Packaging Design for Beginners: How to Create a Simple Box

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

Using Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign, here we’ll create a template for a simple rectangular box that’s adaptable for cosmetics and other products. We’ll also look at how you can add pattern and type to your box quickly and easily. 

This is a great all-round introduction to packaging design for beginners. A little bit of knowledge about Illustrator and InDesign is useful, but not essential.

Looking for a quick-fix solution to your packaging design needs? You can find a range of packaging templates and mock-ups on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need access to both Adobe Illustrator, for creating the vector die line for your box, and Adobe InDesign, for putting together the artwork for your packaging.

To create the design pictured here, you’ll also need to download the following images and fonts:

You can find the box mock-up template for creating the image used above on Envato Elements.

1. How to Create a Box Template in Illustrator

Step 1

You can choose to draw your own box template from scratch using the drawing tools in Illustrator, but it will save you a lot of time if you save the image below to your computer. 

Open the image in Illustrator and either use the Pen Tool (P) to trace the lines or use the Image Trace function (Window > Image Trace) to trace the image, checking the Ignore White box to pick up only the black lines of the image. 

image trace

Step 2

Go to File > Document Setup, and click on Edit Artboards.

Scale the artboard to a Width of 7 cm and a Height of 16 cm. These will be the dimensions of the face of your box. This is suited to a box for a 15 cm by 6 cm tube of hand cream or other cosmetics. 

Select the vector outline of the template and scale it so that one rectangular face of the box fits on the artboard, as shown below.

vector outline scaled

If you want to make your box bigger or smaller, you can adjust the dimensions of the artboard using the same proportions (i.e. a ratio of 7:16). But for now, we’ll work using this size of 7 by 16 cm. 

Step 3

When you have the vector scaled to the correct size, head up to Object > Artboards > Fit to Artwork Bounds.

fit to artwork bounds

With the artboard selected (File > Document Setup > Edit Artboards), make a mental note of the new dimensions of the artboard, which should be approximately 290 mm by 343 mm. 

edit artboards

Then select the vector template and Edit > Copy it. You can now exit or minimize the Illustrator window.

2. How to Create a Die Line in InDesign

Step 1

Open InDesign and go to File > New > Document.

With the intent set to Print, set the Width to match the width of your Illustrator artboard (here, 290.36 mm), and Height to match also (here, 343.1 mm).

The template is set up with a bleed area already, but you can also add more bleed if you like, by adding a value under the Bleed section. 

Click Create

new document

Step 2

Expand the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and double-click on Layer 1 to rename it Pattern.

Create four more new layers in this order: Folds and Bleed – DO NOT PRINT, DIE LINE – DO NOT PRINT, Labels and, finally, Type.

new layers

Lock all the layers except Folds and Bleed, and click on this to activate it. 

fold and bleed

Step 3

Working on the Folds and Bleed layer, Edit > Paste to drop the template outline onto the page. Position it so that it fits snugly on the page. 

pasted template

Step 4

On the vector, Right-Click > Ungroup. 

ungroup

Use the Selection Tool (V, Escape) to select the solid line on the inside of the outline, holding Shift to pick up each section, as shown below. 

solid line

When you’ve selected the whole of this line, Right-Click > Group it.

group elements

Step 5

In the Layers panel, click on the arrow to the left of the Folds and Bleed name to expand the layer. Identify the you’ve just created. 

fold and bleed layer

Unlock the DIE LINE layer above it, and drag the  element up, dropping it into this layer. 

group onto die line

Then lock the Folds and Bleed layer, keeping the DIE LINE layer unlocked and active. 

die line unlocked

Step 6

Expand the Swatches panel (Window > Color > Swatches) and choose New Color Swatch from the main menu. 

new color swatch

Name the swatch Die Line Spot Color and set the Color Type to Spot. Increase the level of Magenta to 100% and click Add and Done

new color swatch

Step 7

With the outline on the DIE LINE layer selected, switch the color of this from [Black] to Die Line Spot Color. 

die line spot color

Then, with the die line still selected, head up to Window > Output > Attributes. Check the Overprint Fill box. Your die line is now properly set up for exporting—great job!

attributes

On the Folds and Bleed layer, you should now have only the fold marks and bleed marks visible, which won’t need to be printed*. 

fold and bleed

*Depending on the printer you use, they may want the fold marks to be set up in a spot color too, to allow them to be scored. To do this, repeat the same process above, using a different color (e.g. 100% Cyan) to mark the fold lines as different from the die line. 

3. How to Add Pattern and Type to Your Box

Step 1

Lock the DIE LINE layer and unlock the Pattern layer at the bottom. 

Use the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) to create an image frame across the whole page, extending the edges up to the bleed. 

Go to File > Place, and choose a pattern from the Color splash patterns pack you downloaded earlier. Click Open, and allow the image to fill up the whole frame. 

color splash patterns pack

Step 2

Use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick up the very pale pink color from the pattern. 

eyedropper tool

Double-click on the Fill Color box at the bottom of the Tools panel to open the Color Picker window. Click Add CMYK Swatch and then OK

color picker

Repeat the process for the dark pink color in the background of the pattern, adding this to the Swatches panel too. You now have two complementary color swatches to use on the labels and type on your box.

swatches panel

Step 3

If you have a busy pattern on your box, creating labels to sit behind text is an effective way of keeping text legible and clear. 

Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to create labels on the faces of the box, or for a more irregular look use the Pen Tool (P) as I’ve done here. Set the Color Fill to the pale pink swatch. 

pen tool

Use the same tool to create a border for the label, setting the Fill to [None] and Stroke Color to [Black].

border for label

Step 4

Copy and Paste the label and border, placing these on other sides of the box. Adjust the scale on the main face of the box to create a more square label. 

pasted labels

Step 5

You can add a barcode to the bottom of your box by using the Rectangle Frame Tool (F) to create an image frame.

rectangle frame tool

File > Place, choosing a barcode image, and Open, centering it in the frame. 

barcode

Step 6

Lock the Pattern layer and unlock the top layer, Type

type layer

Use the Type Tool (T) to create a text frame over the top of the label on the second-from-right panel of the box. Type in a product title, and set the Font to Avera Sans Sketch and the color to your dark pink swatch.

avera sans font

Frame the heading with smaller text frames set in Avera Sans Brush and Bold, and in [Black].

avera sans brush
swatches panel

Step 7

Copy and Paste the set of text frames across onto the far-right face of the box, so that the product name can be viewed on two sides.

pasted frames

You can add a list of ingredients or details about the company’s website over the long label on the far-left panel. 

character panel

4. How to Export Your Box for Printing

Step 1

Make sure the layers you want to have printed and cut/scored are visible. If you don’t want the fold lines to be visible (i.e. you haven’t set them up in a spot color), then make sure to switch off this layer. For demonstration purposes here, I’ve kept the Folds layer switched on.

Go to File > Export. Name your file and choose Adobe PDF (Print) from the Format menu. Click Save

In the window that opens, choose PDF/X-1a:2001 from the Adobe PDF Preset menu at the top. This is the best version to choose for exporting die lines*. 

pdf export

*Some printers may request you export any die lines or score lines as a separate PDF file. To do this, export each of these layers as separate PDF files. Then switch off the visibility of both layers in InDesign, and export the Pattern, Labels and Type layers only, in one PDF file.

Step 2

Click on Marks and Bleeds in the window’s left-hand menu. Check both All Printer’s Marks and Use Document Bleed Settings.

bleed settings

Then click Export to create your press-ready PDF file. 

Conclusion: Your Finished Box

Once you’ve sent off your packaging artwork to the printers, it’s time to sit and wait eagerly for your boxes to get delivered. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing your packaging artwork in 3D form—particularly when the boxes are on the store’s shelf!

final box design

If you’re eager to create more packaging designs, downloadable templates can be a quick and easy solution if you’re short on time. You can find a selection of packaging templates and mock-ups over on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver.

Looking for more packaging design tips? These tutorials show you more ways you can create your own boxes, packets, labels, and much more:

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  • Designing your first item of packaging can seem like a daunting endeavour, but taking your 2D designs into 3D territory needn’t be scary. This is your…

  • Regardless of the product, most everything needs some sort of packaging, and the more well designed that packaging is, the more likely a consumer will be to…

You may also be interested in our Product Packaging Design Course:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Creating Line Icons

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In today’s
tutorial we’re going to take an in-depth look at the process of creating
line icons both in Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer. You’ll see how you can craft
a usable finished product using a few basic shapes that we will adjust here and
there.

So, if you always wanted to know the do’s and don’ts when
working on this style of icons, you should definitely give this piece a read!

Also, don’t forget you can always expand your asset library by heading over to GraphicRiver, where you’ll find a great selection of vector icon packs to pick from.

A few years ago,
I explored the main two methods that can be used to create line icons, and
compared them in order to see which one would be a better fit for you.

Today, we’re going
to expand on one of those methods, more exactly the Stroke one, and talk about the do’s and don’ts so that you can
perfect your skills when it comes to creating these types of icons.

We’re going to be creating exactly the same icon using two different
pieces of software, more precisely Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer, so
that everybody can partake in the project.

That being said, let’s get started!

How to Create Line
Icons in Adobe Illustrator

1. How to Set Up a
New Project File 

As with any new
project, we’re going to kick things off by quickly going through the process of
setting up a New Document. So go over to File > New (or use the Control-N
keyboard shortcut), and then adjust it as follows:

  • Profile:
    Web
  • Number of Artboards:
    1
  • Width:
    128 px
  • Height:
    128 px
  • Units: Pixels

And from the Advanced tab:

  • Color Mode:
    RGB
  • Raster Effects:
    Screen (72 ppi)
  • Preview Mode: Default
setting up a new document in ai

2. How to Set Up
the Layers

Once we’ve created
our document, we need to take a couple of moments and structure the project
using a couple of layers, so that we can implement and maintain a clear and
steady workflow by separating our reference grid from the actual icon.

To do this, simply
open up the Layers panel and then
create two layers using the Create New
Layer
button, naming them as follows:

  • bottom layer:
    reference grid
  • top layer: icon
setting up the layers in ai

3. How to Create
the Reference Grid

As soon as we’ve finished layering our
document, we can focus on building the reference grid, which will help us define
the actual size of the final icon, while allowing us to add a small protective
padding.

Step 1

Select the bottom
layer, and then create the main reference surface (the base size) using a 128 x 128 px square, which we will
color using #F15A24 and then position in the center of the underlying Artboard
using the Align panel’s Horizontal and Vertical Align Center options.

creating the base grid in ai

Step 2

Add the active
drawing area using a smaller 112 x 112
px
square, which we will color using white (#FFFFFF) and then center align
to the larger underlying one, which will result in an all-around 8 px padding.

creating the active drawing area in ai

Step 3

Once you have both
shapes in place, select and group them together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut, making sure to lock the current layer
before moving on to the next step.

locking the layers in ai

4. How to Create the Newspaper Icon

As soon as we’ve finished setting up our
project file, we can begin working on the actual icon, which we will gradually
create one section at a time.

Step 1

Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and create the
background using a 112 x 112 px circle,
which we will color using #AEEDEA and then center align to the underlying
Artboard.

creating the background in ai

Step 2

Create the main
shape for the front section of the newspaper using a 40 x 44 px rectangle, which we will color using #FFFFFF and then
position at a distance of 30 px from
the active drawing area’s left edge and 34
px
from its top one.

As you may have noticed, even though the gap values are even
numbers (since they can be divided by two), they can only be cut in half once
before becoming odd. Normally I try to stay away from these types of numbers,
but since we’re creating line icons, that’s something that’s going to be fixed
as soon as we add the actual outlines, as you’ll see in a few moments.

creating the front section in ai

Step 3

Adjust the shape that we’ve just created by setting the Radius of its bottom-left corner to 6 px from within the Transform panel’s Rectangle Properties. Again, I’ve gone with a weird number value,
but all will make sense as soon as we add the outline.

adjusting the corner of the front section in ai

Step 4

Create a copy (Control-C >
Control-F
) of the resulting shape, which we will position on its right
side so that their paths end up overlapping as seen in the reference image.

creating a duplicate of the front section in ai

Step 5

Open up the two paths by individually selecting each of their right
anchor points using the Direct Selection
Tool (A)
, and then immediately removing them by pressing Delete.

opening up the paths of the front section in ai

Step 6

With the two paths still selected, unite them into a single larger shape
by pressing the Control-J (join)
keyboard shortcut twice.

uniting the path segments in ai

Step 7

Now that we’ve finished
adjusting the main shape for the front section, we can go about adding the
outline. This part is actually more important than you might think, since the
thickness of the Stroke will end up directly influencing the surrounding gap values, as well as the visible
section of the corner radius, as you’ll see in the following moments.

As a general rule,
you always want to go with an even numeric value (e.g. 2, 4, 68, etc.), since we’re going to align
the Stroke to the center. By doing so, we will ensure that our shapes will remain perfectly snapped to the underlying Pixel Grid, since the alignment will end up equally splitting their Weight in half.

To add the actual outline, start
by creating a copy (Control-C) of
the resulting shape, which we will paste in front (Control-F) and then adjust by changing its color to #43435B.
Once you’re done, flip its Fill with
its Stroke using the Shift-X keyboard shortcut, and then
open up the Stroke panel and set its
Weight to 4 px, making sure that
the Stroke is aligned to the center.

Since half of the outline will end up falling outside of the fill
shape’s path, this will in effect decrease the gap values by 2 px, making the rounded corners look
less rounded.

adding the outline to the front section in ai

If we were to use odd numbers (e.g. 3579, etc.), our Stroke would end up being subjected to some nasty antialiasing, which is clearly visible when you turn on Pixel Preview mode (Alt-Control-Y). This happens since the software can’t find a perfect center, due to the fact that once divided in half, odd numbers become decimal ones.

example of stroke using odd numbers

To make matters even worse, if you try and use the Make Pixel Perfect option (right click > Make Pixel Perfect), the stroke’s path will end up snapping off the Pixel Grid due to that center alignment.

using the make pixel perfect option on odd strokes

Step 8

Since we want the icon to feel all around more
friendly, we’re going to set all of its StrokesCorners to Round Join, which is a neat little
trick that helps you do just that. In the case of the current shape, this also
fixes the appearance of the bottom-right anchor point, which would otherwise
look as if it was mistakenly chopped.

setting the corner join to round in ai

Step 9

As soon as we’ve finished making all the little adjustments to the
outline, we need to select both it and the underlying fill shape and then group
them together using either the Control-G
keyboard shortcut or the slightly slower right
click > Group
method. 

I usually end up grouping my fill shapes and
outlines together since if I later on decide to move one of them, the other
will automatically follow it. Also, if you ever need to make adjustments to
either of the two, you can easily do so by isolating the group and carrying them
out.

grouping the main shapes of the front section in ai

Step 10

Create the main shape for the side section using a 12 x 36 px rectangle, which we will color using #59C9C9 and then
position onto the right side of the shapes that we’ve just grouped, making sure
that their paths overlap. The overlapping part is really important, since it
helps ensure that when you add all the outlines, they perfectly cover each
other, without adding to the thickness of the final design.

creating the main shape for the side section in ai

Step 11

Adjust the shape that we’ve just created by setting the Radius of its bottom corners to 6 px, which is the same value
used for the front section. When working on line icons, consistency plays a key
factor when it comes to the perfect overlapping of your paths, so always keep
an eye on your values, so that you won’t have to come back and fix them
later on.

adjusting the shape of the side section in ai

Step 12

Add the subtle shadow using a 6 x
36 px
square, which we will position on the left side of the current
section, coloring it using the same value used for the outline (#43435B) and making sure to lower its Opacity to 24%. This is another little trick that
I like to use a lot, where instead of picking darker values for the shadows, I
simply sample the color of the strokes and then lower their Opacity until I get something that
works.

adding the shadow to the side section in ai

Step 13

Mask the shadow using a copy (Control-C)
of the larger underlying shape, which we will paste in front, and then with
both of them selected, simply right click
> Make Clipping Mask
.

masking the shadow in ai

Step 14

As soon as you’ve masked the shadow, you can go
ahead and give the current section a 4
px
thick outline by creating a copy (Control-C
> Control-F
) of it, and then sampling the existing outline using the Eyedropper Tool (I)

This is another
little trick that I use all the time, since it helps me copy all the existing attributes of my outline (color, weight) to my current shape. Beyond that, it also
ensures that the color value being used is all-around consistent, which is really
important when designing line icons, since when adding volume you do so using
darker colors for the fill shapes but not their outlines.

adding the outline to the side section in ai

Quick tip: here’s a quick picture of what would happen if
you did some of the things that I’ve argued against (improper path
overlapping, inconsistent corner radius for the overlapping shapes, different
color values for the outlines).

example of bad shape overlapping in ai

Step 15

Move on back to the front section of the
newspaper, and let’s start adding its little details by creating the photo box
using a 12 x 12 px rounded rectangle
with a 2 px Corner Radius, which we
will color using #43435B and then position at a distance of 4 px from the front outline’s right
edge and 8 px from its top one.

positioning the main shape for the photo in ai

At this point, you may be wondering why I didn’t include those 2 px from the outline in the indicated
spacing values, and the answer is that since in this case we can’t distribute
the shapes using the Align panel,
those values are irrelevant. Whenever we position shapes inside of an outline,
we will always do so in relation to its Weight’s inner edge, thus ignoring its inner half.

If we were to position the shapes outside of the
outline’s surface, then we would need to add them to the final distance, since
the software will always position them in relation to the outline’s path, which
is aligned to the center.

example of positioning shapes inside an outline in ai

Step 16

Create the first
of the dummy text lines using an 8 px wide
4 px thick Stroke (#43435B) with a Round
Cap
, which we will position in line with the picture’s top edge, at a
distance of 4 px from its left one.

As you can see, I went with stroke lines instead of rounded rectangles,
which is something that I try to do all the time when their thickness is
identical to that of the outlines, since if I ever need to change their color,
I can easily target them using Select
> Same > Stroke Color
.

positioning the first text line in ai

Notice that I used the word “position” instead
of “align”, since if we were to use the Align
panel’s Vertical Align Top option,
the software would do the alignment to the indicated key object based on the
center of the stroke, which would produce quite a different result.

example of stroke aligning in ai

Step 17

Add the second text line using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the one that we’ve just created, which
we will position just 4 px below it. 

This is a great example of stroke positioning, since
we have two ways of doing it. The first one relies on using the directional
arrow keys to gradually move the stroke one pixel at a time, until we have it
in the desired position.

adding the second text line in ai

The second one involves using the Align panel’s Vertical Distribute Spacing option, which requires you to adjust
the spacing value, since you need to include the bottom and top halves of the
two strokes’ Weight. So instead of
using a value of 4 px, you’ll end up
using 8 px (2 + 4 + 2). Personally, I recommend you stick to the first method
when it comes to smaller distances, and use the Align panel when dealing with bigger ones, which to be honest
doesn’t happen all that often.

example of multiple stroke aligning in ai

Step 18

Create the wider text line, using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the one from the previous step, which
we will position 4
px
below it and then adjust by increasing its Width
from 8 px to 24 px. To do this, open up the Transform
panel and first uncheck the Scale
Strokes & Effects
option, since it will otherwise increase the Weight of the Stroke as you adjust it. Then, set the Reference Point to the left square and simply enter the indicated
value (24 px) within the W(idth)
input field.

example of increasing of the length of a stroke in ai

Step 19

Add the final text line using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the one that we’ve adjusted, which we
will position below using the same 4 px distance.
Once you have all the lines in place, make sure you select and group (Control-G) them together, doing the
same for the entire newspaper afterwards.

adding the last text line in ai

Step 20

Finish off the icon by adding the little motion lines using an 8 px tall 4 px thick Stroke (#43435B)
for the center one, and two shorter 4 px
ones for the sides, positioning them as seen in the reference image. Take
your time, and once you’re done, don’t forget to select and group (Control-G) all of them together, doing
the same for all of its composing shapes afterwards.

finishing off the icon in ai

How to Create Line
Icons in Affinity Designer

Now that we have a
better idea when it comes to the do’s and don’ts of creating line icons, let’s
see how we can build the same product in Affinity Designer.

1. How to Set Up a
New Project File

As we did with
Illustrator, we’re going to start by creating a New Document by heading over to File > New (or by using the Control-N
keyboard shortcut), which we will adjust as follows:

  • Type:
    Web
  • Document Units:
    Pixels
  • Create artboard: checked
  • Transparent Background: checked
  • Page Width:
    128 px
  • Page Height:
    128 px
  • DPI: 72
setting up a new document in ad

2. How to Set Up
the Layers

Take a couple of
moments and structure the project file by opening up the Layers panel and then creating two layers using the Add Layer button, naming them as
follows:

  • bottom layer:
    reference grid
  • top layer: icon
setting up the layers in ad

3. How to Create
the Reference Grid

Once we’ve
finished layering our document, we can move on to building the little reference
grid.

Step 1

Start by selecting the bottom layer and then creating the main
reference surface (the base size) using a 128
x 128 px
square, which we will color using #F15A24 and then position in the
center of the underlying Artboard, using the Alignment panel’s Align Center
and Align Middle options.

creating the base grid in ad

Step 2

Add the active drawing area using a smaller 112 x 112 px square, which we will color using white (#FFFFFF) and
then center align to the main reference surface, which will give us the same
8 px protective padding.

adding the active drawing area in ad

Step 3

With both shapes in place, make sure you select and group them together
using the Control-G keyboard
shortcut, locking the current layer using the little Lock/Unlock toggle, before moving on to the next one.

locking the layers in ad

4. How to Create
the Newspaper Icon

Position yourself
on the top layer, and let’s begin working on our little newspaper icon.

Step 1

Start by creating the background using a 112 x 112 px circle, which we will color using #AEEDEA and then
center align to the underlying Artboard.

creating the background in ad

Step 2

Add the main shape for the newspaper’s front section using a 40 x 44 px rectangle, which we will
color using white (#FFFFFF) and then position at a distance of 30 px from the active drawing area’s
left edge and 34 px from its top
one.

creating the main shape for the front section in ad

Step 3

Adjust the shape by first unchecking the Single Radius option, and then setting its bottom-left corner (BL) to Rounded, making sure to give it an absolute value of 6 px.

adjusting the corner of the front section in ad

Step 4

Create a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the resulting
shape, which we will then position on the right side of the active drawing
area, so that their paths end up overlapping.

creating a duplicate of the front section in ad

Step 5

With both shapes selected, use the Convert to Curves option so that we can
adjust their paths, and then individually open them up by selecting their top right
nodes using the Node Tool (A) and
then the Break Curve action.
Once you’ve opened up their paths, make sure you select and remove all of their
right nodes using the Delete key.

opening up the paths of the front section in ad

Step 6

Unite the resulting path segments into a single
larger shape using the Node Tool’s Join
curves
and Close curve actions.

uniting the paths of the front section in ad

Step 7

Give the resulting shape an outline using the Stroke method, by creating a copy (Control-C) of it, which we will paste
in front (Control-V) and then adjust
by first changing its color to #43435B and then
flipping its Fill with its Stroke (Shift-X), setting its Width to
4 pt. Once you’re done, make sure
you select and group the two together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

adding the outline to the front section in ad

Quick tip: compared to Illustrator, where you have to set
the Stroke’s Join to Round manually, Affinity Designer does it automatically
since it’s the default option used.

Step 8

Create the main shape for the newspaper’s side section using a 12 x 36 px rectangle (#59C9C9), which
we will adjust by setting the radius of its bottom corners to 6 px, positioning the resulting shape on the right side of the front section, making sure their paths perfectly overlap.

creating the main shape for the side section in ad

Step 9

Add the subtle shadow using a 6 x
36 px
square (#43435B), which we will position on the left side of the
current section, making sure to lower its Opacity
to 24%.

adding the shadow to the side section in ad

Step 10

Mask the shadow by opening up the Layers
panel and first adding a copy (Control-C)
of the side section’s fill shape to the Clipboard,
and then simply dragging the smaller shape on top of it.

masking the shadow in ad

Step 11

Add the outline by pasting the copy from the Clipboard in place using the Control-V
keyboard shortcut, and then changing its color to #43435B and flipping its Fill with
its Stroke (Shift-X), making sure to set its Width to 4 pt. Once
you’re done, don’t forget to select and group (Control-G) all of the side section’s composing shapes before moving
on to the next step.

adding the outline to the side section in ad

Step 12

Shift your focus back to the newspaper’s front
section, and create the photo box using a 12
x 12 px
rounded rectangle (#43435B) with a 2 px Corner Radius, which we will position at a distance of 4 px from the larger outline’s right
edge and 8 px from its top one.

positioning the main shape for the photo in ad

Step 13

Add the first text line using an 8 px wide 4 pt thick Stroke (#43435B), which we will position in line with the
photo’s top edge, at a distance of 4
px
from its left one.

positioning the first text line in ad

Step 14

Create the second text line using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the one from the previous step, which we will position 4 px below it.

adding the second text line in ad

Step 15

Add the wider text line, using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the one
that we’ve just created, which we will position 4 px below and then adjust by increasing its
Width to 24 px. To do this, open
up the Transform panel, and first
make sure the adjustments are made in relation to its left anchor point by
clicking on the Anchor point selector’s
left box, and then simply entering the indicated value (24 px) within the W(idth)
input field.

example of increasing the length of a stroke in ad

Step 16

Create the final text line using a copy (Control-C > Control-V) of the one
that we’ve just adjusted, making sure to position it below using the same 4 px distance. Once you have all the
lines in place, make sure you select and group (Control-G) all of them together, doing the same for the entire
newspaper afterwards.

adding the last text line in ad

Step 17

Finish off the icon by adding the little motion lines using an 8 px tall 4 pt thick Stroke (#43435B)
for the center one and two shorter 4 px
ones for the sides, positioning them as seen in the reference image. Take
your time, and once you’re done, don’t forget to select and group (Control-G) all of them together, doing
the same for all of its composing shapes afterwards.

finishing off the icon in ad

Recap

Before I ride off into the sunset, I wanted to do a little recap of the key points that we’ve learned when it comes to creating stroke-based line icons, in case some of you want to skip the whole project part.

The Do’s:

  • When you start laying out your icon’s different composing shapes, always do the math and make sure you include the value of their outlines (their strokes) when doing so, since it will help you figure out key aspects in regards to their position in relation to the Artboard and one another. 
  • When choosing a weight for your stroke, always try to go with even numbers (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8, etc.) instead of odd ones (e.g. 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.), since otherwise your outlines will end up being snapped off the Pixel Grid.
  • When positioning your shapes, always make sure that their paths perfectly overlap, especially if you’re dealing with objects that have rounded corners or more organic lines.
  • When adding an outline to a shape, make sure you select and group them together so that they will behave as a single unit, which makes its easier to reposition them if you need to later on.
  • As you start building your icon, always make sure you maintain the same color value and weight across all of your strokes in order to achieve consistency.
  • When positioning shapes inside of an outline, always do so from its stroke’s inner edges and not its center.
  • When aligning stroke-based objects to non-stroke-based ones, always make sure to adjust their final position if you’ve used the align panel, since the software will always make the alignment based on the stroke’s center, and not its outer edges.
  • When positioning multiple stroke-based objects in relation to one another, always do the math and include the values of their top and/or bottom halves when using the align panel, otherwise you won’t get the desired result.

The Don’ts:

  • When it comes to the don’ts, they’re pretty much the exact opposites of the bullet items from the previous list, so as long as you keep those key notions in mind, you should be good to go.

As always, I really hope you had fun working on the project and most
importantly managed to learn a thing or two during the process.

That being said, if you have any questions, feel
free to post them within the comments section and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

finished project preview

Expand Your Icon-Building Skills!

Want to learn more about creating icons? Well, we took the liberty of hand-picking some awesome tutorials that should help you do just that!

  • As a beginner, creating digital artwork intended for web use can sometimes get a bit frustrating, especially when you put a lot of time into a piece (be it…

  • Today, I’m going to share with you ten tips on icon design that I’ve managed to isolate and put down in digital ink after doing some research from both my…

  • Today I have something special prepared for you. We are going to compare two essential Illustrator tools, the Layers panel and the Artboards one, and talk…

  • Today we’re going to take a look at the different ways of exporting icons using a tool that is often feared, but will take your productivity to another level…

  • Lately I’ve been getting a lot more technical and started exploring solutions to the different challenges that you might encounter along your creative…

  • It’s almost that special time of the year when the dead once again rise from their graves and walk among us, giving all living creatures a night to remember….

  • In today’s tutorial we’re going to recreate some iconic objects and symbols from the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. If you’re a proud kippah owner, put it on…

  • In today’s tutorial we’re going to get our fashion on and learn how to create a stylized set of accessories icon pack, using the most basic shapes and tools…

  • In this Affinity Designer tutorial, you’re going to learn how to create a set of office icons using some simple geometric shapes that we will adjust here and…

How to Create a Multi-Layered Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In the following steps, you will learn how to create a fully editable, multi-layered text effect in Adobe Illustrator.

For starters, you will learn how to create a simple piece of text and how to stylize it. Taking full advantage of the Appearance panel, you will learn how to add multiple fills for your text and how to easily adjust them. Using basic blending techniques and some blurs, you will learn how to add some extra shading.

The text, “G’mar Hatima Tova,” is a Jewish greeting used on the holiday of Yom Kippur. It means: “May you be inscribed for good [in the Book of Life].”

For more inspiration on how to adjust or improve your final text effect, you can find plenty of resources at GraphicRiver.

1. How to Create a New Document and Add Text

Step 1

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 850 in the width box and 760 in the height box, and then click that More Settings button. Select RGB for the Color Mode, set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click Create Document.

Open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Don’t forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units. These options will significantly increase your work speed.

new document

Step 2

Pick the Type Tool (T) and open the Character panel (Window > Type > Character). Select the Etna font and then set the size to 150 px and the tracking to 50. Move to the artboard, click on it, and type your text.

add text

2. How to Apply the Starting Effects

Step 1

Make sure that your text is selected, focus on the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches), and click that [None] swatch to remove the existing text color. Open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance), and add a new fill using the Add New Fill button. Select it and set the color to R=0 G=56 B=184.

color none

Step 2

Make sure that your text stays selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a second fill.

Select this new fill, set the color to white (R=255 G=255 B=255) and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -2 px Offset and click OK.

add new fill

Step 3

Make sure that your text stays selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a third fill.

Select this new fill and drag it below the white one. Set the color to black (R=0 G=0 B=0), lower its Opacity to 20% and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -2 px Offset, click OK and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Drag the Move-Horizontal slider to -2 px and click OK.

black fill

Step 4

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Select the black fill and duplicate it using the Duplicate Selected Item button. Select the bottom, black fill, increase its Opacity to 40%, and then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 2 px Radius and click OK.

gaussian blur

3. How to Multiply the Effects

Step 1

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Select the white fill along with the two black fills and duplicate them using that same Duplicate Selected Item button. Focus on these three new fills, open the Offset Path effects applied to each of these fills, and increase the Offset value to -4 px. Select the newly added white fill and change its color to R=0 G=56 B=184.

duplicate fill

Step 2

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Again, select the top three fills and duplicate them. First, open the Offset Path effects applied to each of these new fills and increase the Offset value to -6 px, and then select the top fill and set its color to white.

duplicate fills

Step 3

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Once again, select the top three fills and duplicate them. First, open the Offset Path effects applied to each of these new fills and increase the Offset value to -8 px, and then select the top fill and set its color to R=0 G=56 B=184.

duplicate fills

Step 4

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

One last time, select the top three fills and duplicate them. First, open the Offset Path effects applied to each of these new fills and increase the Offset value to -10 px, and then select the top fill and set its color to white.

duplicate fills

4. How to Add Extra Shading and a Background

Step 1

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Add a new fill and drag it in the bottom of the Appearance panel, below the existing fills. Set the color to R=0 G=56 B=184, lower its Opacity to 10%, and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK.

transform effect

Step 2

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Add a new fill and drag it in the bottom of the Appearance panel, below the existing fills. Set the color to R=0 G=56 B=184, lower its Opacity to 5%, and go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Enter a -4 px Offset, click OK, and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK.

transform effect

Step 3

Make sure that your text stays selected and keep focusing on the Appearance panel.

Select the bottom fill and simply duplicate it. Select the new fill, increase its Opacity to 25% and go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 10 px Radius and click OK.

gaussian blur

Step 4

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 850 x 760 px shape. Fill this new shape with white, make sure that it covers your entire artboard and send it back (Shift-Control-[).

background

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Here is how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects. Don’t hesitate to share your final result in the comments section.

Feel free to adjust the final design and make it your own. You can find some great sources of inspiration at GraphicRiver, with interesting solutions to improve your design.

final product

How to Create an Eco Bulb and Butterfly Illustration in Adobe Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Mesh Tool in Adobe Illustrator to create a light bulb with some nature elements!

If you want to skip the tutorial and just use these flowers in your work, you can purchase the Eco Light Bulb from GraphicRiver!

1. How to Draw the Light Bulb

Step 1

Let’s learn how to use Gradient Mesh!

Begin by drawing a rectangle and filling it with #3E4A56. Next, take the Mesh Tool (U) and create a mesh grid inside the object by clicking on different spots.

Bend
the object into the shape seen in the screenshot below. Once the shape
and the mesh grid match the image, select the edge nodes and
color them with #D2D6E0.

Continue by selecting and coloring the indicated nodes with the respective colors.

You will need these:

  1. #3E4A56
  2. #D2D6E0
  3. #FFFFFF
  4. #F4F4F4
  5. #D0D5DF
  6. #A0A8B2
mesh lightbulb tutorial

Step 2

Change the light bulb’s Transparency mode to Multiply.

Next, draw a grey shape, filled with #B4B4B5. Change it to Screen with 80% Opacity.

Place the highlight on the bulb.

gradient mesh

Step 3

Begin drawing the base of the light bulb with Mesh.

You will need these colors:

  1. #212631
  2. #FAFAFB
  3. #66707A
mesh lightbulb

Step 4

Draw one more part.

  1. #212631
  2. #C7CAD0
  3. #FFFFFF
  4. #5B5F66
vector lightbulb

Step 5

Draw the base.

  1. #26292E
  2. #626872
  3. #CBCFD4
gradient mesh

Step 6

Construct the part.

mesh bulb

Step 7

Put the light bulb together.

draw light bubl vector tutorial

Step 8

To add the patch of grass and the ladybug, consult these tutorials:

  • Learn how to create a vector natural scene with some flowers and a butterfly using Gradient Mesh in Adobe Illustrator!

  • Learn how to create a vector nature background with a wooden sign, grass, leaves and a ladybug using Gradient Mesh in Adobe Illustrator!

Fit them into the outline of the bulb, and then Make a Clipping Mask.

clipping mask

Step 9

Place the mesh bulb on top of the grass.

Draw a mesh highlight—black outline with a white middle. Set it to Screen with 80% Opacity and place it on top of the bulb.

You can add a couple of Gradient shadows under the light bulb.

highlight light bulb

Step 10

Draw a white rectangle with a mesh grid, and make its upper edge transparent.

transparent mesh

Step 11

Place a reflected copy of the bulb under the original, and then place the mesh on top of it.

reflection vector

2. How to Draw the Butterfly

Step 1

Draw black outlines for the wing.

wing outline

Step 2

Draw mesh inserts. Use black for the outline and #FFF3A0 for the middle.

gradient mesh

Step 3

Draw some more elements with the same colors.

butterfly vector

Step 4

Draw six more elements using black and #FF6000.

mesh element

Step 5

Draw one more mesh element. Use these colors:

  1. #000000
  2. #FFFFFF
  3. #BDDEDD
mesh vector

Step 6

Create different copies of the element.

gradient mesh

Step 7

Create two more modified copies.

mesh part

Step 8

Assemble the top part of the wing.

insect wing

Step 9

Assemble the bottom part.

how to draw a buttefly

Step 10

Assemble the wing.

mesh wing

Step 11

Create a reflected copy of the wing, and then use the Shear Tool with an angle of 211° at a Horizontal Axis on it.

Attach the modified wing to the original.

vector butterfly tutorial

Step 12

Draw the body of the butterfly with Mesh.

  1. #160C0B
  2. #4A3828
  3. #4C4A3F
butterfly mesh

Step 13

Draw another black part using a specific Stroke profile. Expand the object.

stroke

Step 14

Assemble the body.

butterfly mesh

Step 15

Add the wings.

vector butterfly tutorial

Step 16

Place the butterfly on top of the light bulb!

light bulb vector

Awesome Work, You’re Now Done!

What now? You can try any of my other tutorials from my profile or check out my portfolio on GraphicRiver, as well as the original vector we recreated in this tutorial.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, and I would be super happy to see any results in the comments below.

Eco Light Bulb
Eco Light Bulb

Check out more!

New Course: Adobe Illustrator for Beginners

If you’ve never opened Illustrator before—or if you’ve opened it and struggled—our new course is for you! From the Top: Adobe Illustrator for Beginners will show you the easy way to make beautiful artwork in Adobe Illustrator.

What You’ll Learn

In this course, you’re going to learn everything you need to get up and running using Adobe Illustrator. Your instructor, Daniel Scott, will take you through all of the essential tools and features of the program while showing you how to create some simple illustrations.

Adobe Illustator for Beginners

This course is for beginners, so you don’t need any previous knowledge of Illustrator, and you don’t need design or illustration skills. You’ll start right at the beginning, and you can work your way through each topic step by step.

Here are some free lessons from this course, as a preview of what you can expect:

Drawing With Shapes and Lines

In this video, you’ll learn how to draw many common objects in Illustrator by creating and adjusting simple shapes and lines.

Drawing With the Shape Builder

In this video, you’ll take your drawing to the next level by learning how to transform simple overlapping shapes into complex images using the Shape Builder tool.

Drawing With the Pen Tool

In this lesson, you’ll learn how you can use the Pen Tool in addition to the Curvature Tool to draw more complex yet easily adjustable shapes.

Take the Course

This was just a small sample of videos from the course. There’s much more in the full course of 20 videos, which takes you through the full setup process and introduces you to a lot more Illustrator tools and techniques.

You can take our new course straight away with a subscription to Envato Elements. For a single low monthly fee, you get access not only to this course, but also to our growing library of over 1,000 video courses and industry-leading eBooks on Envato Tuts+. 

Plus you now get unlimited downloads from the huge Envato Elements library of 680,000+ creative assets. Create with unique fonts, photos, graphics and templates, and deliver better projects faster.

How to Create a Letter Characters Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In the following steps, you will learn how to create a letter characters text effect in Adobe Illustrator. 

For starters, you will learn how to create a simple piece of text and how to convert it to vector shapes. Taking full advantage of the Appearance panel, you will learn how to stylize your text and how to create the eyes. Using some basic blending and stroke techniques, you will learn how to create the legs and add some subtle shadows. Finally, you will learn how to create a simple background.

For more inspiration on how to adjust or improve your final text effect, you can find plenty of resources at GraphicRiver.

What You Will Need

You will need the following resource in order to complete this project:

1. How to Create a New Document and the Text Shapes

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 850 in the width box and 510 in the height box, and then click that More Settings button. Select RGB for the Color Mode, set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click Create Document.

Open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Don’t forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units. These options will significantly increase your work speed.

new document

Step 2

Pick the Type Tool (T) and open the Character panel (Window > Type > Character). Select the Knicknack font and then set the Size to 150 px and the Tracking to 50. Move to your artboard, click on it, and type your text. We’ll be using the word “DESSIN”, which is French for “drawing”.

add text

Step 3

Make sure that your text is still selected, and go to Type > Create Outlines (Shift-Control-O). Ungroup (Shift-Control-G) the resulting group and then fill all your letter shapes with R=255 G=220 B=50.

create outlines

2. How to Stylize the Text Shapes

Step 1

Make sure that all your letter shapes are selected, and focus on the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance).

Add a second fill using the Add New Fill button, and select it. Set its color to R=255 G=170 B=5, drag it below the yellow fill, and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Drag the Move-Horizontal slider to -0.5 px and the Move-Vertical slider to -0.25 px, enter 20 in the Copies box, and then click OK.

add new fill

Step 2

Select all your letter shapes and focus on the Appearance panel. Make sure that your entire path is selected (simply click that Compound Path text from the top of the panel) and go to Effect > 3D > Rotate. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK.

rotate effect

Step 3

Select your letter shapes one by one and replace the existing fill colors with the ones shown in the following image.

recolor

Step 4

Select one of your letter shapes and focus on the Appearance panel. Make sure that the entire path is selected and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK. Don’t forget to check the middle-bottom reference point.

transform effect

Step 5

Select two more shapes and apply the Transform effects shown below.

transform effect

3. How to Create the Eyes

Step 1

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). You will need a grid every 1 px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid, and enter 1 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. Try not to get discouraged by all that grid—it will make your work easier, and keep in mind that you can easily enable or disable it using the Control-“ keyboard shortcut.

You can learn more about Illustrator’s grid system in this short tutorial from Andrei Stefan: Understanding Adobe Illustrator’s Grid System.

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 13 x 19 px shape and a 13 x 16 px shape. Fill both shapes with white (R=255 G=255 B=255).

grid

Step 2

Make sure that your white ellipses remain selected and focus on the Appearance panel. Add a second fill and set its color to R=254 G=170 B=5. Drag this new fill below the white one and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK.

orange fill

Step 3

Make sure that your white ellipses remain selected, and focus on the Appearance panel. Add a third fill and set its color to R=254 G=170 B=5. Drag this new fill to the bottom of the panel and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Enter the attributes shown below and click OK.

eyebrows

Step 4

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a 4 x 8 px shape and a 4 x 6 px shape. Fill both shapes with R=12 G=142 B=220 and place them as shown below.

blue ellipse

Step 5

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create two, 4 x 2 px shapes. Fill both shapes with black (R=0 G=0 B=0) and place them as shown below.

black ellipse

Step 6

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create two 1 px circles. Fill both shapes with white and place them as shown below.

white circle

Step 7

Select the shapes that make up the left eye and Group them (Control-G). Select the shapes that make up the other eye and also Group them (Control-G).

group

Step 8

Multiply your eye groups and place the copies roughly as shown below. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to easily select the main eyeball shape from your groups.

Open the Transform effect applied to the bottom fill of this shape and play with those settings to adjust the position of the eyebrows. Also, when needed, replace the orange color with the dark blue or dark pink used for the letters.

add eye

4. How to Create the Legs

Step 1

Pick the Pen Tool (P) and draw two simple paths as shown in the first images. Make sure that these new paths remain selected, and focus on the Appearance panel.

Set the stroke color to R=255 G=170 B=5 and then open the Stroke fly-out panel. Increase the Weight to 4 px and then check the Round Cap and Round Join buttons. Once you’re done, send your paths to back (Shift-Control-[).

leg path

Step 2

Multiply the paths that make up the legs and spread them as shown in the following image. When needed, replace the orange with the dark blue or the dark pink from the letter shapes.

add legs

5. How to Create the Shadow and the Background

Step 1

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create the set of squeezed circles shown in the following image. Fill all these shapes with black and lower their Opacity to 15%. Place them as shown below and don’t forget to send them all to back (Shift-Control-[) when you’re done.

shadow

Step 2

Finally, pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a shape the size of your artboard. Fill it with R=44 G=56 B=104 and send it to back (Shift-Control-[).

background

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Here is how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects. Don’t hesitate to share your final result in the comments section.

Feel free to adjust the final design and make it your own. You can find some great sources of inspiration at GraphicRiver, with interesting solutions to improve your design.

final product

Looking to learn more? I recommend you check out more of my beginner tutorials:

35+ Awesome French Design Tutorials and Articles on Envato Tuts+

Looking for graphic design and illustration tutorials in French? Check out this list of awesome French tutorials.

Enter the Translation Project

When you’re a beginner, it’s always interesting to find a useful tutorial on what you are doing—or attempting to do. My first encounter with Envato’s tutorials was when it was called PSDTuts+, with a tutorial by Alvaro Guzman, back in 2009. It was a great insight for me—it was thoughtful and helpful, and I felt I was progressing. The single issue was that it was written in English, and I’m a native French speaker—and I wasn’t the only person in this position.

When I was looking for a resource for my lecturer on wireframing, I found this great tutorial on wireframing, in Frenchtranslated by Benoit Benedetti. So, when I contacted Ian Yates (the coordinator of the translation project), he let me know that the project was launched as a voluntary project in March 2014. I have been part of the project since April 2015.

The Tuts translation project and me

If you are interested in my journey in the translation project, here’s an article I wrote on my agency’s blog. And, if you are interested in translating for Envato Tuts+ and being paid for it, find out how you can translate for Envato Tuts+.

How to Access Translations on Envato Tuts+

You can access our translations in many languages, not just French, via the drop-down menu towards the top of tutorials and articles. 

Translated tutorials on Envato Tuts

Some Awesome Design Tutorials in French

Today, I want to introduce you to some of the translated tutorials in French. There is no particular order, although I tried to sort them by theme. But all of them are about graphic design.

Education

In this section, there is one article from the series called “Careers in Design”. And before making a living from design, you have to educate yourself. This article tries to set the path to success.

I guess the main concern of those who read this article is to do things, so from the next section it will be an entire list of “How to” tutorials.

French Drawing Tutorials

First thing first: how to draw. If you are a designer, not an illustrator, it’s worth knowing how to draw, not as an expert, but it is an invaluable skill.

  • Do you struggle with a simple circle from the first step of every tutorial? Do your straight lines keep bending no matter how hard you try? Do you seem to be…

  • Do you want to learn how to draw? Here’s how to make the very first step. In this tutorial you’ll find a bit of theory and a lot of practice on a beginner…

  • To draw reptile scales properly, you need to understand their special pattern. In this tutorial, I will show you the easy way to create it!

  • Children are the main audience when referring to the cartoons. A good cartoonist is one who can extract the main details of an object or a human being and…

  • If you want to learn in an enjoyable way, all things nature are great for drawing. In this quick tutorial, I will show you how to draw a beautiful rose from…

  • In this tutorial, you will learn how to draw shiny metal (polished silver, chrome), and old/used metal (weapons).

  • The Pathfinder panel is one of the most versatile features of Adobe Illustrator. It comes in handy on so many occasions, and in today’s quick tip I will show…

  • Learn how to use the Mesh Tool, the Mesh Tormentor plugin, the Symbol Sprayer Tool and Transparency settings to create a vector night background with…

Photo Editing and Text Effect Tutorials in French

Let’s dive into some incredible tutorials on photo editing, using Adobe Photoshop. If you are not interested in this piece of software, Kezz Bracey did an awesome job on some alternatives:

From image effects to text effects, you will learn in-depth skills on photo editing with this set of tutorials.

  • In this tutorial, Melody Nieves will show you how to create a fun photo glitch effect using Marquee Tools, the Wave Filter, and more!

  • In this quick video, instructor Melody Nieves will show you how to create your own Photoshop Action for a cool vintage photo effect.

  • Luminosity masks are selections created from the various levels of brightness found in an image. These can then be used to easily target an image’s…

  • In this quick video, instructor Melody Nieves will show you how to create a Photoshop action inspired by the Hudson Instagram filter.

  • A continuation of the Digital Painting 101 series. Today we’ll teach you the basics of painting with texture brushes in Adobe Photoshop, and the difference…

  • In this tutorial we’ll create animated glitch template in Adobe Photoshop which can be used with any image.

If you are interested in some cool text effects, these are for you:

  • Learn how to create graffiti art from your photos in Adobe Photoshop, using filters and adjustments.

  • In this tutorial, we will explain how to create a magma hot text effect using layer styles and textures in Photoshop. Let’s get started!

  • In this quick video, instructor Melody Nieves will show you how to create an engraving effect in Adobe Photoshop.

  • Learn a simple way to create a foil texture text effect, using a couple of filters, adjustments, and layer styles.

Was it cool? If so, I have another piece of good news for you: there’s more.

Awesome Vector Tutorials in French

When it comes to vector illustration, most designers and illustrators think about Adobe Illustrator. But if you’re not at ease with it, there are some alternatives:

Once you’ve found your preferred piece of software, you’ll want to explore these incredible tutorials:

  • Using Adobe Illustrator, learn how to create a quirky line art portrait for a fun and challenging project.

  • If you’ve recently seen the Disney movie Frozen, you may enjoy this advanced vector portrait tutorial even more! This tutorial shows you how I started with a…

  • Summer is in full swing! Learn how to draw a beautiful, summer illustration of a girl eating a watermelon.

  • A sweet springtime twist on the hexagon pattern using Adobe Illustrator CC’s Pattern Options panel and rendering honeycombs with gradients an basic shapes.

  • In this beginner tutorial, you’ll learn techniques for creating forever scalable pixel art in Adobe Illustrator. With the use of the Rectangular Grid Tool…

  • In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to make a cute monster character in Adobe Illustrator using basic shapes, Pathfinder panel, Width Tool, and…

  • Get on trend with watercolor textures in Adobe Illustrator! In this tutorial, we’ll create our very own watercolor textures with a simple watercolor set,…

  • Today we are going to the restaurant, and together we’ll create a funny cartoon waiter holding a food tray.

  • Learn how to create a nice little summer illustration, using some of the most basic geometric shapes and tools that Illustrator has to offer.

  • In today’s tutorial we’re going to show you how to create your very own phone icon using nothing more than simple shapes and tools that you probably already…

  • This Quick Tip will show you – in just a few easy steps – how to make an useful isometric grid. You will learn how to use the Rectangular Grid Tool with the…

If you’re interested in Web Design, these may retain your attention:

  • Adobe Illustrator is experiencing a come-back in the world of web design. Not only is SVG becoming commonly used online, but more and more designers are…

  • Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a vector image format which began life back in 1998. It was always developed with the web in mind, but only now has the web…

Phew, pretty huge, isn’t it?

French Layout Tutorials

What about your layout skills? Adobe InDesign is the leading software in the market. This is what you should know about it:

  • Winter may be long, dark and cold, but that’s all the more reason to host a cosy dinner party for friends, family or colleagues. Perfect for New Year…

  • A few times a each month we revisit some of our reader’s favorite posts from throughout the history of Vectortuts+. This tutorial by Otto Coster was first…

  • Perhaps a client has given you an unusual brief, and you’ve got no idea where to start! In this series of Quick Tips I’ll share a couple of common design…

  • With autumn approaching it’s time to get back to school! Here’s your New Term reading list for Adobe InDesign – a list of easy beginners’ tutorials and…

Resource Articles in French

I won’t qualify these as nice-to-have assets, but as must-have:

  • This collection of incredible premium assets features 29 stunning handwritten fonts you’ll want to download today!

  • Photoshop templates are a great way of transforming your images instantly into something more eye-catching and professional-looking. Here we share the 10…

  • Need a professional invoice? Check out this premium selection of 35 amazing invoice templates and find your favorite today!

That’s All, Folks!

Feel free to share this list with others, and if you need a particular tutorial to be translated into French, let me know in the comments, and I will do my best to get it done! I wish you happy learning with Envato Tuts+ tutorials.

How to Use Clipping Masks in Adobe Illustrator to Create a Sliced Text Effect

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In the following steps, you will learn how to create a sliced text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters, you will learn how to set up a simple grid and how to create the background and a simple piece of text.

Taking full advantage of the grid and the Snap to Grid feature, you will learn how to create a set of pixel-perfect shapes. Using a series of clipping masks, you will learn how to give your text a sliced look. Finally, using some stroke and blur tricks along with more clipping masks, you will learn how to add some shading and highlights for the sliced area.

For more inspiration on how to adjust or improve your final text effect, you can find plenty of resources at GraphicRiver.

1. How to Create a New Document and Set Up a Grid

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, enter 850 in the width box and 600 in the height box, and then click that More Settings button. Select RGB for the Color Mode, set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click Create Document.

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). You will need a grid every 5 px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid, and enter 5 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. Try not to get discouraged by all that grid—it will make your work easier, and keep in mind that you can easily enable or disable it using the Control-“ keyboard shortcut.

You can learn more about Illustrator’s grid system in this short tutorial from Andrei Stefan: Understanding Adobe Illustrator’s Grid System.

You should also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Don’t forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units. All these options will significantly increase your work speed.

setup grid

2. How to Create the Background and the Text

Step 1

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create an 870 x 620 px shape. Make sure that this rectangle covers your entire artboard, and then fill it with the linear gradient shown below.

linear gradient

Step 2

Pick the Type Tool (T) and open the Character panel (Window > Type > Character). Select the Robinson font and then set the size to 270 px. Move to your artboard, click on it, and type your text. I’m using “Trancher”, which is a French word meaning “to slice”.

Make sure that this piece of text stays selected, and open the Align panel (Window > Align). Set the alignment to Artboard (open the fly-out menu and go to Show Options if you can’t see the Align To section as shown in the following image), and then click the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons. This will move your text to the center of the artboard.

type tool

3. How to Create the Clipping Masks

Step 1

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 320 px square, and place it as shown in the first image. Fill this new shape with black (R=0 G=0 B=0) and lower its Opacity to 30%.

Make sure that your square remains selected, pick the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-), and simply click on the top-right anchor point to remove it. This will turn your square into a triangle, as shown in the second image.

square

Step 2

Duplicate your triangle (Control-C > Control-V). Select the copy, rotate it 180 degrees, and place it as shown in the following image. Make sure your two triangles are perfectly aligned.

duplicate triangle

Step 3

Pick the Pen Tool (P), and create the four-cornered shape shown in the following image. The grid and the Snap to Grid feature will make things easier. Fill this new shape with red, and lower its Opacity to 30%.

pen tool

Step 4

Select the right triangle and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this new shape, change the fill color to yellow, and then move it 5 px up and 5 px to the right. Once again, the grid and the Snap to Grid feature will come in handy.

Move to the left triangle and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this new shape, change the fill color to yellow, and then move it 5 px down and 5 px to the left.

move triangle

Step 5

Disable the Snap to Grid (Control-“) and then go to Edit > Preferences > General and set the Keyboard Increment to 5 px.

Select your text from the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy and move it 10 px up and 20 px to the left. Use the arrow buttons to easily make these changes. Remember that pressing a button once will move your selection 5 px in the specified direction.

Select the yellow triangle on the left, along with the text copy added a few moments ago, and simply go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

mask text

Step 6

Reselect your original piece of text and add a new copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy and move it 10 px down and 20 px to the right. Use the arrow buttons to easily make these changes.

Select your remaining yellow triangle along with the text copy added a few moments ago, and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

mask text

Step 7

Select your red shape and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy along with your original piece of text and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

mask text

4. How to Add Shading

Step 1

Enable the Snap to Grid (Control-“). Select the right triangle and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy, hold the Shift and Alt buttons, and then resize your triangle to 240 px.

small triangle

Step 2

Make sure that your 240 px triangle is selected, and pick the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the top-right anchor point and simply hit the Delete button.

Be sure that the remaining path stays selected, and focus on the Appearance panel. Remove the fill color and set the stroke color to R=39 G=0 B=76, and then open the Stroke fly-out panel. Change the Weight to 20 px and select Width Profile 1 from the Profile drop-down menu.

stroke style

Step 3

Move to the left triangle and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy, hold the Shift and Alt buttons, and then resize your triangle to 280 px.

small triangle

Step 4

Make sure that your 280 px triangle is selected, and pick the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the bottom-left anchor point, and simply hit the Delete button.

Be sure that the remaining path stays selected, focus on the Appearance panel, and apply the same attributes used for the other path.

stroke

Step 5

First, select your two paths and copy them (Control-C), and then go to Effect > Stylize > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 13 px Radius, click OK, and then Group (Control-G) your two paths.

gaussian blur

Step 6

Select your two triangles and turn them into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make or Control-8). Bring this compound path to front (Control-]), select it along with the group of paths made in the previous step, and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

mask group

5. How to Add Highlights

Step 1

Hit Control-F to add the copies of those two paths in the same place. Make sure that both paths remain selected, and focus on the Appearance panel.

Set the stroke color to white and decrease the Weight to 14 px. Change the Blending Mode to Soft Light, and then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Enter a 15 Radius, click OK, and then Group (Control-G) these two paths.

white stroke

Step 2

Bring your red shape to front (Shift-Control-]). Select it along with the group of paths made in the previous step, and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).

mask group

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Here’s how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future projects. Don’t hesitate to share your final result in the comments section.

Feel free to adjust the final design and make it your own. You can find some great sources of inspiration at GraphicRiver, with interesting solutions to improve your design.

final product

How to Create a Hand-Lettered T-Shirt Design in Adobe Illustrator

Final product image
What You’ll Be Creating

In this tutorial, I would like to share with you the artistic process of creating a unique, personalised hand-lettering design and transforming it digitally into a ready-to-print T-shirt design. We will begin with a concept sketch and move on to learn how to vector the design in Adobe Illustrator.

Along the way, you will learn some lettering tips and techniques that will enhance your lettering skills. This tutorial is for beginners who want to start the art of hand lettering, not just for t-shirt design, but also for anything else, like a book cover, mug design, or art print.

If you want to find hand-lettering images or get inspired, please visit GraphicRiver.

1. How to Sketch & Plot the Hand Lettering

Step 1

To kickstart the process, let’s whip up a quick rough sketch. 

You can use a traditional pen or ink and paper to sketch and scan, or you can use your choice of digital pen and tablet. I prefer to use either Adobe Photoshop or Procreate for sketching, cleaning pencil marks, correcting, spacing, alignment, and adjusting proportions. 

In celebration of Envato’s France culture week, we’re going to draw the French phrase “Fou D’amour” meaning “Crazy in Love”. 

The sketch will be used just as reference material. You will be able to adjust the thickness, curves, and balance of the design later on. As a beginner, start by quickly sketching out the concept ideas through thumbnail sketches. Experiment with lettering shapes, angles, and compositions.

I played around with my natural cursive handwriting, which I will turn into a thick brush-like script.

natural cursive hand ettering sketch  thumbnails curves composition

Step 2

Select one of the sketches that you think is best for your tshirt design. Replicate the concept in the thumbnail on an A4 (8.5″ x 11″) sheet of paper or digital file.

Start by placing the center alignment cross-lines, and then add the cap-height, x-height, and baseline where the text will be placed.

Afterwards, write in your own natural, simple, cursive handwriting: “Fou D’amour”.

It doesn’t need to be perfectly aligned as we want to create a personalized feel.

sketch pencil simple text alignment cap hieght baseline xheight adobe photoshop

Step 3

Next, we’re going to go over the simple hand-lettered line and build around it. At this stage, you can manipulate the lettering in any direction you want. I went towards a fluid and thick brush-like feel. 

Take the time to sketch around to add weight, refine, and apply contrast to the lettering. 

The idea is to sketch around the lines of the initial sketch, experimenting with thick and thin strokes, edges, and tips. Pay attention to negative spacing, kerning, and the connectors between letters.

Decorate it with some stars, drops, and hearts all around, to give it a “love-pop” effect, as I have done below.

sketch build up on simple handwriting stars drops hearts rough piece

Step 4

Before we begin working on the computer, you need to trace over the sketch in order to refine the letters, making it a bit cleaner and more precise.

When you’re roughly satisfied and done with the tracing over the lettering, then you need to plot out where the vector points will be placed. Plotting is like adding guide points to simplify the vector process later. That means we add dots where the anchor points are, and a line to show the anchor handle direction. 

This simple process of plotting out the placement of anchor points and horizontal and vertical anchor point handles will give you cleaner shapes and more precise letterforms, once turned into vector.

Keep in mind the following:

  • Plotting is usually placed on the 0°, 45° and 90° angles, or where there’s a change in the direction of a curve. 
  • Place anchor points on the top, side, wall, and floor of letterforms. So the top and bottom and the far left and right of letters will have anchor points. 
  • Letter edges will always have a point.
  • Add as few anchor points as possible to get natural-looking curves.
  • Knowing the placement of these anchor points and handles will save you hours of work.
  • You shouldn’t worry about placing them right or wrong; with time, you will get the hang of it and have better judgment.
Add anchor points vector cleaner shapes precise letterform

2. How to Vectorise the Letterforms

Step 1

Let’s upload our artwork into Adobe Illustrator.

Note: If you’ve sketched it out on paper, scan your hand-lettered sketch and save as JPG.

Set up a New Document (File > New or Control-N) using the following settings:

  • Blank Document Presets: A4 
  • Name: Fou_Damour
  • Number of Artboards: 1
  • Width: 8.5″
  • Height: 11″
  • Orientation: Landscape
  • Units: Inches

Open the Advanced tab:

And click Create.

adobe illustrator new document set up artboard name size width height orientation units color mode

Step 2

Next, you need to set your layers.

Open the Layers panel (Window > Layers). Rename ‘Layer 1’ as ‘Sketch‘.

Then click the Create New Layer icon, create another layer, and rename it ‘Lettering‘. Click Place (Command-Shift-P) to add the sketch to the Artboard.

Open the Layers panel: Window > Layers. Double-click the ‘Sketch‘ layer to open the sub-menu of the Layers panel:

  1. NameSketch
  2. Select Lock
  3. Dim Images to: 20%
  4. OK

File > Save (Command-S)

layer panel create new layer place command shift P Lock and Dim file save

Step 3

Let’s get to vectoring!

First, make sure you are on the ‘Lettering’ layer.

We will begin tracing, piece by piece. I will show you how to break down the vector process, so you can go about vectoring it easily.

Select the Pen Tool (P). From the Control panel, select null Fill and black Stroke of 1 pt.

Begin by vectoring the word ‘Fou‘, starting with the stem of the ‘F‘. The letter shapes tend to guide you where to begin. I always work from left to right.

Follow the plotted sketch points, and use the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) to vertically and horizontally align the anchor handles equally. 

pen tool hora point tool to vertically and horizontally align handles equally stroke black 1pt

Step 4

Trace every piece of the lettering as if it is broken down into separate shapes. This will help you edit each piece rather than the entire text.

  • Don’t cross the directional handles.
  • Don’t pressure one anchor point to do all the curving.
  • Make sure the curves flow beautifully and the edges are clean.

For the ‘F‘ crossbar, make the tips pointy. Then use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the two edge corners. This will automatically turn the anchor points to Live Corner widgets.

Click the Corners option in the Control panel (Window > Control), and set the Radius to 0.03 in. 

F select tips with direct selection tool turn on live corner widgets and set radius 003 in

Step 5

Continue tracing the ‘ou‘ with the Pen Tool (P), and use the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) to adjust the handles. 

Trace the crossover of the ‘o‘ loop as shown below. It’s okay if everything overlaps. Make sure to trace your letters individually so you can make space adjustments later in the process. Later we will edit and merge everything together.

Afterwards, separately trace the ‘u‘.

You will notice that some anchor points need to be added, and anchor handles need a change of direction. Plot the points and align the handles as perfectly as possible. There is a lot of trial and error, but eventually you will get the hang of it.

Trace fou pen tool

Step 6

After vectoring the ‘Fou‘, apply the crossover technique to each vector, piece by piece, to the word ‘D’amour’. This technique helps control each letter intersection, width, and angle. 

To ensure a clean result, work with horizontal and vertical point handles. It’s a bit complicated at first. You may need additional 45° angles, depending on the typography and the angle of the design.

Try to maintain the same width between connectors.

Take the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the anchor points, and drag while holding down the Shift key to equally stretch the vertical and horizontal handles. The further you stretch the handles, the longer the curves are going to be.

cross over technique damour text trace pen tool and anchor point tool

Step 7

The last to vector are the decorative elements around the lettering.

Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw the ellipse, but otherwise manually eye and trace the other shapes with the Pen Tool (P) to give them an organic feel.

trace lettering shapes and forms ellipse tool for ellipses

Step 8

After you’ve vectored the whole piece, Delete the ‘Sketch‘ layer from the Layers panel.

Select All (Command-A), and Swap Fill & Stroke (Shift-X), to give the lettering a fill instead of a stroke.

So now you can view the positive and negative spaces more clearly and see where the flaws lie.

negative positive space analysis swap fil and stroke select all

3. How to Edit & Color the Lettering

Step 1

Now it’s time to adjust the shapes and edit the sizing. Take the time to tune the curves and correct the anchor handles. 

First, edit each letterform by adjusting the handlebars using the Shift key. 

Then tweak by transforming, rotating, aligning or stretching the letters, so they are in visual harmony.

To scale, take the Selection Tool (V) and select the Free Transform Tool (E), holding down Shift to scale proportionally.

To move, just select the letterforms using the Selection Tool (V) and align the text properly.

tweak text using direct selection tool and free transform tool shortcuts

Step 2

Afterwards, you need to analyse the negative and positive space. 

The negative space is the white or empty space between the elements. The filled space is referred to as positive. The negative space basically helps define what the positive space is, and it supports readability.

To fix the space interaction, keep consistency within the element spacing, and keep your design uncluttered, readable, and clean. See what needs more kerning or more curving, alignment, etc. I made minor edits so that the text is readable and aligned.

The skill of being able to precisely convert a sketch to a vector is valuable. Being able to do that enables you to scale your lettering up without losing detail and the feel of the text

fou damour text editing curves kerning spacing negative positive space

Step 3

Once you are satisfied with the overall look, it’s time to join the overlapping paths.

Open the Pathfinder panel: Windows > Pathfinder. Then, for example, take the Selection Tool (V), select the elements of ‘F‘, and select the option Shape Modes: Unite.

Go on to select all the overlapping shapes you want to merge, and click on Unite from the Pathfinder panel.

fou damouir french text  window pathfinder unite selection tool

Step 4

We’re almost finished! 

Jump over to a color scheme generator like Coolor.co or Adobe Color CC, and select a ‘love’ inspired palette.

Chose what HEX palette colors you want and apply them to fill the lettering.

I worked with the following palette, and I gave each element a color fill I found fitting:

  • Rose Red: HEX color #E73938
  • Pumpkin: HEX color #ED6E31
  • Orange: HEX color #f18924
  • Yolk: HEX color #EFBBB1E
  • Cyclamen: HEX color #EB5f9E
  • Sinopia: HEX color #D31216
coolor adobe color palette generator apply fillcolor

4. How to Export the Image for Print

In order to export the vector images to be ready for print, you need PNG files.

Go to File > Export.

Choose PNG format with a resolution of 300 ppi, and make sure you are exporting it with a background set at Transparent.

file export fou damour png format options 300ppi transparent format

Crazy in Love! Great Job

Now you can use your finalized hand-lettering file to print and sell your new T-shirt design or use it on other merchandise, for web, or whatever else you decide on!

I’ve used Placeit to show you how your hand-lettered design would look on a T-shirt.

I hope this tutorial was helpful and explained some tips for digitising your lettering in a way that is helpful and easy to understand.

Thanks for going through this tutorial with me. Feel free to share your hand-lettered designs in the comments section below, and if you have any issues or questions, let me know. See you next time!

final fou damour french crazy in love france tshirt design by miss chatz

If you liked this tutorial, feel free to check my other tutorials.

What Are Color Fonts?

Color fonts are poised to take over the graphic design world in 2018, but what exactly are they, and how can you use them?

Here we’ll sift through the tech jargon and get to the simple truth of color fonts. This unashamedly in-your-face trend promises to put the fun back into typography. A must-know for web and graphic designers alike, this nifty new technology will have a transformative effect on digital and print design for years to come. So don’t get left behind, and read on! 

Looking to learn how to make a color font? Check out our tutorial on How to Create a Color Font with Adobe Illustrator and Fontself

adobe color fonts
Image from color.typekit.com

What Exactly Are Color Fonts?

If you want to use highly detailed type on a design, you have to use a vector or raster image of a letter or group of letters. Whether created from scratch by typography artists or downloaded from a stock site, these images are time-consuming to make and don’t have the functionality or flexibility of a font file. 

At least that was the case until now. Color fonts, sometimes referred to as chromatic fonts, represent the next evolutionary step for typography, incorporating details like color, gradients, and textures into a font file, in either vector or bitmap format. Vector details look clear and sharp however large they are scaled, while bitmap color fonts can look pixelated or blurry when scaled to a size greater than their intended maximum size. 

Each color font is made up of a ‘fallback’ core, which is the standard OpenType vector font, plus additional data tagged on which is rendered in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format. Amongst font developers, color fonts are referred to as OpenType-SVG fonts

trajan pro color font
This Adobe Typekit color font, Trajan Color Concept, combines the standard Trajan font with gradients, colors and shadowing for an ornate metallic effect.

If you’re looking at the font on a browser which supports color fonts, you’ll be able to see the colorful version. If not, you’ll see the fallback version. This is important to make a mental note of, before you dive into converting all fonts on your website to color fonts. As color fonts are relatively new, most browser versions are currently unable to support the technology. Skip to ‘How Can I Use Them’, below, to find out more. 

Hmm, So Why Would I Want to Use Them?

Remember the thrill of using WordArt to embellish your PowerPoint presentations back at school? While your teacher may have been less thrilled, there’s just something downright fun about adding a maximalist flourish to text. Color fonts are basically like WordArt for the internet age, adding extra oomph to any design. 

This isn’t a trend that minimalist fans will wholeheartedly embrace, but it’s certainly refreshing after decades of clean, Swiss School-inspired design. Color fonts sit at the opposite end of the spectrum to Scandi cleanliness, instead taking their cues from emojis, retro type styles, and app design.

bungee
Bungee color font by David Jonathan Ross

Color fonts tread a shaky line between good and bad taste, but somehow they feel exactly spot on for right now. They’re making their appearance alongside a revival for all things retro in design, as well as a new maximalist mood across all design fields, from fashion to interiors. Color fonts don’t take themselves too seriously and are instantly engaging, and that’s what makes them particularly attractive to designers and marketers looking to entice the fickle, tech-obsessed millennial market.

Above all, color fonts are fun! While early color fonts have been designed with websites and apps primarily in mind, they also have the potential to offer something youthful and fresh to print design too. You can’t use a color font without cracking a smile, which is perhaps what designers and consumers are craving in these politically and socially uncertain times. 

OK, So Where Can I Use Them?

Because color fonts are such a new technology, many browsers, devices and software programs are yet to catch up. You might not be able to view color fonts on some browsers—you’ll only be able to view the standard OpenType version instead.

bixa color
Image from Bixa Color

However, this is likely to change very soon. OpenType-SVG fonts have been declared an industry standard for color fonts, which means that browsers and software will probably update rapidly to facilitate them. You can currently view color fonts on more recent versions of Firefox (from version 26) and Microsoft Edge (from version 38 on Windows 10).

As for using color fonts on design software, Adobe is ahead of the curve, with designers able to view and apply color fonts using the newest incarnations of Illustrator (CC 2018), Photoshop (CC 2017), and InDesign (CC 2018).

Some type designers are also experimenting with animated versions of color fonts. Gilbert, a color font created by Fontself, is usable in Adobe After Effects.

gilbert font
Gilbert, a color font available in static and animated versions

These animated styles represent an exciting new development for more accessible animation—expect to see them everywhere across social media, GIFs and videos very soon.

Where Can I Find Color Fonts?

Color fonts are few and far between at the moment, but more are being released all the time as the trend gains traction. Adobe has a dedicated color font Typekit, where it details the newest color fonts available for download for web and print. One of its most notable launches is the color font version of Emoji One, which makes integrating colorful emoji graphics into your designs super easy with the Glyphs panel to hand. 

emoji one
Glyphs from the Emoji One Color font

Some font designers use a dedicated platform to launch their color font creations. Bixa Color is a retro-inspired collaborative effort by NovoTypo and Roel Nieskens. 

bixa color
Bixa Color font by NovoType and Roel Nieskens

Bungee, designed by David Jonathan Ross, is available in a staggering range of colors and styles, as well as horizontal and vertical versions.

bungee font
Bungee color font by David Jonathan Ross

Want to have a go at creating your own color font? Fontself is the color font designer’s go-to tool. Take a look at the dedicated page for Gilbert, which was created using Fontself, to source some inspiration on the possibilities. 

gilbert font
Gilbert color font, created using Fontself

I’m a Color Font Convert! But How Should I Use Them?

If you’ve been bitten by the color font bug, it can be tempting to throw out all your old fonts and go a bit crazy. Before you create designs which resemble a bad acid trip, take into consideration these tips and pointers for making the most of this new typography trend. 

As with standard fonts, some are notably better than others. Just because you can use a color font doesn’t mean you necessarily should. Hold out for a few months and you’ll have access to a much broader selection of color fonts, helping you create more thoughtfully crafted designs. 

Be mindful of the limitations of color fonts. If you have your heart set on a bitmap font, it’s advisable not to use this at a larger scale than was intended by the font designer. So, for example, a bitmap color font might look great on a printed flyer set to the right size, but it might look much less polished on a responsive web design that involves scaling content to a large size on desktops. 

It’s also worth keeping in mind that color fonts are heavier than their OpenType relatives, due to the extra amount of data they carry. They aren’t always huge (for example, the Bixa Color font carries an extra 30kB on top of the regular font file size), but it can affect the loading time of websites and apps. By all means use your color fonts with abandon, but don’t allow liberal use to affect the user’s experience of your design. 

If you want to use color fonts for web design, you should also take into account the possibility that it may be a long time before most visitors will be able to view the fonts as you intended. It may be many months or years before individuals choose to update or switch browsers, and most will not be aware of the pressing need to do this in relation to color font viewing. With this in mind, you need to make sure that your font looks as good in its ‘fallback’ format as it does in color. 

Because color fonts are overtly loud and garish, they can push a design into distasteful territory. For some designs, particularly apps aimed at a younger market, this can be a bonus! Adobe’s color font Typekit page instantly provokes that love-it-or-hate-it reaction to excessive web design. Other designers might prefer to balance a color font with more pared-back type or black-and-white images on the rest of the layout, or use a color font as the sole focus of an otherwise clean and simple design. 

popsky font
Pairing color fonts with cleaner elements on your designs will help layouts feel more balanced, as demonstrated in this example using the Popsky color font, designed by Igor Petrovic.

If you’re still unsure about how to use color fonts in your designs, it’s a good tip to remind yourself of the purpose of your design. Are you looking to target a market which is hyper trend-aware, like tech-savvy millennials? Then using color fonts freely will result in an engaging and youthful design. Do you simply want to use color fonts to add a point of difference to your design? Using them sparingly will give you a more professional and polished result. 

Conclusion

Color fonts may be the latest ‘it’ trend in graphic design, but it looks as if they’re here to stay, for the foreseeable future at least. They represent a break with conventional font technology, making more detailed type, and even animated text, much more accessible for designers and non-designers alike.

With color fonts still in their infancy, there is a limited range of fonts available for download, which makes their current use for designers a little limited. However, this is an exciting time for budding font designers. If you’re looking for a new type challenge, creating your own color font from scratch could be both creatively and financially rewarding. 

Want to dip a toe into type design? These tutorials will guide you through the basics of creating your own fonts from scratch:

  • In this article, we’ll be talking about fonts! Have you ever tried making one? Even if you haven’t ever thought about this, you might get inspired after…

  • If you’re a designer or illustrator who’s more comfortable creating glyphs in Adobe Illustrator, this tutorial is right up your alley! We’ll plan out our…

  • This tutorial is the second part of our simple font creation in Adobe Illustrator project! In this tutorial we’ll explore two fantastic methods of creating a…

  • Ever wanted to give your digital layouts and designs a truly personal touch? In this tutorial we’ll look at how you can create a font from your own…

  • Creating fonts has never been so easy as with Fontself—a powerful extension for Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Learn how to make color fonts with Fontself!