In this tutorial, you will learn to create a beautiful summer time icon. We will start with the retro-looking glasses and after you have drawn the shape you will learn some techniques for adding highlights using gradients, the Blend tool and brushes. We will then continue with the dreamy beach landscape that contains plenty of elements like footprints in the sand, palm leaves, waves and sun. So let’s get started…
Start a New Project
1. Launch Illustrator and go to File > New to open a new document. In the window that opens, type a name and set up the dimensions then select Pixels as Units and RGB as Color Mode. Hit OK when you are done. Next go to Edit > Preferences > General and set the Keyboard Increment to 1px. These settings will help you throughout the drawing process.
Create the Basic Shape of the Glasses
2. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw an ellipse having the dimensions shown then go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points. As a result, you will get 4 extra points.
3. Now, take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select only the two points indicated (1). Move these points a little to the left then also move the handles as shown below (2). I created another path of the previous shape so that you can see clearly the difference between them and the purple path is the shape that you are currently working with. Next, select only the point indicated (3) and move it to the right (4).
4. The shape of the lens is almost ready. At this point you just have to make some adjustments to make sure that you have smooth curves.
5. Select any fill color for the moment then go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check Vertical and hit Copy. You will get the lens from the left and while having it selected, go to Object > Transform > Move. Type -260px in the Horizontal field and hit OK.
6. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the lenses, remove the fill color and select an 8 pt Stroke. Press the Align Stroke to Outside option in the Stroke panel.
7. In order to turn the strokes into fills go to Object > Expand Appearance then Ungroup (Shift+Control+G). Next, select using the Direct Selection Tool (A) only the points indicated and move them inwards by pressing the Arrow Keys on your keyboard twice.
8. Now, grab the Pen Tool (P) and draw the bridge-shape following the curves of the frames. Send this shape in back (Shift+Control+[) when you are done. Continue with the two shapes from the sides as shown in the image. You can draw the shape from the right then reflect it to obtain the left one.
9. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the lenses and bring them in front of everything by going to Object > Arrange > Bring to Front (Shift+Control+]). Now, select the copy of the lens and the blue shape from the right side and press Subtract in the Pathfinder panel. Do the same thing on the left side.
10. Select the shape obtained at the previous step and the frame from the right and press Add in the Pathfinder panel. Do the same thing on the left side.
Color the Shape of the Glasses
11. Fill the frame from the right with the linear gradient shown. Use the same gradient for the frame on the left but set the angle to 180 degrees.
12. Fill the bridge with this gradient:
13. Select both lenses and fill them with the color indicated and reduce the Opacity to 10%. Having this Fill attribute selected in the Appearance panel, press the Duplicate Selected Item icon at the bottom to get a second fill. For it, use the linear gradient shown and set the angle to 90 degrees. Change the Blending Mode to Multiply and 30% Opacity. Finally, select a 1.5 pt black Stroke.
14. Next, select the frames and the bridge then Copy and Paste in Back (Control+B). While still selected, press Add in the Pathfinder panel to unite them into a single shape. Move this shape a bit up by pressing the Up Arrow Key on your keyboard twice. Replace the existing fill with the gradient indicated.
Add Specific Details on the Glasses
15. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the lenses and just give them a blue stroke. Paste in Front (Control+F) the blue shapes and move them a little up and inwards using the Arrow Keys (the pink shapes). Now, select the two copies from the right (blue and pink) and press Subtract in the Pathfinder panel. Repeat for the left side then fill the resulting shapes with the radial gradient shown.
16. For the nose pads take the Pen Tool (P) and draw two shapes like below. Fill them with dark gray then send them behind the lenses.
Add Details on the Bridge
17. First, use the Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape like below and select orange as the fill color. Go to Effect > Stylize and apply the Inner Glow effect then the Outer Glow effect.
You can see in the next image the settings that I’ve used for the 2 effects.
18. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the bridge then bring it in front of everything by going to Object > Arrange > Bring to Front (Shift+Control+]). Delete the existing fill gradient. Now, select the shape from the previous step and also the copy of the bridge and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control+7).
19. Using the Pen Tool (P) draw a triangle shape on the right side of the bridge and fill it with a linear gradient from white to black. Go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a 1.5px Radius. Set it to Blending Mode Lighten.
20. Move the triangle shape under the mask created at step 18 by simply dragging it in the Layers panel.
Create Custom Art Brushes
21. Before you continue let’s create two art brushes with the help of the Blend Tool (W). You will use these brushes to add highlights and details to the frames.
First, grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a 100×3 px white ellipse. Select using the Direct Selection Tool (A) only the left and right points and press the Convert selected anchor points to corner option in the Control panel. Having this shape selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and apply a -1.2px Offset. As a result you will get a smaller ellipse in the middle. Set the Opacity for the bigger ellipse to 0%. Next, select both shapes then go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose 30 Specified Steps. Go back to Object > Blend > Make (Alt+Control+B). Drag the resulting blend group into the Brushes panel to save it. I will call it the “white blend Art brush”.
22. Repeat the previous step to create the next brush. This time start from a 100×3 px ellipse filled with black. Use the same settings and when you are done save it in the Brushes panel. I will call this brush “black blend Art brush”.
Add Highlights on the Frame
23. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a few flat ellipses like below. Fill them with a radial gradient from white to black them go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a 2px Radius. Set them all to Blending Mode Screen and 80% Opacity.
24. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the compound path obtained at step 14 and bring it in front of everything by going to Object > Arrange > Bring to Front (Shift+Control+]). Delete the existing fill gradient. Now, select this copy and the ellipses and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control+7).
25. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a new ellipse on the upper left side of the frame. Fill it with a radial gradient from white to black then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a 2px Radius. Set to Blending Mode Screen and 40% Opacity.
26. Follow the edge of the frame and draw with the Pen Tool (P) a short path like below. Stroke this path with the “white blend Art brush” saved earlier. Increase the Stroke weight to 3 pt.
27. Move the ellipse and the short path from the previous steps under the mask created at step 24.
28. Using the Ellipse Tool (L) draw two ellipses in the upper right side of the frame. Fill both ellipses with white. The bigger ellipse has the Opacity set to 0% and the smaller ellipse to 100%. Having both ellipses selected, go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose 50 Specified Steps. Go back to Object > Blend and select Make (Alt+Control+B). Repeat the same things on the left side. Reduce the Opacity for the resulting blend group from the right to 75% and for the blend group from the left to 40%.
29. Use the Pen Tool (P) to draw two curved paths as below following the edge of the frame. Stroke them with the “white blend Art brush” and increase the Stroke weight to 2 pt. Set them to Blending Mode Overlay and 75% Opacity.
30. Next, draw other two paths following the edge of the frame then stroke them with the “black blend Art brush” saved earlier. Increase the Stroke weight to 2 pt then set to Blending Mode Overlay and 75% Opacity.
Create Decorations on the Glasses
31. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw two small circles on the upper left side of the frame. Fill them with the radial gradient shown and also stroke them with the “black blend Art brush”. Double click in the Appearance panel on the Stroke attribute to open the Stroke Options window then set the Colorization to Tints and hit OK. At this point you can change the stroke color to brown.
This is the Stroke Options window:
32. You are done with the front of the glasses and they should look like in the next image:
Draw the Legs of the Glasses
33. Use the Pen Tool (P) to draw the shape of the leg from the right as in the image below. Reflect it and you will get the leg from the left.
34. Take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and select only the four points indicated then go File > Scripts > Round Any Corner. Apply a Radius of 5.
Of you haven’t already installed the Round Any Corner script go here and download it. Follow the instructions to install it. Restart Illustrator and it’s ready to go. You can find the script in the File menu under Scripts.
35. Fill the leg from the left with the linear gradient shown. Use the same gradient for the leg from the right but set the angle to 180 degrees.
36. Next, use the Pen Tool (P) to draw the pink paths at the end of the legs. Stroke them with the “white blend Art brush” and increase the Stroke weight to 2 pt. Set them to Blending Mode Overlay and 50% Opacity.
Create the Beach Landscape
37. It’s time to create the dreamy beach landscape. Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to draw two shapes large enough to cover each lens. Fill them with the linear gradient shown and set the angle to 90 degrees.
38. Still having these shapes selected, press the Duplicate Selected Item icon at the bottom of the Appearance panel. As a result you will get a second fill above. Use the radial gradient shown then set to Blending Mode Color Burn and 50% Opacity.
39. Use the Pen Tool (P) or the Line Segment Tool () to draw two paths right between the sky and the sea. Give them a 2 pt white Stroke then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply and 2px Radius. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay.
40. Next, draw some paths like below and stroke them with the “white blend Art brush”. Increase the Stroke weight for all of them to 2 pt. Set the red paths to Blending Mode Soft Light and 100% Opacity. For the black paths let the Blending Mode to Normal but reduce the Opacity between 20-50%. You have just created the waves.
41. Open the Symbol Libraries Menu and in the Nature category find “Cloud 1”, “Cloud 2” and “Cloud 3”. Drag them into your working area then press the Break Link to Symbol icon at the bottom of the Symbols panel. Scale and arrange a few clouds in the sky as you want. Set them to Blending Mode Screen and reduce the Opacity to 20-30%.
Create the Footprint in the Sand
42. First, draw the footprint shape using the Pen Tool (P) and select any fill color for the moment (1). Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) this shape and move it a little to the left and up (2). Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the black footprint then select the orange shape and the copy of the black footprint and press Subtract in the Pathfinder panel. As a result you will get a compound path (3) but go to Object > Compound Path > Release then delete the smaller shape (4).
43. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the black footprint then move it a little to the right and down (the blue shape). Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the black footprint again then select the blue shape and the copy of the black footprint and press Subtract in the Pathfinder panel.
44. Fill the original footprint shape with the radial gradient indicated then reduce the Opacity to 60%. Fill the highlight-shape from the right with the linear gradient shown then set the Opacity to 50%. The shadow-shape from the left has a black fill, Blending Mode set to Overlay and 20% Opacity.
45. With the Ellipse Tool (L) draw 5 circles at the top and fill them with the radial gradient indicated. Reduce the Opacity to 60%. For the highlight and shadow shapes follow again the instructions explained above and use the same settings.
46. Group (Control+G) all the shapes that make up the right footprint and reflect it to obtain the left one. Duplicate the footprints, scale and arrange them like in the image below. Group (Control+G) all four and set the Opacity of the group to 60%.
47. Near the footprints in the sand I decided to add a colorful cocktail drawn by me. You can find the tutorial and read all about it here How to make an icy cocktail. To create the shadow, draw an ellipse about the size of the foot of the cocktail glass and a smaller ellipse inside. Fill them both with black then set the Opacity for the bigger ellipse to 0%. Select the ellipses then go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose 25 Specified Steps. Go back to Object > Blend > Make (Alt+Control+B). Send the resulting blend group behind the cocktail glass.
Draw the Palm Leaf
48. Start by drawing a path like in the image using the Pen Tool (P). Stroke this path with an Art brush called “Tapered – Round” that you can find in the Brush Libraries Menu > Artistic > Artistic_Ink. Set the Stroke weight to 0.2 pt. This is the rachis, as it’s called. Now, start to draw straight paths on each side and stroke them with another Art brush called “Tapered Stroke” that you can find in the same category. Set the Stroke weight to 0.25 pt.
49. Continue to draw more paths all the way down, making them shorter as you reach the tip. Also, while drawing these paths you need to reduce the size of the brush. You can do this by going to the Appearance panel and double clicking on the brush applied. In the Stroke Options window type 90% in the Width field. While going down decrease the width even more, 80%, 75%, 70% and so on up to 30% when you reach the tip.
50. Select the rachis and the leaflet that you have drawn and go to Object > Expand Appearance then Ungroup (Shift+Control+G) twice. Select every second leaf segment from the left side of the leaflet, Group (Control+G) them and fill them with the linear gradient shown (1). Do the same thing on the right side of the leaflet and use the same gradient but set the angle to 180 degrees. Next, select the remaining leaf segments from the left, Group (Control+G) them and fill them with the gradient indicated (2). Use the same gradient for the remaining leaf segments from the right but set the angle to 180 degrees. Finally, fill the rachis with the last gradient shown (3) and the palm leaf is ready.
51. Move the palm leaf over the left side of the beach landscape as in the image below (1). Duplicate the leaf, scale it and arrange it behind the first (2). Now, use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw an ellipse and fill it with a radial gradient from black to white. Send this ellipse behind the first palm leaf but in front of the second. Change the Blending Mode to Multiply (3).
52. Let’s add a light reflection. Draw a few circles of various sizes and fill them with white. Set the Blending Modes and the Opacity values as indicated below (1). Draw more white circles but much smaller and use the same settings (2). The last two circles are filled with the radial gradient indicated, Blending Mode Overlay and 30% Opacity (3). Group (Control+G) all circles when you are done.
Finish Up the Summer Glasses Icon
53. Copy and Paste in Front (Control+F) the lenses and bring them in front of everything by going to Object > Arrange > Bring to Front (Shift+Control+]). Delete all the existing appearances. Now, select all the things and shapes that make up the beach landscape from the left side and also the copy of the left lens and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control+7). Repeat the same thing for the right side. Move the two resulting mask groups behind the lenses created at step 13 using the Layers panel.
54. You are almost done. At this point we have the dreamy beach but the sun is missing. Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw two circles like below. Use the shades of yellow to fill them. Having them selected, go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and choose 50 Specified Steps. Go back to Object > Blend and select Make (Alt+Control+B). Reduce the Opacity to 75%.
55. Draw other two circles on the upper right side and fill them both with white. Set the Opacity for the bigger ellipse to 0% then blend them as you did earlier. Reduce the Opacity for the resulting blend group to 75%.
You’re Done!
The summer time icon is ready. Know you know how to draw glasses and a beautiful beach landscape. I hope that you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and learned new techniques.
