Recommendation: NSDT scene editor helps you quickly build 3D application scenes that can be redeveloped
Once you've learned how to make an object 3D in Illustrator, you can head over to Envato Elements , where you'll find tons of 3D designs to inspire you. This subscription-based marketplace features over 2,000 Illustrator add-ons for unlimited downloads! This is one of many examples.
What you will learn in this 3D illustration tutorial
- How to Add 3D Effects in Illustrator
- How to Make 3D Shapes in Illustrator
- How to Make Objects 3D in Illustrator
- How to make multiple 3D objects in Illustrator
1. How to create a new document and set up the grid
Hit Ctrl-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu , set Width and Height to 850 pixels , and click the Advanced Options button. Choose RGB as the Color Mode and set Raster Effect to Screen (72 ppi), then click the Create button .
Enable Grid ( View > Show Grid or Control-") and Snap to Grid ( View > Snap to Grid or Shift-Control-" ). You're going to want a grid every 5 pixels , so just go to Edit > Preferences > Guides and Grid and enter 5 in the gridlines each box and enter 1 . Try not to be intimidated by all these grids - it will make your job easier, and remember you can easily enable or disable it with the Control-" keyboard shortcut.
You should also open the Info panel ( Window > Info ) to get a live preview of the shape's size and position. Don't forget to set the unit of measurement to Pixels in Edit > Preferences > Units. All these options will significantly increase the speed of your work.
2. How to Create the Ice Cream Shape
step 1
Select the Ellipse Tool (L) from the toolbar and focus on the color settings. Select the stroke and delete the color, then double-click the fill and replace the existing color with R=250 G=145 B=180 .
Move to your artboard and just click on it to create a 180px circle.
step 2
Make sure your pink circle is still selected, then go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Rough . Enter the settings shown below and click OK to apply the effect.
step 3
Select the Pen Tool (P) and use it to create the shape shown below. If you wish to use the same dimensions, follow the grid lines.
step 4
Go ahead and take the Pen Tool (P) and use it to create the second shape shown below.
step 5
Use the Selection Tool (V) to select the two shapes made in the last two steps and place them as shown in the first image.
Now select these shapes one by one and change the fill color to the one shown below.
step 6
Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 50 px circle and fill it with R=255 G=76 B=62 .
Keep focusing on this red circle and switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the top anchor point and move it 5 px down, then select the bottom anchor point and move it 5 px up .
Keep using the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C), and click and drag the anchor point you just moved to add a new handle. Alt - click one of the handles to disconnect it from the other, then you can use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to adjust the position of each handle, as shown in the third image. Once again, grid and snap to grid will come in handy.
step 7
Pick the Arc Tool and add a 35 x 55 px arc as shown in the first image. Keeping it selected, delete the fill color, set the stroke color to R= 143 G=101 B=56 and increase the weight to 3 px .
Keep using the Width Tool (Shift-W), focus on the top anchor point of the arc, and click and drag to increase the thickness of the stroke at this end of the path.
step 8
Select the two shapes that make up the cherry, rotate them, and place them as shown below. Then select all the shapes and press Ctrl-G to Group them .
3. How to Make Ice Cream 3D in Illustrator
step 1
Make sure your shape group is selected, then go to Effect > 3D & Materials > Inflate . This will open the 3D & Materials panel, which you can use to adjust your 3D objects in Illustrator.
First, click the button in the upper right corner to enable ray tracing . For this particular example, you'll want to set the Depth to about 4.4 pixels , and the Twist to 0 degrees , while the Taper and Volume should remain at 100%. Move down to the Rotation section, choose the Front face preset, and make sure Perspective is set to 0 degrees .
step 2
Make sure your 3D group is still selected and keep focus on the 3D and Materials panel. Switch from the Objects tab to the Materials tab.
Keep the default material and focus on the "Base Properties " section, you'll want to set the Roughness to 0.2 and leave the Metalness at 0 .
step 3
Keep focusing on the 3D and Materials panel and switch to the Lighting tab. Click on that color box and make sure it is set to white, then enter all the settings shown below.
4. How to Add Some Ice Cream Sprinkles
step 1
In the next few steps, you can disable the grid ( View > Hide Grid ) and snap to grid ( Window > Snap to Grid ).
Start with the Line Segment Tool (\) and use it to create a 7 px horizontal path. Simply click on the artboard to open the Line Segment Tool Options window, set the Angle to 0 degrees , the Length to 7 px , and click OK to create the line.
Keeping it selected, delete the fill color, and set the stroke color to R=233 G=53 B=66 . Increase the Weight to 4 px and click on that stroked text to open the Stroke flyout panel, where you need to check the Round Cap button.
step 2
Multiply the red line ( Control-C > Control-V ), expand the copy using the Selection Tool (V ) as shown below, and replace the stroke color with yellow (R=249 G=237 B=50), green (R =94 G=182 B=145), blue (R=39 G=170 B=225) and purple (R= 110 G=82 B=222 ).
step 3
Select all the colored lines and Group ( Control-G ) them. Move to the Layers panel, where you should find two groups, 3D Ice Cream and Sprinkles.
Now, Alt -click the target icon representing your 3D ice cream and drag it over the target icon representing your sprinkle group. This basically applies the same 3D effect that is used for ice cream to sprinkles.
step 4
Select your sprinkler group and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow . Set the color to R=187 G=172 B=159 , enter all the settings shown below, and click OK .
5. How to create a mesh and save it as a symbol
step 1
First, focus on the toolbar and set the fill color to R=234 G=167 B=87 and the stroke color to R=214 G=147 B=67 .
Select the Rectangular Mesh Tool, and click the artboard to open the Rectangular Mesh Tool Options window. Set the Width and Height to 390 px , increase the Number of Horizontal and Vertical Dividers to 25 , don't forget to check the two bottom boxes, and click OK to create the grid. With the grid selected, focus on the control panel and increase the Stroke Weight to 4 px .
step 2
Make sure the grid is still selected, and open the Symbols panel ( Symbol Window > ). Just click on the new symbol to save the grid as a symbol.
6. How to Create the Ice Cream Cone Shape
step 1
Let's turn Grid back on ( View > Show Grid ) and Snap to Grid ( View > Snap to Grid ).
Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 120 x 140 px shape and fill it with R=234 G=167 B=87 . Keep using the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the bottom anchor point of this rectangle, and go to Object > Path > Mean . Select both and click OK to convert the rectangle to a triangle.
Now you need to delete one of the two overlapping anchor points that make up the bottom corner of the triangle. Select the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) and just click the point once.
Switch to the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C), click-drag the remaining anchor points, and then drag these handles 40 px horizontally , as shown below.
Step 2
Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 160 x 30 px shape and position it as shown below.
Keep using the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select the bottom anchor point of this rectangle, focus on the control panel and then set the Corner Radius to 15 px .
step 3
Make sure the shape made in the previous step is still selected, and go to Effect > Warp > Arc Reduce . Enter the settings shown below, click OK to apply the effect, and expand it by going to Object > Expand Appearance .
step 4
Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 180 x 25 px shape and position it as shown below. Keep this rectangle selected and switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) to set the Corner Radius to 10 px .
step 5
Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M) and use it to create a shape that covers the left half of the shape that makes up the ice cream cone.
step 6
Select the rectangle created in the previous step along with the three shapes that make up the cone, and choose the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M).
Hold down the Alt key and simply click and drag the rectangle to easily remove it along with the part of the shape that is on the back. Before we proceed, remember to Group ( Control-G ) the remaining shapes.
7. How to Make an Ice Cream Cone 3D in Illustrator
step 1
Make sure your ice cream cone group is selected, then go to 3D Effects > And Rotate > Materials . Let's turn off ray tracing for this .
Choose the same Front preset and set Perspective to 0 degrees , then enter the rest of the settings shown below.
step 2
Proceed to the Lighting tab and enter the settings shown below.
step 3
Move to the Material tab and first lower the Roughness to 0.2.
Switch to the Graphics tab and click on the grid symbol to apply it to the 3D object in Illustrator. Make sure you have the symbol selected from the Properties list and set its Rotation to 45 degrees.
In the end, your 3D ice cream cone should look like this.
8. How to Add the 3D Ice Cream Drips
step 1
Use the Pen Tool (P) or Brush Tool (B) to roughly draw the drip shape as shown in the first image. Fill it with R=250 G=145 B=180 and use the Target icon in the Layers panel again to apply the same 3D effect that you applied for the ice cream group.
step 2
To further amplify the 3D look, let's also apply a Drop Shadow effect to this drip shape. Select it and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow . Enter the settings shown below and click OK .
9. How to Create the Background
step 1
Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) to create a shape that covers the entire Artboard, Send it to Back ( Shift-Control-[ ), and fill it with the radial gradient shown below. The gradient can be stretched using the Gradient Tool (G) , as shown in the image below.
step 2
Finally, let's add a subtle shadow underneath the ice cream. Create a 50 x 20 px shape using the Ellipse Tool (L) , fill it with R=54 G=135 B=101 and lower its Opacity to 15%.
congratulate! You're done!
Here's what your 3D ice cream design should look like. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you can apply these techniques in your future projects.
Original Link: Create 3D Ice Cream Model Objects in Illustrator (mvrlink.com)