In this tutorial we will use Adobe Illustrator to create a dynamic painterly textured illustration. This technique can be done using a mouse; however, a tablet will give you an extra level of control. We’ll cover the complete vector painting process from sketch to final illustration.
Step 1
Create an initial sketch for the artwork, I drew this in pencil and scanned it. This is a really important stage to get the balance and poses correct before the time consuming rendering stage.
Step 2
Make a new Illustrator document, with an artboard size for this illustration at 500 x 530mm. Copy (Command + C, Command + V) or Place (File > Place) the sketch into the document. In the Appearance panel, set the Opacity of the sketch to around 50%. Make a new layer for each character with identifying names, place them below the sketch layer and begin filling in the line work.
Use the Brush Tool (Command + B) to brush in the line work. I use a Wacom tablet, so I can make width varied lines that depend on pen pressure. This is not necessary, if you are using a mouse just set up a few brushes, thicker for outlines and thinner for details.
In the Brush Panel click the drop-down menu and select New Brush, choose Calligraphic Brush, set the shape and size of the Brush tip and variation if you are using a tablet. I used three brushes: 15pt, 7pt and 3pt.
You can also use the Warp Tool (Shift + R) to push around the lines if they don’t look quite right.
Step 3
Now to set up the base color fill. Select a figure and then copy it. Make a new layer called Fill and then Paste in Back (Command + B). With the lines selected, use the Live Paint Bucket Tool (K) to roughly fill areas with a base color. Once complete you will have to Expand the Live Paint group and then ungroup (Command + Shift G) the shapes so they can be individually edited. Make a new fill layer and repeat the process for the other character.
Step 4
Now to create some background lighting, make a Background layer, and fill the Artboard with a rectangle, using the Gradient tool (G) to fill the shape with a Radial gradient running from the light color to black.
Copy the rectangle (Command + C) and Paste in Front (Command + F). Now modify the gradient fill: change the light to a new color, hold Option and drag the swatch to duplicate, pull the black swatch away from the gradient line to delete it.
Move the duplicate color to the other side of the gradient and set the swatch Opacity to 0%, click and drag the Gradient Tool in the rectangle to place the new gradient.
