Premium Tutorial: Photorealistic Vector Car

Learn to create this photorealistic vector Mustang car in this new Illustrator tutorial written by Bobby. Bobby has done several vector car illustrations on Deviantart. He has also received 5 Daily Deviation features and is known for his vector car illustrations. For the very first time, he will share with you his secret techniques in car illustrations. You will be able to get an insight on car illustration after this tutorial.

See some of his fantastic vector cars collection in his portfolio.

Difficulty: Intermediate
Requirements: Adobe Illustrator

What will you get?

Instant download of PDF e-book (35 pages)
Learn the techniques and tricks to draw a photorealistic car
Comes with final car in high resolution jpg for easy reference

Tutorial Preview:

To draw the background layer

Your job is to find common areas of color (CAC). Well, this is my own term that I'll use in this tutorial to direct your attention to this technique. In the bumper, there are two different gradients running at the same time. One is running horizontally and one is running vertically at the same time. Now, in vectors you can't create two of these gradients in one single path. You have to find areas where the same color stays for a long space and that's where you can divide the paths. You have to create two paths in such a way that the end result, after you fill the color, looks like one whole.

Fig – 002 : The two CAC. 1 Running horizontally and 2 is running vertically.

Now draw these paths and fill them with appropriate colors that you have already gathered in your swatch.

Fig – 003

Fig – 004 : Placing the images of fig 003 properly you will get this result

To draw the indicator

Drawing indicator is the same as drawing a bumper, only at a smaller scale. First draw a basic background gradient which is in the shades of orange. On top of it you will have to add the boundaries as shown in the image.

Indicators and headlights always have a geometrical pattern to them. You have to keenly study this pattern to understand how to draw it. This indicator is very small and doesn't have much significance in the whole, so you don't have to draw it very minutely. Simply study the pattern and draw it as instructed in the images. Use the blend tool with less number of steps defined to create the vertical lines. I always use fills without strokes to achieve this and also add a gradient to the fill. Notice how organized and real it looks with blend tool. The idea for indicators and lights is that more geometrical they are the better.