Holly Wreath - Introduction
Using Illustrator's brushes can save you a lot of time and automate tasks. This week we'll make one holly leaf and turn it into a custom brush to make a fast and easy holiday weath.
Holly Wreath - Start with an Oval
To make a pointed holly leaf, we first start with a plain oval. With the fill color set to green and the stroke color set to dark green at 1 point, use the ellipse tool (L) to make an ellipse 20 wide by 80 high. Press shift + cmd/ctrl + spacebar to zoom in close so you can see the points.
Holly Wreath - Add Anchor Points
Then with the ellipse selected go to
Object > Path > Add Anchor Points
2 times. This adds a point between each of the points the ellipse already has. You should end up with 16 points spaced evenly around the ellipse.
Holly Wreath - Convert Curves to Corners
Use the Convert point tool (Shift + C) on the pen popout and click the points once to convert the points shown to corners, rather than curves.
Holly Wreath - Shaping the Leaf
Use the direct selection tool (A) to drag to top point upward as show to give the tip of the holly leaf a point.
Holly Wreath - Shaping the Leaf (cont'd)
Stay zoomed in close so you can see better and use the direct selection tool (A) to pull all the points you converted out as shown here. This will create the pointed leaves.
Holly Wreath - Add Veins to the Leaf
Use the line or pen tool to add veins. Select all pieces and group them.
Holly Wreath - Create a Brush from the Leaf Shape
Create a Brush from the Leaf Shape -
Drag the holly leaf to the Brushes palette and in the dialog box that opens choose New Scatter Brush. Click OK to open the brush options and set them as shown here:
Holly Wreath - Adding the Berries
The Finished Holly Wreath -
Use the ellipse tool to draw a circle and apply the new brush to it. Draw three small circles with the ellipse tool (hold shift to constrain the ellipse to a circle) and fill with a red and white radial gradient. Adjust the gradient as needed, group the berries and make copies by option/alt + dragging. Add them to the wreath. Use the inner glow effect if you wish (Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow) to add more shading. Select all pieces and group.
That was easy, wasn't it? Happy Holidays!