The wonderful blog Bittox has yielded another great vector tip. The tutorial is ostensibly about creating “3D vector vintage stars”, but the method is insanely valuable in a variety of scenarios- anyone who’s created this effect from scratch knows what I’m talking about here.

The design above shows the extrusion effect in question. Most 3D software can easily handle such a feat, but the effect was conspicuously absent (or so we thought) from Illustrator, where it is sorely needed. I won’t re-invent the wheel here (visit BittBox, it’s a great site), but I will say that the key lies in “expand appearance.”

Custom brushes, 3D effects, warps and distortions can all be changed from proprietary nonsense to kosher strokes and fills. All you need to do is select “expand appearance.” That’s right- a wide world of wild illustrator pizzazz awaits
you!

I will likely dedicate a whole post to bushes soon. People often wonder how to create variation in stroke weight, and this is exactly how. In conjunction with a Wacom tablet, Illustrator can come frighteningly close to a Windsor & Newton #7. And remember, after your digital inking, expand appearance!