CREATING A RETRO CHARACTER ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

2. Placing an Image

Go to "File>Place" and navigate to where you saved the sketch photo titled "IMG_2105.heic" file and click "Place."

Click on the selection tool and grab the corner of the photos bounding box and drag while holding the "Shift Key" until the photo fits on the artboard.

Click on the "Opacity" drop down menu and adjust the slider to somewhere near 35%.

Click on "Window>Layers" to open the layer panel.

Double click on the photo layer and title it "BACKGROUND" and then lock the layer by clicking on the empty space between the eye icon and layer color bar. Next click on the "New Layer" (plus symbol in a box) and title this new layer "CUP."

3. Shape Builder & Pathfinder Tools

Click and hold on the "Rectangle Tool" to open the shape drawer, select the "Ellipse Tool."

Create two Ellipses that overlap aligning with the drawing to create the core shape of the cup.

Select the "Shape Builder Tool" from the lefthand side of your tool bar with the two ovals selected. Click and drag across the bottom and top lines to divide the shapes.

Use the "Direct Select" tool to select the top shape (A) and press "Delete" twice to remove all parts of it. Repeat this with the lower shape (B).

Use the "Ellipse Tool" to create two more ovals, start with the bigger shape (A) and then create the smaller one (B) to ensure that it is above. Go to "Window>Pathfinder" (C) and select "Subtract" from the Pathfinder Panel (D).

Using the selection tool, make sure all parts of the cup are selected then choose the "Shape Builder Tool" and remove the inner portion of the cup handle where it overlaps.

Use the "Ellipse and Rectangle Tools" to create overlapping shapes that align with the eye of the sketch (A). Use the selection tool to make sure both shapes are selected at the same time and use the Pathfinder "Subtract" (C) to remove the rectangle portion from the oval.

With the eye selected go to "Edit>Copy" then "Edit>Paste" to make a duplicate, then move, rotate and scale the second eye until it aligns to the sketch.

Use the "Ellipse Tool" to create the left cheek of the character (A) then use the "Selection Tool" (B) to select the new shape and the cup then use the "Unite" (C) option in the Pathfinder Tool panel to merge them.

Use the "Ellipse Tool" to create the right cheek, then select the eye and cheek and use the "Shape Builder Tool" to remove the lower portion of the eye.

Create one last Ellipse to form the outer portion of the lips.

4. Pen Tool

Select the "Pen Tool," start by clicking at the beginning of the wrist and then once more where it will connect to the cup, then press "Return or Enter" to discontinue the line and create the remaining appendages.

Click and hold on the "Pen Tool" then select the "Anchor Point Tool," click/hold and drag the middle of the line to create a smooth curve that is similar to the sketch.

Repeat the steps above to the remaining appendages.

To open the Stroke Panel go to "Window>Stroke" then click on the three stacked small lines in the upper right hand corner, select "Show Options" to open the complete panel.

With all of the appendages selected increase the "Weight" of the lines (A) and then activating the "Rounded End Caps" (B) just below.

To convert the strokes to shapes, while still selected go to "Object>Expand" (A) then make sure the "Stroke Checkbox" is selected (B) and click "Ok" (C).

Remove the fill on the objects and add a black stroke to the newly formed shapes and up the weight of the line.

Unlock the Cup Layer (A) then using the "Selection Tool" select everything (B) then choose the "Shape Builder Tool" and remove all of the unnecessary overlapping portions.

With everything selected choose the "Eyedropper Tool" and click on one of the appendages that has a heavier line weight to apply its attributes to the remaining portions.

Click and hold on the "Pen Tool" and select the "Add Anchor Point Tool" from the drop down menu. Click somewhere near the circle in the picture above on the right cheek and then press the delete key to remove the segments attached to that anchor point.

The result should look similar to above.

5. Pencil Tool

Create a new layer and title it "Hand, Shoes & Liquid."

Double click on the "Pencil Tool" to open the tool preferences panel. Slide the "Fidelity" slider to the right, then click "Ok."

Click and drag using the "Pencil Tool" to trace the liquid in the upper right hand of the cup. Then select the ""Shape Builder Tool" and remove the unnecessary portions.

If you need use the "Direct Select Tool" to isolate divided shapes and remember to press "Delete" twice to remove all anchors associated with that path.

Use the "Pencil Tool" to trace out the remaining portions of the design shown above.

Using the "Selection Tool" select the paths individually and use the the "Stroke Profile" options to apply various tapers to them.

Image after applying "Stroke Profiles."

6. Adding Details

Create a new layer and title it "Details."

Use the "Pen Tool" or "Pencil Tool" to create one of the musical notes (A), use "Pathfinder" (B)to unite multiple shapes if you desire.

Duplicate the musical notes and scale them accordingly to fit our sketch.

Use the "Ellipse Tool" and create a small circle (A) at the front of the whistle lines of our character, then use the "Direct Selection Tool" to drag a single anchor out to create it's elongated shape.

Duplicate the shape, then scale and place accordingly.

Click on both eyes using the "Selection Tool" and add a "Fill" color of black.

7. Adding Colors

Unlock all of your layers, then select the whole character using the "Selection Tool." Create a copy and place it off to the side in case we are unhappy or make a mistake during this section.

Go to "Window>Swatches" to open your Swatch library.

Select all the liquid at the top and make sure the "Fill Box" is in front and add a light brown color, then adjust so the "Stroke Box" is in front and select a slightly darker brown to change the outline color. Repeat this process with both of the characters hands.

To adjust the color of several elements with similar colors such as the black outline strokes we can select on part of the design using the "Selections Tool" then go to "Select>Fill & Stroke" this will select all elements in the design with matching attributes. We can then apply a new fill color or stroke color at once.

The characters eyes will not be part of the selection since they have both a fill and a stroke so select them separately and apply the same color you used for the characters outline to complete the character!

8. Adding Overlays

Create a new layer just above the "Background" layer and title it "Color Block" (A) Using the "Rectangle Tool" (B) create a rectangle that fills the "Artboard" and give it a light tan fill (C).

Add any text or graphic elements you may want to include in your design.

Create a new layer at the top of the stack and title it "Overlay" then drag in the file "OVERLAY TEXTURE.pdf" and scale it to fit the "Artboard" if needed.

Go to "Window>Transparency" to open the object transparency panel.

From the "Transparency" panel click on the drop down menu and select "Multiply," this will make the lightest porting of the image transparent leaving only the slight texture above our design to add texture.

9. Saving and Exporting

To save and editable version of your illustration go to "File>Save As..." then click on where you would like to save your file. Saving to the could will make it accessible on other devices more easily, but if you work primarily on one choose "Save on your computer." In the dialogue panel that pops up make sure your give it a proper title and choose an option from the drop don menu, these file types will allow you to open this again and continue working. Once hitting save an additional dialogue box will appear, here you can choose from any additional features you would like to include or choose from legacy files, more often than not you will simply just click "Ok."

To "Export" a file that does not need to be opened in Adobe Illustrator or used in other contexts. Go to "File>Export>Export As" then title the project properly and choose the file format you desire from the dropdown menu, these file formats for the most part will not allow you to reopen the project and continue to work on it but use it for situations where Vector file formats are not supported. In this case I chose a "PNG" which is a good file format graphic heave projects and also allows for transparent backgrounds. Keep you resolution at 300PPI for a higher resolution image then click "Ok."