In
this tutorial you will learn how to draw a stack of delicious
pancakes with syrup and blueberries in vector form.
We will start
with the basic shape of a pancake and continue with the texture for
which you will use different techniques, effects and brushes to get
as close to realistic as possible. Next it’s the white plate, and
after that, it’s all about stacking those delicious pancakes.
For the
syrup, you will use a combination of blending modes to make it golden
and semi-transparent along with brush strokes to make it glossy. At the
end, we’ll decorate the stack of pancakes with blueberries drawn with
the help of the Gradient Mesh option, which is always the way to go if
you want a realistic look. Let’s start the fun!
If you are hungry for more food icons or vector icons in general, then hop over to GraphicRiver and you’ll surely find what are you looking for there.
1. How
to Open a New Document
Launch
Illustrator
and
go to File
> New to
open a blank document. Type a name for your file, set up the
dimensions, and select Pixels
as
Units
and
RGB
as
Color
Mode.
Make sure that Align
New Objects to Pixel Grid is
not checked.
Next,
go to Edit
> Preferences > General and
set the Keyboard
Increment to
1
px and
while there, go to Units
to
make sure they are set as in the following image. I usually work with
these settings and they will help you throughout the drawing process.
2. How
to Create a Basic Pancake
Step
1
To
create the shape of the pancake start from an ellipse with a size
of about 240 x 110 px. With the help of the Add Anchor Point Tool (+), add more points at the bottom of the ellipse and after that, switch
to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and move these points in order to
distort the shape a little. No pancake is perfectly smooth on the
edges.
Next,
create a similar shape behind the first, but make it bigger at the
bottom to give the impression of a thick pancake.
I
will refer to the first shape as the “top shape” and to the second
shape as the “bottom shape” of the pancake throughout the tutorial.
Step
2
While
the bottom shape of the pancake stays selected, add a New Fill above the first and use the same color. Go to Effect >
Texture > Texturizer and apply the settings shown below. Set this
Fill attribute to Blending Mode Soft Light to create a soft texture on the pancake.
Step
3
With
the bottom shape of the pancake still selected, go to Effect >
Stylize > Inner Glow and apply the settings shown.
Step
4
Use
the Pencil Tool (N) or the Pen Tool (P) to draw a path following the
bottom edge of the pancake and use a warm brown color (1). Stroke
this path with the Charcoal – Rough Art Brush from the Brush
Libraries Menu > Artistic > Artistic_ChalkCharcoalPencil and
reduce the Stroke Weight to 0.25 pt (2).
Next,
go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a Radius of 2 px;
then reduce the Opacity to 50%. This will create the golden-brown
edge that a cooked pancake should have (3).
Step
5
Select
the bottom shape of the pancake and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) in order to make a copy of it. Set this copy to
stroke-none and fill-none and we’ll use it to clean up the edges (1).
Now,
select this copy along with the bottom shape of the pancake and the
brown edge and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).
You can name the resulting group “pancake bottom” (2). The top
shape of the pancake remains on top of everything.
3. How
to Add Texture on the Pancake
Step
1
Select
the top shape of the pancake and add a New Fill above the first using the same color. Apply the Texturizer effect as before to create that soft texture. Set this Fill attribute to Blending Mode
Soft Light.
Step
2
Draw
an ellipse shape in the center of the pancake and fill it with the
radial gradient shown (1). To smooth out the edges, apply a 5 px
Gaussian Blur and after that, set this ellipse to Blending Mode
Multiply and 75% Opacity (2).
Step
3
It’s
time to create the outer golden-brown edge that a cooked pancake
should have. Take the Pencil Tool (N) or the Pen Tool (P) and draw
short paths following the outer edge of the pancake (1). Before you
continue, make copies of the paths for later use.
Stroke
all these paths with the Charcoal-Thick Art Brush from the Brush
Libraries Menu > Artistic > Artistic_ChalkCharcoalPencil and
reduce the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt (1). Use a warm brown color, and
you can see the result in the image below (2).
To
smooth out the brown edge, first Group (Control-G) all these paths
and then apply a 2 px Gaussian Blur to the entire group (3).
Step
4
Grab
the copies of the paths from the previous step and stroke them with
the Charcoal-Thick Art Brush again but reduce the
Stroke Weight to 0.5 pt and use a cooler shade of brown. We won’t
apply the Gaussian Blur effect this time so just Group (Control-G) all the paths.
Step
5
Now,
take the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a random circular path over the
pancake (1). Stroke it with the Ink Splats Scatter Brush from the
Brush Libraries Menu > Artistic > Artistic_Ink and reduce the
Stroke Weight to 0.25 pt. Next, go to the Appearance panel, open the
Stroke Options window and change some of the settings as indicated
below. The purpose is to get a multitude of tiny specks all over the
surface of the pancake (2).
Use
a warm brown color as the stroke and then set this path to Blending
Mode Color Burn and 20% Opacity (3).
Step
6
Draw
another random circular path over the pancake with the help of the
Pencil Tool (N). Stroke it with the Ink Splats Scatter Brush again and reduce the Stroke Weight to 0.25 pt, but this time use a pale yellow
color (1). Set this path to Blending Mode Overlay and 20% Opacity
(2).
Step
7
Next,
take the Pen Tool (P) and draw a straight path over the pancake.
Stroke it with the Chalk Art Brush from the Brush Libraries Menu >
Artistic > Artistic_ChalkCharcoalPencil and increase the Stroke
Weight to 5 pt in order to get bigger pieces of texture (1). Set this
path to Blending Mode Soft Light and 75% Opacity (2).
Step
8
It’s
finally time to mask everything. Select the top shape of the pancake
and then Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) in order to make a
copy of it. Set this copy to stroke-none and fill-none.
Now,
select this copy along with the top shape of the pancake and all the
texture paths that were created in this section of the tutorial and
go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7).
At
this point, you should have the “pancake bottom” group and the
new group “pancake top” in the Appearance panel. These are the
two main parts that make up your first pancake.
4. How
to Create a White Plate
Step
1
To
create the plate, start with a white ellipse about 410 x 190 px.
After that, draw a new ellipse filled with gray and send it behind
the first.
Step
2
While
the two ellipses stay selected, go to Object > Blend > Blend
Options, choose Smooth Color and hit OK. Go back to Object > Blend
> Make (Alt-Control-B) after that.
Step
3
Draw
a new white ellipse in front in order to sharpen the rim of the
plate as indicated in the image below.
Step
4
Draw
other two ellipses, fill them with the colors indicated and arrange
them like in the next image. After that, blend them as you did earlier
in order to get a smooth transition between them.
Step
5
Draw
two new ellipses, fill them with the colors indicated and arrange
them as shown in the image below. After that, blend them as you did
earlier, and you will highlight the bottom of the plate.
Step
6
Now,
select the last two blend groups from the center of the plate and
Group (Control-G) them. Reduce the Opacity of the resulting group to
50%.
Step
7
Let’s
create the shadow under the plate. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) again
and draw two new ellipses in a new layer behind the plate. Fill the
smaller one with gray and the bigger one with white and arrange them on the lower left side of your plate.
Blend
the two ellipses as you did earlier to obtain the smooth transition
between them. Set the Blending Mode of the resulting blend group to
Multiply (white becomes transparent). You can also reduce the opacity
if needed.
5. How
to Create the Stack of Pancakes
Step
1
Group
(Control-G) all the shapes that make up the first pancake and move it
on the plate. Scale the plate if needed (1).
Now,
select only the bottom shape of the pancake and then Copy and Paste
in Place (Shift-Control-V) in order to make a copy of it. Move this
copy behind the pancake group and then fill it with a darker shade of
brown. With this shape still selected, press the Down Arrow key on
your keyboard twice to move it 2 px downwards (2).
Go
to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply a Radius of 2 px and
reduce the Opacity to 25%. This will create the appearance of a
smooth shadow under the pancake (3).
Step
2
Make
another copy of the bottom shape of the pancake just as you did
earlier, and then move it behind the pancake (1).
While
the new copy stays selected, press the Down Arrow key once in order
to move it 1 px downwards. Fill it with black and reduce the Opacity
to 20% (2). No need for a blur because we want a sharper shadow under
the pancake this time (3).
Step
3
At
this point you have the first pancake on the plate. You can make a
copy of it and then rotate and arrange it on top to obtain the second
pancake. Don’t forget about the two shadow shapes under the new
pancake.
To make the final image more appealing and realistic,
I
drew the second pancake from scratch with a slightly different
shape. You can do so as well because the process and all the settings
remain the same.
Step
4
Following
the same technique, you can stack as many pancakes as you want. It’s
easier to keep each pancake in a separate layer along with its two
shadow shapes.
6. How
to Create the Shadow Under the Stack of Pancakes
Step
1
Select
only the bottom shape of the first pancake along with the bottom
shape of the second pancake and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make copies of both. While these two copies stay
selected, press Unite in the Pathfinder panel to merge them into a
single shape. Move the resulting shape to a new layer between the
pancakes and the plate.
Step
2
With
the shadow shape still selected, go to Effect > Stylize > Drop
Shadow and apply this effect four times.
Here
are the settings for the Drop Shadow effects:
7. How
to Create the Syrup on the Stack of Pancakes
Step
1
First,
add a new layer above the pancakes and name it “syrup”. Now, grab
the Pen Tool (P) and draw the shape of the dripping syrup. This will
take some time but make adjustments as you go until you are happy
with the end result (1).
Fill
this shape with brown; then go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow
and apply the settings shown. Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light to obtain the semi-transparent look. (2).
Step
2
Copy
and Paste in Front (Control-F) the syrup shape and change the fill
color to a warmer shade of brown. Leave the other settings as they
are. As a result, the syrup will look more golden.
Step
3
Now, focus on the syrup that
falls on the plate and draw two smaller shapes with the Pen
Tool (P). Send them behind the syrup shape and fill them with the radial
gradient shown. To smooth out the edges, apply a 2 px Gaussian Blur
and then reduce the Opacity to 35%.
Step
4
At
this point you can add more syrup to create the appearance of layers
flowing over the pancakes so draw two new shapes (or more) like in
the image below. Apply the same settings as before for the big syrup shape (1).
Copy
and Paste in Front (Control-F) these two shapes and then choose a
warmer shade of brown as the fill color just like you did earlier whilst keeping the other settings (2).
Step
5
Select
the big syrup shape and then Copy and Paste in Place
(Shift-Control-V) to make a copy of it. Remove all existing
appearances and select any fill color (1).
Copy
and Paste in Back (Control-B) the blue shape and move it 2 px to the
left by pressing the Left Arrow key on your keyboard twice. Choose a
different fill color so you can see better the two new shapes (2).
While
these two shapes stay selected, press Minus Front in the Pathfinder
panel. If you get multiple shapes instead of one, Ungroup
(Shift-Control-G) them and then go to Object > Compound Path >
Make (Control-8). You can see the resulting shape in the image below
(3).
Step
6
Fill
the compound shape from the previous step with black and move it
behind the syrup (1). To obtain a smooth look, apply a 1 px Gaussian
Blur and set the Blending Mode to Soft Light. This will create a soft shadow on the left side of the flowing syrup (2).
Step
7
Following
the technique explained in the previous two steps, create the shadow on the left side of the smaller syrup shapes. The settings remain the
same.
8. How
to Add Shine on the Syrup
Step
1
Take
the Pen Tool (P) and draw some random elongated shapes following the wavy
edges of the syrup (1). Fill all of them with pale yellow and then
apply a 2.2 px Gaussian Blur (2). Reduce the opacity for some of them if needed and Group (Control-G) all the shapes at the end.
Step
2
Use
the Pen Tool (P) again and draw a bunch of short paths above the
blurry ones from the previous step (1). Stroke all of them with the
Black Blend Art Brush from another tutorial of mine How to Create a
Set of Multi-Use Blend Brushes (step 5.2)
dedicated
to blend brushes and how great they are. I use these brushes all the
time.
Since
the Colorization of the brush is set to Tints, you can choose any
color and the brush stroke will update itself. In this case, choose a
very pale yellow and you will get that specific shine of the syrup
(2).
9. How
to Create a Realistic Blueberry
Step
1
First,
use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw a small 35 x 35 px circle (1). While
the circle stays selected, go to Object > Create Gradient Mesh and
choose 5 Rows and 5 Columns. As a result you will get the mesh lines
and all the mesh points (2).
Each
of these mesh points can be colored with a different shade of blue in
order to obtain a more realistic look. You will find all the colors
in the Swatches panel in the attached Illustrator file if you
download it (3). You can see the end result in the image below (4).
Step
2
With
the help of the Pen Tool (P) draw a rounded shape on the blueberry
and fill it with the radial gradient shown. After that, draw a tiny circle in the center and fill it with the other radial gradient.
Step
3
Use
the Pen Tool (P) again to draw five petal-like shapes around the
previous shapes. Fill all of them with the radial gradient shown.
Group
(Control-G) all the shapes that make up the blueberry and move it on
top of the stack of pancakes.
Step
4
Take
the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw an ellipse about the size of the
blueberry filled with white (1). Draw a smaller ellipse filled with
gray above the first, as shown in the image below (2).
While
the two shapes stay selected, go to Object > Blend > Blend
Options and choose Smooth Color. Hit OK and then go back to Object >
Blend > Make (Alt-Control-B). Set the Blending Mode of the
resulting blend group to Multiply (white becomes transparent) and
send it behind the blueberry (3). Reduce the opacity of the shadow if
necessary.
Step
5
Make
copies of the blueberry and add as many as you want on the pancakes.
Create the shadow under each blueberry as explained in the previous
step.
Congratulations,
You’re Done!
The
stack of pancakes is ready. I wish we could eat them because they
look delicious. If
you recreate them, don’t forget to share your final image with us.
You
can also let me know what is your favorite food and maybe I will draw
it in the future.
