Quick Tip: A Simple Way to Create Vector Fog
Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Estimated Completion Time: 30 minutes
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a simple yet effective smoke-like illustration. Using this technique you can make smoke, fog and clouds in just a few easy steps. Let’s get started!
Step 1
With the Pencil Tool (N), start creating the mountain scenery. Once you finish drawing the ragged top of the mountain, take the Pen Tool (P) and close the outline as shown in the second image.
Step 2
Using the same technique create another mountain. It should be noted that things that are closer to the viewer, are going to appear darker.
Step 3
To create the sky, take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a rectangle that’s the same width as the document. Fill the rectangle with a linear gradient. You can use the image below as a reference.
Step 4
Now for the topic of our tutorial, how to create fog. With the Pen Tool (P), create a white 1pixel curved line with no fill.
Now, create a custom brush. Take the Pen Tool (P) and create an arbitrary cloud-like shape.
Change the Opacity to 30% in the Transparency palette.
Drag the shape into the Brushes palette and choose the New Scatter Brush option in the dialog box.
Set the values shown in the figure below.
Step 5
Select the curved line and apply the new brush to it.
With the line still selected, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
Change the Opacity of the fog to 40%.
Step 6
Using the described technique, create fog in the foreground of the image. The closer the fog is to the foreground, the lighter it will appear, so set the Opacity to 80% for the middle curve and 100% for the bottom one.
Conclusion
To finish your illustration, draw some silhouettes in the foreground and color them black. Then add some stars and the moon in the background. Your illustration, Morning in the Mountains, is now finished. You can apply the same technique to make smoke and clouds too, try experimenting with different shapes, colors and opacity to find a look you like.
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By Iaroslav Lazunov
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Nice effect.
I would just appreciate another tut how to create the small shiny stars.
To draw the small stars, here’s a quick way to do it.
Step 1. Draw a circle.
Step 2. “Effect” > “Distort and Transform” > “Pucker and Bloat”
Step 3. Drag the slider over towards the Pucker side (around -90)
Step 4. Done.
SOLVED ! ^_^
very handy!
I’ve been using Photoshop because I didn’t know how to do this on Illustrator. Now I can finally make fog/vapor images.
Nice one
very clever.
Simple, yet effective!
Hi,
How r u i hope u r very well thx so much 4 the sharing this nice tutorials i try this bt i confused in step 5 Select the curved line and apply the new brush to it i can’t understand this after this i apply the Gaussian blue to brush tool bt it’s nt apply plz help me.
Thank you so much
very simple and useful technique :)
I learn your training thanks:-)
I thought this was what I needed for vector fog, but after you apply the gaussian blur it rasterizes and cannot be used in flash animations. Not true vector
it’d be near impossible to actually vectorize that dude. plus fog is simple to make in flash, you can do it in the program. if you wanted to learn how to make fog for flash, look up flash tutorials, not illustrator tutorials..