astute graphics

Today I am introducing the first tutorial

devoted to work with WidthScribe. This new

plugin has a number of unique features that

vector editors ever never previously offered.

0

Aut hor:

Iaroslav

vectorboom.com

Cat egor ies:

DrawScribe

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WidthScribe

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Astute Graphics http://www.astutegraphics.com/blog/how-to-create-a-mountain-in-the-eng...

1 of 20 5/28/2013 5:12 PM

http://www.astutegraphics.com/blog/how-to-create-a-mountain-in-the-eng..

Now we are able to change the width of a

selection of paths, applying the Width

Gradient Tool to them or affect one or more

paths locally using the Width Brush Tool.

WidthScribe has a number of useful features

for work with variable width strokes, and we

will learn about some of them in this tutorial.

Step 1

Begin our tutorial by creating a silhouette of

the mountain. Create its shape out of

straight-line segments using the InkScribe Tool

(DrawScribe plugin) or Pen Tool (P).

Now give the silhouette a more realistic look.

To do this, edit the path with the help of the

Dynamic Sketch Tool (DrawScribe plugin) while

having the editing paths mode on.

03 MAY |

How to Create a Liquid Logo

Using Adobe Illustrator and

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Step 2

Choose black color for the fill of a newly

created object.

Start creating the illuminated areas of the

mountain that will add volume to it. Highlights

will be represented by hatching, like in any

engraving. The easiest way to create it in

Adobe Illustrator is when you use the Blend

Tool (W). Let¡¯s see how this can be done


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Create two curved segments at a certain

distance one from each other.

Select them and go to Object > Blend > Make

or use the shortcut Cmd / Ctrl + Opt / Alt + B.

Double click on the Blend Tool icon on the

toolbar that will open the Blend Options dialog


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box. Select the ¡°Specified Distance¡± and pi

the amount in order to achieve the desired

density.

Step 3

To achieve the desired effect, you can also

change the position of curved segments and

their points using the Direct Selection Tool (A),

change the width of paths and apply the

appropriate profile in the Stroke panel.


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Convert the blend object into the group of

paths. To do this, go to Object > Blend >

Expand. Choose white color for the stroke.

Step 4

Now we need to limit the shape of the light

spot. To do this, create a closed path, the

shape of which will correspond with the shape

of the light spot.

To represent the light spot better, select the


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group with the strokes and the closed path,

then go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make

(Cmd / Ctrl + 7).

Now, nothing prevents us from fine-tuning its

profile. If you need to edit it, simply move a

point in the Clipping Path with the Direct

Selection Tool (A). You can also add new

points to it, for example, using the Pen Tool

(P).


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Step 5

Once we achieve the desired result, go to

Object > Clipping Mask > Release. Set an

arbitrary color for a closed path that served

as a Clipping path in the previous step, and

lock it in the Layers panel.

Take the Scissors Tool (C) and cut the

hatching lines at the point of its intersection

with the shape of the light spot. Alternatively,

a very quick way of achieving this is to use

the Dynamic Sketch tool¡¯ gesture trimming

function (click here to see it in action). In

DrawScribe v1.1 or higher, simply hold down

Shift whilst in the Dynamic Sketch tool and

strike through the parts of the path you wish

to trim back.


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Select and delete the parts of the hatching

that extend beyond the red outline. Now

delete the shape of the outline of the light

spot, it is no longer needed.

Step 6

Light distribution created with the help of the

strokes looks too uniform. To create a more

artistic effect, use the Width Gradient Tool,

which is one of the tools found in the new

WidthScribe plugin. To open its panel, go to

Window > WidthScribe > Width Gradient

panel.


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Now we are able to apply a linear or radial

gradient to the selected group of paths. This

gradient does not change colors of the paths,

but changes their widths. This unique single-

operation technique has appeared for the first

time in the history of Adobe Illustrator and all

other vector editors. Let¡¯s see how it works

Select the type of the gradient (1), the range

of the change of the path width (2) in the

Width Gradient panel.

Select a group of paths, take the Width

Gradient Tool and apply a radial gradient to

the lines using a Click and Drag method.


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Until you release the mouse button, you have

the opportunity to watch how the width of the

paths is changing while applying the gradient.

Step 7

You can move the starting point of the

gradient, to do this, hold the Space key.

In addition, you can set the non-linear

distribution of the width along the line of the

gradient application, changing the shape of

the graph in the Width Gradient panel.


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These wonderful options allow you to achieve

any conceived effect in seconds.

Step 8

Using the technique of creating hatching and

the Width Gradient Tool, I created a light spot

on the entire surface of the mountain.


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The farther strokes are from the light source,

the darker they are supposed to be.

This consistency will allow you to increase the

sense of depth and volume.

Step 9

Create the shape of waves smiting at the

bottom of the mountain. This complex shape

is created by combining simple ellipses and

objects created with the Pen Tool (P). Objects

were combined with help of the Unite

command in the Pathfinder panel.


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Step 10

To create the wave crests, use the technique

of creating a group of strokes, which was

described at the beginning of this tutorial.

Now it¡¯s time for us to learn about th

following tool of the WidthScribe plug-in,

named the Width Brush Tool. To open the


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dialog box with its configurations double click

on its icon on the toolbox or press the Enter

key if the tool is already selected.

In the Width Brush Tool Options dialog box

you can set the size of the brush and its

hardness. As with any brush, you can

determine the resultant effect from a number

of parameters, such as pressure on the stylus

of the graphic tablet, and the brush hardness

value.


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Please note that the ¡°Adjust Width bye

values can be applied both positively and

negatively ¡ª the latter possible when holdin

down the Shift key when brushing. When

positive (default), the impact of the Width

Brush Tool is to increase the width of the

paths; negative ones will reduce the width of

the paths.

Step 11

The image below shows the trajectory of the

brush and the impact that it had on the group

of paths.


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To change brush diameter, use keys ¡°]¡± ¨C

increase and ¡°[¡± ¨C to decrea

Step 12

The WidthScribe plugin has commands that

allow you to dynamically change the

appearance of all the selected variable width

strokes. Let¡¯s see how it works on th

example of creating the sea spray foam. I

created a few uniform paths with the help of

the Dynamic Sketch Tool, as shown in the

image below.

Now select all the paths and go to Object >

Path > Vary Width Markers¡


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By controlling the sliders in the dialog box, I

quickly got the desired effect.

Step 13

To create smaller foam artefacts, I used

Dotted patterns, which can be found in the

library of patterns. Go to Open Swatches

Library > Patterns > Basic Graphics > Basic

Graphics Textures in fly-out menu of the

Swatches panel.


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Finally, to create splashes, you can create a

Scatter Brush out of an object of arbitrary

shape and assign random value to it.

Please note that only a selection of the tools,

functions and possible applications within

WidthScribe are described in this tutorial. In

the next tutorial you will learn about other

tools and new features of this unique plugin.

About the author

My name is Iaroslav Lazunov, I am a graphic

designer from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. I am glad

that I finally found the job in my life that I can

share my knowledge and experiments with


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