Inthis new tutorial you will learn how to draw a colorful salad on aplate, but let's choose a different angle because that means more fun.At the beginning, we will create a simple plate, and after that it'stime to get creative in arranging the ingredients of this salad:rocket leaves, pieces of red and yellow peppers, onion rings, tastyslices of tomatoes, radishes, and black olives. At the end, it's allabout the shadows in order to give it a more realistic look. Let'sstart the fun!
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1.Howto Create a New Document
LaunchIllustratorandgo to File> New toopen a blank document. Type a name for your file, set up thedimensions, and then select PixelsasUnitsandRGBasColorMode.Make sure that AlignNew Objects to Pixel Grid isnot checked.
Next,go to Edit> Preferences > General andset the KeyboardIncrement to1px andwhile there, go to Unitstomake sure they are set as in the following image. I usually work withthese settings, and they will help you throughout the drawing process.
2.Howto Draw a Simple Plate
Step1
Let'sstart with an ellipse about 610 x 75 px Filled with the Linear Gradient shown (1). Next, draw another ellipse slightly bigger onlyat the bottom and send it behind the first (2).
Step2
Tocreate the center of the plate, draw a new ellipse about 480 x 58 px(1). Now, select the first ellipse and Copy and Paste in Place(Shift-Control-V) in order to make a copy of it (2). While this copy(the black ellipse) and the red ellipse stay selected, pressIntersect in the Pathfinder panel. Fill the new shape with the Linear Gradient shown (3).
Step3
Grabthe Pen Tool (P) and draw a shape like the one below. The important part isthe curve at the bottom which is a bit lower than the rest of theellipses and creates the thin border. Use the Gradient shown and thensend this shape behind everything.
Step4
Next,draw the bottom of the plate like in the following image. Use the Gradient shown and then send this shape behind everything.
Step5
Drawanother shape like earlier, where the bottom curve is a bit lower thanthe rest of the plate, in order to create a darker thin border(1).
Continuewith the last ellipse at the bottom of the plate about 280 x 58 px Filled with the Linear Gradient shown, and then send it behindeverything (2).
Step6
Toadd a highlight on the bottom of the plate, draw a very thin shapewith the Pen Tool (P) following the bottom edge, and Fill it with the Linear Gradient shown.
Step7
Now,follow the outer edge of the plate and draw two new thin shapes asshown. After that, the plate is ready, and you can see the final resultin the image below (3).
3.How to Draw the Rocket Leaf (Arugula)
It'stime to draw the components of this tasty salad, and the firstingredient is rocket, also known as arugula. Take the Pen Tool (P) and draw a leaf shape similar to the one below. Once you are happy with the shape, Fill it with the Linear Gradient shown (1).
Next,draw a thin shape through the middle of the leaf and Fill it with the Gradientshown (2).
That'sit! The leaf is ready. Group (Control-G) the two shapes and name thegroup “rocket”.
4.Howto Draw the Onion Ring
Step1
Usethe Ellipse Tool (L) to draw two shapes and arrange them as shown in thenext image (1). The size is not important because you will scale all of the ingredients later anyway. While the two ellipses stayselected, go to Object > Compound Path > Make (Control-8) and Fill the resulting shape with a pale purple (2).
Selectthe ring and then Copy and Paste in Back (Control-B) to make a copyof it. Move this copy 2-3 px downwards with the help of the DownArrow key on your keyboard (3).
Select the original ring again andthen Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) to make another copyof it. Having this new copy of the ring selected along with the blackring, press Minus Front in the Pathfinder panel. Send the resultingtwo shapes in the back (4) and Fill them with the two shades ofpurple shown (5).
Step2
Theonion ring is ready. You can create another version, but this isoptional. Just make a Copy of the onion ring and then use only two out of thethree shades of purple.
Group (Control-G) the shapes and name the groups “onion ring 1” and “onion ring 2”.
5.Howto Draw the Piece of Red Pepper
Step1
Nexton the list of ingredients is the red pepper. Draw a shape similar tothe one below with the help of the Pen Tool (P) anduse red as the Fill color (1). While this shape stays selected, go toObject > Transform > Scale, type 105% in the Scale field, andthen hit Copy. As a result, you will get a slightly bigger shape. Usea darker shade of red to Fill it and send it behind the first (2).
Grabthe Pen Tool (P) again and draw a new shape in front of the two Filled with a lighter shade of red (3). Fix the ends of the pepper ifnecessary and align the points with the Direct Selection Tool (A).The piece of red pepper is ready now (4).
Step2
Thisstep is optional, but if you want more color in your salad, you cancreate a piece of yellow pepper. Simply make a Copy of the redpepper and replace the Fill colors.
Group(Control-G) the shapes and name the groups “red pepper” and“yellow pepper”.
6.Howto Draw the Slice of Tomato
Step1
Usethe Pen Tool (P) to draw the tomato slice and Fill it with a darkshade of red. While the shape stays selected, add a New Fill in theAppearance panel above the first and use an orangey-red color. Select thisFill attribute, go to Effect > Distort & Transform >Transform and apply the settings shown. As a result, you will get thedarker edge at the bottom of the slice.
Step2
Next,draw a similar but smaller shape on top and Fill it with red. Add aNew Fill below the first and use a darker shade of orange. With thisFill attribute selected in the Appearance panel, go to Effect >Distort & Transform > Transform and apply a 1 px VerticalMove.
Step3
Takethe Pen Tool (P) again and draw a shape like the one in the next image,Filledwith dark orange (1). Continue with a similar shape but slightlysmaller, filled with white. Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light (2).You can see the result in the image below (3).
Step4
Forthe seed of the tomato, you need two tear-drop shapes. Fill thebigger one with dark orange and the smaller one with yellow. Group(Control-G) the two shapes and Multiplyto obtain more seeds; then Rotate and arrange them on the tomato slice.
Step5
Now,draw a curved path next to the bottom edge of the slice (1). Give ita 5 pt red Stroke; then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur andapply a Radius of 2 px. Reduce the Opacity to 70% (2).
Selectthe slice shape and then Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) inorder to make a copy of it in front of everything. Set this copy tostroke-none and fill-none. Now, select the curved path along with thecopy of the slice and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make(Control-7). Name the resulting group “tomato slice” and you aredone (3). You can see the final result in the image below (4).
7.Howto Draw the Slice of Radish
Usethe Pen Tool (P) to draw the slice shape, and after that, draw asimilar shape but bigger only at the bottom in the back (2).
Selectthe blue shape and then Copy and Paste in Place (Shift-Control-V) tomake a copy of it in front of everything. Having this copy selectedalong with the orange shape, press Minus Front in the Pathfinderpanel. As a result, you will get the shape at the bottom as the skinof the radish (3). Fill the two shapes with the Radial Gradientsshown, Group (Control-G) them, and the slice of radish is ready (4).
8.Howto Draw the Black Olive
Theolive is pretty easy, and you only need two shapes: a50 x 38 pxellipse (1) and the highlight shape on the upper left side (2). Fillthem with the Radial Gradients shown; then Group (Control-G) them, andyou can see the final result in the image below (3).
9.Howto Compose the Salad
Step1
First,select the “plate” group and Rotate it as shown in the followingimage to make things more interesting. And now, it's finally time tocompose the delicious salad. Grab the “rocket” group and make afew copies. Arrange them as shown below, or you can put yourcreativity to the test.
Thereare plenty of shadows in this salad, and you can choose to add them atthe end once you see the final picture, but that might be a bitoverwhelming because there are so many components involved. In orderto make things easier to understand, I will show you the settingsfor the Drop Shadow effect as we go along. The settings are slightlydifferent from step to step because they depend on the position ofeach ingredient.
Someof the ingredients don't even need a shadow. From the three rocketleaves in the image below, only one has the Drop Shadow effectapplied because the other two will be covered with the rest of theingredients by the end so it's not really necessary.
Step2
Next,grab the “red pepper” group and move it on the plate. Apply theDrop Shadow effect to create a shadow. The same thing goes for the“yellow pepper” group.
Itlooks weird for the moment, but at the end we'll use a Mask to hidethe ingredients that go over the edge of the plate.
Step3
Duplicate and arrange more rocket leaves. For the leaves that are up in theair, you don't need to apply the Drop Shadow effect because theshadow should exist only on the plate and not outside and around theplate.
Step4
Next,put an olive on the plate and apply the Drop Shadow effect.
Also, putan onion ring and a yellow pepper on the left side but without theshadow this time, because they go over the edge of the plate. We willcreate more detailed shadows later in the tutorial for ingredientslike these.
Step5
Followingthe technique explained in the previous steps, place more leaves andother ingredients on your plate.
Step6
Arrangeanother piece of red pepper, another slice of tomato, more olives andanother copy of the onion ring plus a bunch of leaves in between andon top, as many as you want.
Inthe image below, you can see the Drop Shadow settings for the onionring on the right side and for the rocket leaf on top of it.
Don'tadd a shadow under the slices of tomato because we'll take care of thatlater in the tutorial.
Step7
It'stime to arrange a few radish slices. Scale them so they are not thesame size because that is more natural. Add more leaves on top andstart to go upwards with the ingredients.
Step8
Addanother piece of yellow pepper and another slice of tomato up in theair between the leaves.Thelast two ingredients are the red pepper and another onion ring.
10.Howto Add Shadows Between the Ingredients
Step1
Ifyou are happy with your salad and the position of each ingredient, youcan now add more detailed shadows between them for a realisticlook.
Focuson the slices of tomato and draw a path following the bottom edge,one for each slice that you have. Give them a 3 pt black Stroke andthen apply a 3 px Gaussian Blur. After you are done, send each pathright behind the corresponding slice of tomato.
Step2
Now,focus on the ingredients that are up in the air and especially on theareas where they overlap because you need a shadow there. Take yourtime, zoom in as much as you need, and draw a small path where twoingredients are overlapping following their contour, but don't go overthe edges (into the white background). You can see a few examples inthe close-ups. The more paths you draw, the more detailed andrealistic your salad will be.
Selecta 2 pt black Stroke for all these paths and apply a 2 px GaussianBlur. Some of them are at 100% Opacity, and some of them are at 75%Opacity, depending on the area and the colors. Don't forget to moveeach path between the two ingredients that are overlapping in theLayers panel because the correct order is very important in this case.
11.Howto Clean Up the Edge of the Plate
Step1
Selectthe ellipse from the inside of the plate and then Copy and Paste inPlace (Shift-Control-V) in order to make a copy of it in front ofeverything (1). Grab the Scissors Tool (C) and click on the two endpoints of this copy to cut the shape in two and keep only the half infront (2). Use the Pen Tool (P) to close this path and create a newshape around the salad (3).
Step2
Setthe shape from the previous step to Stroke-None and Fill-None. Now,select all the ingredients of the salad along with this shape and go to Object >Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7). Now, the front side of the plateis clean, as it should be.
Step3
Ifyou want to add a leaf that goes over the edge of the plate for amore realistic look then now is the time to do it, outside the mask.Arrange it in the desired place and then apply the Drop Shadoweffect.
12.Howto Add Highlights on the Salad
Focuson one of the tomato slices and draw two short paths as shown in the nextimage. Stroke them with the Black Blend Art Brush from anothertutorial of mine dedicated to Blending Brushes and how useful they are: How to Create a Set ofMulti-Use Blend Brushes. I use these brushes all the time to addhighlights and details in my drawings. Set the color asindicated and set the Stroke Weight to 0.75 pt. Keep the bigger path at100% Opacity but for the shorter path reduce the Opacity to 50% tomake it more discreet.
Dothe same thing for the rest of the tomatoes to make them shinier.You can also do this for the other ingredients if you want but forme, this was enough.
13.Howto Create the Shadow Under the Plate
Step1
Usethe Pen Tool (P) to draw a shape like in the next image on a New Layer behind the plate, and give it a white Fill. Continue with asimilar but smaller shape Filled with light gray and set it to 75%Opacity.
Step2
Drawanother ellipse under the bottom of the plate and Fill it with gray.The last ellipse is much smaller and filled with a darker gray.
Step3
Whilethe four shapes stay selected, go to Object > Blend > BlendOptions and choose 50 Specified Steps. Hit OK; then go back to Object> Blend > Make (Alt-Control-B).
Setthe resulting blend group to Blending Mode Multiply and reduce theOpacity to 75%, but this depends on the color of your background.
Congratulations!You're Done
The colorful salad on the plate is ready now. Grab a fork!
Letme know if you enjoyed this tutorial, and don't forget to share animage of your recreation with us if you decide to have fun with it. I would love to see it.
