A custom effects is special kind of preset that looks and behaves like a plugin. It allows you to save a special recipe of plugins and keyframes into something that you can reuse with ease. Jorrit Schulte has been producing a bunch of these very useful custom effects and providing them for free at http://aenhancers.com. In this tutorial he breaks down how to create the incredibly popular light rays effect and how to package it all into a custom effect. We're going to break down how you create a light ray effect, like shine, and then we're gonna learn how to create a preset so you can use...

                  Final Image         Step 1 Using the Pen Tool (P), draw straight lines to create the basic shape of a tree.       Step 2 Draw other tree shapes that are even more simplified and varied.       Step 3 An important concept to keep in mind when creating the first dominant shapes in your illustration is that these shapes will create the foundation and overall flow for the illustration. So, pay attention that the layout is looking good from the start.       Step 4 I can...

This tutorial is written for intermediate Illustrator users, as basic settings are not the focus, rather the tutorial covers the overall process as this design is built. You'll walk away with a great understanding of how to use simple shapes to construct interior cartoon style scene. By sticking to simple shapes and lines, you can build a fun interior quickly. Let's get to it!                       Introduction Last fall I had the opportunity to design and produce an interactive CD-ROM for children. The idea was to make an educational...

In this tutorial I'll show you the process I use for creating a vector goldfish in six easy steps. The steps are a bit condensed so Intermediate Illustrator users will benefit greatly, though beginners will be able to get similar results, you'll just need to experiment a bit more with these tools and techniques. The vector goldfish is created with the use of the Mesh, Blend and Symbol Tools. Let’s get started!           Below is the final image we will be working towards.       Step 1 Draw the goldfish and scan the drawing. Now open Adobe Illustrator...