Quick Tip: Create a Shiny Shield with Illustrator
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Quick Tip: Create a Shiny Shield with Illustrator

on Mar 16th 2011 with 32 comments
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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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. She's been using Adobe Illustrator for over 15 years. Her Illustrator work has been featured in the "The Adobe Illustrator WOW! Book" and "Real World Illustrator."  

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  • Piotr

    Good job, Cheryl :)

  • http://www.ioandecean.info/ nelutu

    thanks for tutorial, nice blog :D

  • http://none Troy

    Great video, brief but still packed with great tips and techniques!

  • http://kishkoosh.com Ron

    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.

    • joRio

      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.

      • http://bucketothought.com/loungekat/blog/ LoungeKat

        You can make offset as a style, go to the Fx button at the bottom of the appearance panel, its in Path > Offset Path

  • http://hombrecomun.mx Jorge Luis Jaral

    I’m just amazed by the simplicity and efectiveness of this tut, bravo!

  • http://www.pushpinderbagga.com/ Pushpinder Bagga

    Very nice tut Cheryl!

  • Cirilo

    Great job, thanks a lot for sharing this video.

  • http://digitalkonst.wordpress.com Sussi

    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.

    • lezli

      iam having the same issue in CS5 with the path arc tool and pathfinders merging

  • http://none Troy

    As usual you have great quick tutorials. Even though they are brief, they are always packed with great tips and I learn a ton!

  • Sajid

    Thanks for this tutorial, I was wondering If You can tell something about yourself?

    Your secret admirer.

  • Goughy

    I have the same issue as Sussi with the gradient and blending mode > just goes to white. Am on CS5 too. Anyone any ideas?

  • slw

    thank you cheryl you’re awesome

  • http://www.ekramy.net ekramy

    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

  • mon

    how did you create that pink line in the middle?

  • http://www.davidbushell.ca David Bushell

    Excellent tutorial… a little fast moving for my pace. Will definitely refer back to this tutorial in the future!

  • Leif Stålhammar

    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.

  • http://rattanak.com rattanak

    I have always been curious how the shiny part is made. Now my question has been answered. thanks.

  • http://heromind.com Heromind

    nice! like the tut :)

  • David

    please, can you tell me How you selec two objets at the same time? at the minute 4:02??

  • Suzanne

    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.

  • FineStroke

    nice tutorial. brief and precise. thanks. i learned a lot.

  • Tomas

    Great shield tutorial, helped me a lot, thank you!

  • John Sacco

    This would have been even better if you took time to take a breath and slow down a bit so we can follow along at home.

  • http://www.touchdesign.co.za MARK

    Great Tutorial…..But would be good if you could go abit slower.

  • Darrell

    Nice tutorial, as far as the speed in which it was presented, I think it was fine. When I first started learning Adobe, ALL tutorials seemed to quick, but once you learn the “lingo” and where all the options are, it becomes much easier to follow the tutorials. Thanks again!!

  • Ted Bundy

    Nice… But this is a tutorial site so slow the hell down so we can actually follow.

  • http://twitter.com/Darling_Lisa Lisa Douglas

    you lost me at the gradient part – it gets tricky there and you move too quickly.

  • Sean Galway

    Excellent, first-class tutorial. And the pace is perfect. Well done.

  • razailarbi

    PERFECT