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SirCxyrtyx — Illustrator Pony Vector Tutorial
Published: 2012-02-24 21:58:14 +0000 UTC; Views: 39357; Favourites: 508; Downloads: 664
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Description
Eye Tutorial: [link]Links:
Pen Tutorial: [link]
Color Guides: [link]
Original Screenshot: [link]
Final Vector: [link]
A speed draw of this pony: [link]
Inkscape tutorial for those of you who don't have Illustrator: [link]
Hope this helps people make pony vectors using the greatest vector program! If you are confused about anything at all, feel free to ask. There are no stupid questions.
Suggestions to help me improve this tutorial are of course welcome.
Update 2/24/12: Added a section for non-CS5 users.
Update 2/25/12: Clarified section on one-sided width changing.
FOR USERS OF PRE-CS4 VERSIONS OF ILLUSTRATOR:
This tutorial by ~Capt-Nemo goes more in-depth into the stroke-to-fill method of line adjustment. It also showcases a slightly different method for vectoring, so you might want to check it out.
Related content
Comments: 78
So I have my reference and the vector layer but how do I make the reference semi-transparent so I can see behind it?
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you can adjust its opacity in the appearance panel if you want. The usual method is to put the reference behind the vector though.
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I did put it behind the vector at first and everything worked perfectly but I have incredible problems with correct eye positioning and thus would like to not just reference but trace directly from the show picture. Now I either have to put the reference to less opacity so that I can see what I'm doing or the vector to less opacity. If I lower the opacity of the vector however it might screw up the already existing opacity. The opacity option in appearance does absolutely nothing and I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I need help
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Try using outline mode on the vector. It will reduce it to just the lines, with no strokes or fills. That's what I use to get the positioning correct. Hold option, and click the little eyeball in the layers panel next to the layer you have your vector in to turn on outline mode.
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Ohhh! Yes, that works very well! Thank you so much! Will post my next vector here so you can see what I created using this tutorial 
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Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how exactly do you get the face colors on a separate layer/path, without getting it to look like the ear is a separate piece? And how to "fill" it correctly, in a way.
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Hmm,I'll look for basics and come back to this one later.
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Thanks so much for the tutorial, including the one with the eye! It helped me a bunch!
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One thing I'm really confused about with illustrator is what exactly to save the file as so it can be uploaded to DA and then downloaded for use by someone else, I mostly see all "download" options on vectors as just .png, but downloading that would just be a raster file, right? Soooo I'm just wondering what to save it as/how to have an option for people to download it for use in animations/etc.
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I encourage people to upload a very large (at least 3000 by 3000 pixel) raster file as their submission because that's honestly what most people will want anyway. When you want to provide the vector file as well, you can upload the .ai file to Sta.sh, and then provide a link to it in the description of your piece. That's what I have done here . Another useful vector format is .svg, which can be viewed natively in any modern browser. Exporting an svg from Illustrator will occasionally introduce errors though, so it's generally best just to stick with the .ai file.
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Also, I've seen links for svg downloads, and since firefox in itself is an svg file viewer, it only opens the image in a new page (and you can't save the image from there)... how exactly do you download that so you can actually use the file in a project? (I've never actually made/used any vectors before xP )
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You can right-click on the link to the svg and select "save link as".
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All right, thanks so much! ^-^ I can't tell you how long I've been googling these things to no avail! I'm hopeing to get started on a fluttershy vector I've sketched up, thanks again!
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Hey, this all seems to be working for me but (and i know this might sound stupid) the colour picker wont let me pick a fill and a stroke colour at the same time, is there some setting i've messed up?
Linked problem here: [link]
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Clicking on the fill and stroke colors will change which one is selected. (you can also press x) If you hold down shift while using the eyedropper tool, it will only change whichever one is currently selected.
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Just found out that i'm dumb, thanks for the tutorial anyway :
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Aaannnd that's the last time i don't check a plz O.o I'll stop spamming now
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fkasgjksl I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THESE OPTIONS THANKYOU
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I have illustrator but it wont let me upload my pics please help me
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That's extremely vague. Can you be a little more specific about your problem?
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i figured it out but what the problem was i didnt save on pdf
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Is there a possibility of doing vectors without tracing? I love the clean lines but I think my art would be limited if I only traced. Not bashing, just new to using the pen tool. Photoshop pen tool is kinda too pixely so I was thinking about using the one in illustrator.
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You definitely do not have to trace. Many people will make a pencil drawing, scan it in, and then trace over their own drawing to get it to look nice. The pen tool can be a little hard to use to make things from scratch, but I know that does it. For example, this [link] was made entirely with the pen tool, no tracing involved.
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^^ I sketched with my tablet and then tried it. 
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Since you're making a vector graphic, you may as well export at a larger resolution. That way people can get a better look at your art.
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Yea, I dont get how to do that yet x.x;; I know a LOT about photoshop but like nothing about illustrator.
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If you go to File>save for web, you can specify the size of the exported image.
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Thank you for showing me how to taper my strokes!
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I have a screenshot of a pony OC that I'd like to turn into a vector, but every time I try to put my character in outline mode (command + click), the entire image turns white without any strokes or fills. As if it's only outlining the square boarder of the image and not the outline of the pony. Any advice on how to fix this problem? I have Illustrator CS6.
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It sounds like you have the reference image in the same layer as your artwork. Try putting the reference in its own layer, and then locking that layer. Alternatively, you can go to File > Document Setup, and select Show Images In Outline Mode.
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i have regular paint so would this work too?
Windows
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No. Paint is a raster graphics program. It cannot make vector graphics. I would recommend you not use Paint, as it is very limited in its features.
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i like to call this background chachter jane Timeless... cuss the first time i saw her she had a doctor whooves cutiemark.... strange that thee chanced her cutiemark
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These are the color guides that I use. [link]
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THANK YOU! Im a web design student so this has really helped me out in a number of ways
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thanks very much, you're the best thanks to you, i know how to use Ai correctly 
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If you make any vectors, feel free to leave a comment here with a link. I'd be happy to look it over and give you pointers.
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thank's very much
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I unfortunately do not know nearly enough about Flash to make a tutorial.
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ok quick question how the hell do you blend colors with inkscape to have a blur effect that goes from 1 color to another BUT still within the same object... I don't have to have to make 400 objects to obtain a color blend effect or redraw the entire page from scratch to cover the blur of the object edges that i want crisp and clear and if I make the background transparent I can't even do that.
Inkscape sux for tools they won't let you do it or resize your picture at all.
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I'm afraid I don't quite understand your question. Perhaps you could restate it more clearly, leaving out the opinions on inkscape.
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ok look at this...
[link]
in the little picture in the lower left is the original picture I vectored... as you can see in the small red circles that i had the colors blended from the snout to the head.
in the larger vector you can see that its just an instant cut off from the grey to the blue... I want to blend the colors like in the little picture. How can I do this with Inkscape?
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