worked out the way it should. Can anyone help me? I´m using Illustrator CS5.
iam having the same issue in CS5 with the path arc tool and pathfinders merging
As usual you have great quick tutorials. Even though they are brief, they are always packed with great tips and I learn a ton!
Thanks for this tutorial, I was wondering If You can tell something about yourself?
Your secret admirer.
I have the same issue as Sussi with the gradient and blending mode > just goes to white. Am on CS5 too. Anyone any ideas?
thank you cheryl you’re awesome
hi chery
very nice tuts..but when change the blend mode to screen the result is white shape not transparent
i’m using ai cs5
thanks
how did you create that pink line in the middle?
Excellent tutorial… a little fast moving for my pace. Will definitely refer back to this tutorial in the future!
Great. I saw a couple of questions about the screen gradient that wasn´t working. I think it´s because you need to use CMYK-black in that gradient, not just K=100. Try 60-60-60-100 for example.
I have always been curious how the shiny part is made. Now my question has been answered. thanks.
nice! like the tut :)
please, can you tell me How you selec two objets at the same time? at the minute 4:02??
Understand all steps, but if I’m gonna learn to recreate everything, and you already have the gradient’s prepared, I’m not learning how to create that metal look. That’s one of the most important things for recreating a metal look, making sure you have the colors just right in a gradient. Wish you would have shared the gradients as you had them prepared.
nice tutorial. brief and precise. thanks. i learned a lot.
Great shield tutorial, helped me a lot, thank you!