How to Draw Half a Circle in Illustrator

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One of my favorite TV shows of all fourth dimension is Twin Peaks and one of its most memorable lines is "The owls are non what they seem." Inspired by that ominous truth I decided to create a little illustration. I chose a rather non-spooky scene fix at dusk, with a curious owl sitting on a branch and some scenery in the background.

Final Prototype Preview

Beneath is the final image we will be working towards. Want access to the full Vector Source files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this ane? Join Vector Plus for just nine$ a month.

Tutorial Details

Program: Adobe Illustrator CS4
Difficulty: Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: i.v hours

Accept a await at what we're aiming for, an inquisitive owl on a branch with dusk scenery in the background. I chose a soft, warm colour palette to create a peaceful illustration.

Step 1

Open a new blank document. The size doesn't matter for now. In the end we'll crop the artboard to the illustration. Let'south beginning by creating the optics of the owl. Depict an orange circle with the Ellipse Tool (50) (1a). Fill up it with the gradient you see in image 1b, with colors ranging from low-cal orangish to dark red. Draw a night brown pupil also (1c).

Step two

The eye needs a couple of highlights. Draw a calorie-free orange ellipse in the elevation-correct corner of the eye (2a) and gear up information technology to Screen, with 50% Opacity from the Transparency palette (2b). Add a secondary highlight in the bottom-left corner (2c), move it below the pupil and reduce its Opacity to 30% (2d).

Pace 3

Permit's add an internal shadow. Copy the secondary highlight backside the first one and overstate it (3a). Make full it with the aforementioned color equally the pupil and ready it to Multiply at 25% Opacity (3b). Become to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Mistiness and choose a Radius of v pixels (3c). We added a nice depth to the eye (3d).

Step 4

Select the main orange circle then become to Object > Path > Offset Path and and enter five pixels (4a). Make the new circle very dark (4b). The eye is finished so group all objects together and create the second center. Place a guide correct betwixt them (4c).

Pace 5

Let'south draw the beak at present. Activate Smart Guides with Control + U then draw the right half of the neb using the Pen Tool (P), while snapping to the guide (5a). Make sure the first and concluding points take horizontal handles (5b). Create the left one-half by copying and flipping horizontally the one you just drew.

Catch the Straight Selection Tool (A) and use it to select the top points. Hit Control + J to join them: from the popular upwardly dialog cull the Polish pick (5c). Do the same for the lesser points. We now have a single shape for the beak and because we kept the handles of the endpoints horizontal the joints don't have any kinks (5d).

Step half dozen

The beak is definitely out of scale and proportion with the eyes so let's conform it (6a). Go to Object > Create Slope Mesh and choose 3 rows and 4 columns (6b). Take a look at the instructions in image 6c to colour the mesh properly. The result (6d) shows the finished neb: find the frontal highlight and the shadows at the seams.

Stride vii

To create the nostril draw a small brown ellipse at the summit-right corner (7a). Fill it with a gradient to requite information technology some depth (7b) and so mirror it to consummate the pair (7c).

Step 8

Let's depict the head now. Create two overlapping circles around the eyes and join them into a unmarried object: the glasses (8a). Create the head with a brown ellipse (8b) and fill information technology with a gradient (8c) to imply light coming from the superlative (8d).

Step 9

Select the neb (not the nostrils) and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and enter the settings shown in image 9a. Add a drop shadow to the eyes too (9b) and see the result (9c).

Stride 10

Create the egg-shaped body (10a) and make full it with the aforementioned gradient equally the head. Duplicate the head, move the copy backside it and below it (10b). Add a Gaussian Blur result (10c) and set it to Multiply with 50% Opacity (10d). The values used for the effects may be different for y'all, depending on the size of your document and the raster outcome settings. Merely try to obtain similar results.

Y'all can run into that the head's shadow appears on the background too. We need to crop it to the body. Make a copy of the body and move information technology above the shadow. Select both this copy and the shadow and hit Command + vii to create a clipping mask (10e). Now the shadow is bandage but onto the body (10f).

Step eleven

Permit'southward finish the caput by adding a wedge of lighter plumes. Using the guide as reference draw the right half of the wedge and brand it bigger than the head. Don't worry about the weird shape, nosotros'll crop it to the caput with a clipping mask later (11a).

Mirror the other half and join into a single object similar nosotros did earlier with the beak (11b). Use a copy of the head to create a clipping mask (11c) so the wedge is perfectly cropped (11d). Make it less conspicuous by switching to Soft Light mode with seventy% Opacity (11e).

Step 12

Allow'southward add a patch of lighter plumes on the belly. Duplicate and stretch the body and gear up information technology to Screen style (12a). Go to Effect > Distort > Zig Zag and employ the settings in paradigm 12b to add variation to the outline (12c). Now go to Consequence > Warp > Fisheye and use the settings shown in image 12d. Run into how the outline is a bit more dynamic now (12e).

Step 13

Use a clipping mask to crop the belly to the torso. Yous know the method by now considering we've used it twice already (13a). With the belly selected create a new way in the Graphic Styles palette by clicking on the appropriate icon at the bottom. Apply the style to the spectacles and the wedge (13b). You might need to manually accommodate the settings of the private styles to make up for the objects having different shapes and sizes.

Footstep 14

Draw the left fly with the Pen Tool (P) on its separate layer above the body and below the head (14a). Fill it with a two-tone brown gradient so the fly becomes darker as it recedes from view (14b).

Stride xv

Have a copy of the wing and motility it below it. Rotate it counterclockwise around the summit edge (15a) and set it to Multiply mode (15b). At present information technology's darker (15c). Add together a Gaussian Blur effect (15d) so it looks like a real shadow. Employ a clipping mask to crop it to the body (15e). Mirror the other fly (15f).

Stride sixteen

Allow's draw a plume now. Create a lite brown circle (16a) and delete its bottom signal (16b). Mirror this circumvolve and motion it down (16c). Press P to select the Pen Tool and join the open circumvolve by drawing the direct sides (16d).

Pace 17

This feather looks like a band aid! Let's fill it with a slope (17a) to requite it a amend advent (17b).

Step 18

Draw a direct path down the middle (18a) and employ a tapered castor (18b). Use a lite beige (18c). The feather is complete.

Step 19

Now identify many instances of the feather on the left fly (19a). Group them together and gear up them to Hard Calorie-free with 75% Opacity (19b). Mirror the plumage to the other wing (19c). Populate the owl'southward abdomen with feathers, as well, using less opacity, nigh 50% (19d).

Step twenty

Time to draw the branch at present. Using the Pencil Tool (N) draw a fairly irregular shape (20a). Fill information technology with a brown gradient set so the top is lighter (20b).

Footstep 21

Draw the bark texture with the Pencil Tool (21a) and crop it to the branch with a clipping mask (21b). Set the bawl objects to Color Burn style with 15% Opacity (21c) to blend the texture with the chief colour (21d).

Footstep 22

Arrange the owl backside the co-operative (22a). We tin now describe and position the owl's toes and claws. On a new layer draw a teardrop-shaped claw (22b). Make two smaller copies (22c) and set them both to Screen way. Blend them with the main claw with a 5px Gaussian Blur issue (22d).

Stride 23

Describe the toe behind the claw (23a) and fill it with the slope shown in image 23b. When you're washed grouping the three claw shapes and the toe together. Position the toes on the branch, three per side. Rotate and translate the toes and then they follow the jutting outline of the branch (23c).

Footstep 24

Now allow's fix the last limerick. Hitting Alt + Control + P to select the Document Setup. From the pop-upward window press the button labeled Edit Artboards (24a). Resize the artboard so information technology'due south foursquare and information technology fully encloses the branch without showing its ends (24b). Click on any icon in the toolbar to return to the drawing mode.

Pace 25

On a new layer draw a foursquare that covers the entire artboard and fill it with a multicolored gradient (25a). For the color stops (25b) endeavour to recreate the sky at dusk. The orangish and purple shades represent the horizon. With the Pencil Tool (Due north) depict some sketchy mountains and make full them with desaturated gradients, to suggest depth (25c).

Step 26

The moon (26a) is a perfect circle, cropped to the artboard and filled with the radial slope shown in epitome 26b. Go to Issue > Stylize > Outer Glow and use the settings from image 26c.

Pace 27

Depict the stars with a lot of pocket-sized white circles set in Overlay mode. Try to vary their size and opacity (27a). Finally add a drib shadow to the toes (27b). The illustration is done (27c).

Conclusion

Hopefully this analogy didn't turn out spooky. As e'er, it was fun to make. I promise you learned an interesting workflow which combines basic shapes, basic gradients and a few effects to reach a simple merely pleasant outcome.

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Andrea Austoni is an Italian graphic designer currently living in Krakow, Poland. He specializes in icon blueprint and illustration. He runs his web log and portfolio Cute Little Factory, which features Photoshop and Illustrator tutorials and icon, vector and wallpaper freebies. He's also the Chef at Icon Kitchen.

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Source: https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-create-a-curious-owl-in-illustrator-cs4--vector-3283