Tracing with the pen tool

Mastering the pen tool is one of the most useful things you can do to learn how to create vector graphics, the more you practice, the faster you get. One of the best exercises you can do to practice and master the pen tool is tracing images and photographs to create vector art out of them.

Find an image of a man made object, such as a sports car, and trace the outlines of the image. Start with the basic shapes such as the body, wheels and windows of a car, using bright and garish colours for your outlines, then try to add the extra details. Finally fill in the shapes and arrange the objects in the correct order. 

If you are feeling confident, you might also want to experiment with a gradient mesh, to give a 3D effect to your image.

Graphics for vehicles (Adobe Illustrator only)

Click on button to download a template file for a commercial vehicle in Adobe Illustrator. The place a logo and text around the vehicle ready for the vehicle to be wrapped, using a mix of block colour images, and full colour images. 

Note that a lot vehicle livery is created using cut coloured vinyl rather than most expensive full colour prints so be sure to convert your text and block imagery into outlines so that the plotter can cut out the vinyl. See how it is done.