Adobe Illustrator Tutorial: How to Draw a Vector Pirate Skull

This tutorial was made by one of the artists at www.designious.com, Ioana Șopov. Check out more of her work here: behance.net/ioanasopov, and get similar design resources created by her and the rest of our talented team here: www.inkydeals.com. The tutorial was created in Adobe Illustrator CS6 with a Wacom Intuos 5 and took 45 minutes in real time.
The songs used are Simple Odd Fellows - Pirates: www.last.fm/music/Simple+Odd+F... and Monkey Island 3 - A pirate I was meant to be... by Michael Land: www.worldofmi.com/features/lyr.... No copyright infringement intended.

[@CrunchyMatches]

She holds CTRL when deleting the background from the merged base color btw. Sorry if it's obvious but i've been stuck on that step for ages trying to figure it out. Hope it saves ya'll some time. Thanks for the video!

[@michaelhounkpe725]

😅

[@wabbiaa1321]

it's not working how can i

[@JimAndcco]

I try that but it didn’t work

[@wabbiaa1321]

Oh dear i found that Solution first ungroup then press shift and delete button

[@JimAndcco]

@@wabbiaa1321 can u give the steps for example 1) go to

[@PochoNieves]

This was one of the very best, simple, goes to the point AI drawing tutorials I ever saw. I am saving this one to my personal playlist.

[@MrMechLad]

this video is 8 years old and still the best one on this platform for this technique. Thank You!

[@cosmicrus1988]

I am so happy I found this. Did not even hesitate to subscribe. Thank you for the thorough walkthrough of a professional workflow that is very easy to follow.

[@ZonZoran]

"Yarr!", "...swashbuckling walkthrough" :) Cutest, best tutorial yet. Beautiful, clear, polite voice, simple instructions and really fun music combined, this is my personal favourite tutorial on this subject and i really enjoy it every time! Even more then sum of its parts, great work Ivana!

[@WickedJ133]

Good music choices. A pirate i was meant to be! Also, the finished piece is stunning!

[@InkyEU]

Thanks a lot Guybrush! ^_^

[@importedmusic]

Guybrush Threepwood Pirates of the Caribbean sucks,

[@TheSecondC2]

+designioustimes Can u make something for me? I'll pay u if u want. It's not much work(I think)

[@spoox7107]

one of my all time favorite tutorials!! This one helped me sooo much with several issues I could never figure out! Thank you so much even 3 years later it is still an awesome tut!

[@megha9arts]

How to Draw Candles with Mesh Tool in Illustrator cc--- kzbin.info/www/bejne/eom4d3SdbNdoZ68

[@yepitskeys]

This was hands down one of the most helpful videos I've seen in a long time! I thoroughly enjoyed learning the technique and cannot wait to try it out myself!

[@candaceabernathy7568]

you're being sarcastic right?

[@yepitskeys]

@@candaceabernathy7568 this was 7 years ago when I was learning. It was super helpful then. No need to be condescending.

[@candaceabernathy7568]

@@yepitskeys wasn't being condescending my dude. It was a genuine question cause I couldn't understand what the tutorial part of this video was. my apologies if I may have offended you

[@BLTspace]

I'm in the process of learning illustrator right now and it is frustrating but fun as hell... This was awesome to watch. Good job!

[@casperhadez8941]

Just wanted to add something to this video. She makes a very valid point to sketch out your designs ahead. As I still do this at times. I have now gotten into a habit of sketching my designs in digital format. This will speed up your process ten fold. Skipping ahead from have to scan you sketches etc. Please note that this will take time to achieve a precise outcome. And having a drawing tablet is a must to to this in a timely matter. The program I use to do this is (Sketchbook Pro). As it has the capabilities to do many things. I strictly use it for digital sketching. I believe there is a free version as well. G'Luck!

[@Rakuonsha1]

charlie boy Thanks so much for this!

[@casperhadez8941]

NP! Now go draw some awesome art!

[@edumeyers7474]

Great art! You make look easier the most tough thing, to clean and simplify shapes. Awesome work!

[@wolryr9682]

This tutorial just opened a whole lot of possibilities to me I didn't even know existed. Merci!

[@DenOvsyannikov]

You are my savior, thank you :)

[@getrex3184]

не ожидал здесь тебя увидеть)

[@gebbygeb3547]

To my lost comrades-who were searching for a way to freely paint and erase brush strokes: Shift + E for an eraser that is not restricted to strokes, paths or fill shapes. Works just like a normal eraser brush! (Remember to select the thing you're trying to clean up, otherwise it will affect the rest of the drawing) Shift + B for the blob brush tool, B for regular paintbrush! Perhaps this too, can avoid your issue with erasing things in the first place?

[@mauvemaude]

This lady is amazing. I am so happy I found this KZbin channel!

[@josequintero6114]

simply amazing. broke it down perfect for us. just got my computer sith illustrator back and im gearing up to use it. every time i had a question i my head it was followed by the answer in your video as i watched it. thank you

[@Gtugcu]

What is she doing after she puts down the rectangle and then deletes it - leaving only the fill thats behind the image?

[@AKindChap]

How to draw; be good at drawing. Thanks!

[@dionmlevy]

+StressedApe lol that defeats the purpose of a tutorial

[@staticklingon2182]

+AKindChap Not necessarily. The pencil drawing is already done. The vector drawing is largely technique. You can use someone else's sketch and learn the technique. As a matter of fact, you can "learn" to draw well.

[@zekeking4772]

+AKindChap No shortcuts. You have to work hard and practice.

[@mayhemm9991]

This isn't "How to draw" this is "How to draw a VECTOR PIRATE SKULL". Maybe read more than the first 3 words in the title next time.

[@novankuncoro8372]

this art it's so cool

[@samheidibeth]

really helpful tutorial, helped me on my road to illustrator mastery. With the Monkey Island 3 music thrown in, it's a 10/10 tutorial for me!

[@johnshaw2190]

i think this is a very helpful TUTORIAL. Not on how to use the program but the process in how your work flow should go. Honestly I always thought highlights should be the top layer but I see that I was wrong. I had no problems understanding and i barely know Illustrator. If you can't follow along, that is what the pause button is for. Great job Ioana! Thumbs up

[@joshuahayden6807]

I get lost on the merging part every single time and its the most important part because that is what starts the coloring process. I do not understand how you connect the shape with the line art and then separate onto separate layers. Your work is incredible though, that is why I wish I knew how to do the merging part because I want to steal your techniques :)

[@mihaimimi3965]

im stuck in the same point...

[@anthonychicas7776]

YUP SAME HERE

[@nigejuan71]

Select all on layer>object>expand appearance object >expand

[@RUMCAJZ1000]

6:48 how do you cut the backround over this head ?

[@CloversTreeNook]

I really loved watching this. Granted, I didn't work alongside your tutorial, but I plan to use your tips when I work in the future. Great work

[@blue6jade]

This is amazing! I had fun watching it - great soundtrack as well! Thank you for sharing this.

[@xnslrzn]

When you're doing the highlights and shadows, how does your brush know to go behind the strokes that are already present?

[@InkyEU]

I add shadows and highlights on different layers beneath the line art and above the fill colors. I order them in such a way that I can work without worrying about them overlapping. Cheers!

[@puyguy]

designioustimes It's not helpful if you say "in such a way". What is that way? There are 9 possible orders they can be in. Care to elaborate?

[@ErimlRGG]

Pierce Irvin She explains it at the end of the video....

[@puyguy]

Eriml RGG The way it's worded, it could be from top to bottom, bottom to top, no way to tell. I already have a way of doing it but I was curious about her method. Personally I do linework with shadows/highlights directly below it, then the base color below that. That way I can be less careful with my coloring and allow it to overlap the lines without it showing, and the shadows and highlights are still on top of the color with the same behavior.

[@ErimlRGG]

actually, if you think about it and watch the video it's pretty obvious the main strokes are the top layer and the highlights are the bottom layer

[@agentdarkbooty6995]

I'm having a hard time getting the brushes to do what I want. Like controlling brush size and stuff

[@TeamxAwesome]

This was a REALLY helpful tutorial! I am a complete noob and I actually was able to make something cool. Thank you!! Please upload more tutorials! Love your work!

[@ChadBarnier]

This was a great tutorial! I could watch Ioana videos all day, please do more! :)

[@InkyEU]

It's all in the layer order - the line-art is on the top layer, the rest go beneath it so that you don't have to worry about going over the contours. Cheers and thanks for watching!

[@Dr.Souvik]

Please share those brushes

[@Greavern]

a pirate i was meant to be! Trim the sailes and roam the sea! ahhh sigh, its stuck in my head..

[@josephrex7766]

This was totally awesome. I need to get my hands on illustrator. The background music also makes it better

[@madartzgraphics2019]

Love the music

[@L4stLif3]

You completely lost me at 6:50. How were you able to color the line art and take away the blue that was out of the line art? And you had said so many steps that weren't really elaborated.

[@brodwilkinson7218]

lookup pathfinder

[@taylorkleven4224]

Totally lost as well

[@InkyEU]

After you merged the line art and the shapes, use the direct selection tool (A) and select the outer part and delete it. Sorry about that, we try to explain it in the comments.

[@tabloid64]

Soo your path has to be closed. If it is like "U" it has to be like "O", u don't Group it just select all and Expand Appereance > Expand ; then Pathfinder and "Merge" > Object-Path-Clean Up. Ok 1 step done. Now make rectangle and send it to backward ( ctrl+shift+[ ), now press V on your keyboard, hold shift and click your path. U should have selected rectangle and path simultaneously. Click merge and click one (or few times) on area to delete and press delete.

[@anhpanda]

tabloid64 Thank you, you make my day :)

[@gianluigidautilia6417]

6.58 how did you delete only the external selection of the square?

[@alanlps3]

+gianluigi dautilia ungroup

[@LaCreaTora]

+gianluigi dautilia i was asking myself the same, then i found it out. After merging both image and rectangle, select all, deselect, go to direct or group selection tool arrow, click on the part of the rectangle you want to erase and erase.

[@rowenkliethermes9929]

Where is the group selection tool?

[@radharcanna]

Beautiful artwork and a great tutorial. I like the music too !

[@Sharricb]

Fantastic tutorial.I've learned so much from this.Love the song too!! Thanks a million.

[@ToxicChickenWingGaming]

Quick version: Skip to 11:45 and print screen. Adjust the image sixe so it has cropped out the image up to the skull. Pat yourself on the back and be proud of your work.

[@8898samuel]

Doesn't work. It looks blurry.

[@UmangWaghela]

nice work..will you tell what is your brush setting?

[@esscee96]

0:31

[@UmangWaghela]

yes i got it ...thanks anyways:)

[@duhj]

this is absolutely fascinating. i love to see the whole process. Thanks!

[@thefacelessbiz]

Wow, I'm Super Happy I found this video. It's going to take my Graphics to a whole new level. Thank You!

[@olliebuv]

How do i make a calligraphic brush tapered at either end like in this tutorial. Want that tapered look for pointy ends?

[@fear229]

+Ollie Mills i was wondering the same thing and i think i found the awnser. Its not something she does with a setting but more with how she handles her pen. Every strokes she makes starts of with a really light pressure and then she just applies more force to her pen the longer the stroke goes (and releases pressure when she is at the end). Its not something illustrator does for her she does it with her pen. I supose this just is a matter of getting better control over your equipment

[@InkyEU]

+fear229 +Olly Mills This is definitely the case. I've been answering this question since the very start, and it's a very common issue. But the truth is that it just takes a lot of practice and control over the pen and pressure you apply. Don't worry if your lines aren't pointy in the beginning, just experiment a lot and give it your best and at some point it will definitely come naturally. Cheers, and best of luck!

[@fear229]

designioustimes Thanks for the reply :D, I've got another question, I'm currently using a wacom bamboo tablet and I'm thinking about buying a intuos pro, small or medium. Do you think stuff like applying pressure and creating smoother lines is heavily impacted by the quality of the tablet?

[@olliebuv]

+fear229 I forgot to mention that I don't own a tablet. I wanted this look and feel by using only the software and no additional hardware, like the Wacom.

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

+Ollie Mills Look up(Google) for some of those brushes. I'm sure there some free ones available, somewhere for you to download and add them into either photoshop, or this program.

[@jessicawilliams5307]

Could someone help direct me in how she separated the line art from the base color and put them on separate layers at about 7:03... I cannot for the life of me figure this out...

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

+Jessica Williams Direct selection tool ( White arrow ) and move underneath the line art. Select the part to delete, outside the art.

[@PhuongTran-ku6pu]

+Jessica Williams Hey, did you find out yet? I'm also having trouble on this part.

[@ancientprincess]

for the line art > select all > expand appearance > pathfinder >merge > create square over line work > right click > send to back > select both line work, and square > pathfinder > merge > select all > right click > isolated path > and then delete the outer part of the square.

[@FahimMalikOfficial]

my draw dropped watching this, IM blown away at how amazing it is! I just ordered a Wacom One, and I really cant wait to practise this! You're so talented, and make it look so easy aha! I cant wait to try, but I think ill struggle with the colours/shading parts. I cant tell where they should go, but your work is honestly incredible! I will be using your brush settings :)) when my tablet comes

[@iammarkrojas]

Excellent. Layering shadows and highlights this way is so helpful. Thanks

[@smishyt]

Okay, I got completely lost after 6:58 , thanks a lot.

[@RaserDO]

hey why i cant use full brush settings when i open calligraphic i can only use fixed and random??

[@lauadvincula802]

you need graphics tablet to enable that feature

[@Rychiar]

yeah its all about the tablet as i just learned while trying to do this myself. bummer

[@niccoludzkie]

Thank you for sharing this tutorial. It helped me a lot. Now I can save time and energy. Love it!

[@slynne1107]

Excellent video. I don't use Illustrator and I still got a lot out of this for what to look for in my software. Thanks!

[@guilhermebocaiuvaforster8156]

how do you put the retangle under the shape (6:45)???

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

+Guilherme Bocaiuva Forster Right click > Arrange > Send To Back

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

+Guilherme Bocaiuva Forster Right click-->Arrange-->Send To Back

[@nelq415]

Try to send it backward, object-arrange-send backward

[@kokuvito]

oh no!...so no tablet! no brush pressure?! really

[@elzouain]

Wow! Your voice, the music and the tips are really well done. Great video overall. Subscribed.

[@InkyEU]

Hopefully we'll have one up in November. :) Thank you for watching!

[@santiagosenaguerra4059]

"Rape and rob, rob and rape here we go again yay!" what the hell is that music

[@JustawayEtc]

What did you use to draw?

[@CharbelK]

She used a Wacom Intuos 5, its in the desc.

[@Yaroons]

Awesome style!! Love it. And a very good presentation of the power of Adobe Illustrator for stuff like this also. Thanks!

[@randomshashi6638]

Thank you so mu! I was struggling drawing vector art and this tutorial has helped a lot now I can draw and fill with colors, shading effortlessly! :)

[@jeromeflores9973]

i can't create that brush , ~help

[@dodongreducto4312]

you must have a graphic tablet

[@jh.project]

Completely lost me at 7:06. Completely. You did so many steps that I think were off-time with your voice and at the same time I think used keyboard shortcuts but I'm not entirely sure, but I think I would just like another explanation to how you separate the base color with the strokes onto other layers and whatnot.

[@InkyEU]

We'll be sure to take that into account in our next video. The brush setup is pretty simple, a calligraphic brush like the one described in the first part. We usually work with a 3pt brush on a standard A4 canvas, though. The strokes should appear as thick as the ones in the video. Cheers and thank you for your feedback!

[@anfiscka]

Amazing art! I love it. Huge thanks for the tutorial

[@OKEdits]

Instructions unclear, drew a dog :\

[@pby1000]

Thank goodness for mute.

[@jeriheprianto2105]

This is a very great video. Short but contains a lot of essential information about creating with Adobe Illustrator. Thanks a lot👍

[@theAnneMadeleine]

This is insane! Great tutorial, thanks!!!

[@kmcnair123]

I love the style and the technique but the pirate music totally sucks. I had to turn it off ,its so bad. Much better to watch you draw and add some comments, or if you have to put music in make it really quite in the background.

[@angusdeighto]

I agree. Or use better music!

[@ninafrieda]

Thanks so much for the tutorial and love those pirate songs.

This tutorial always helps me to remember how this program works. Thanks for saving my ass since 2014.

[@gldi8hr]

IF I WAS ABBLE OF DRAWING THAT GREAT, I WOULD BE THE HAPPIEST GUY IN THE WORLD! GREAT JOB, I´M IMPRESSED.

[@ohforfookssake]

You really are talented!! I hope to bring my skills to that standard in the near future. Just need the time to practice. And your video has kicked me in the head and told me to fit it in whenever possible.

[@JonathanVernon311]

AMAZING talent!! very well done!!!

[@LLParks]

Great tutorial, brilliant painting, thank you!

[@criticalanimation9479]

Nice and creative video, tired of beginner videos so this was refreshing.

[@FederiCorzo1]

Never been more grateful, THANK U

[@MrGipson1971]

Awesome vid! I would love to see more vids catering to this more advanced level of users. I got a lot out of this and you did a great job editing through the more tedious stuff without turning it into one of those death metal speed drawing vids which are pretty useless.

[@d.w.eldridge5596]

Wow, great job and nice explanation for what was going on.

[@coreyallain]

wow you don't know how much this video helped me. thank you!!!

[@privatespee]

Best tutorial on KZbin for this

[@Irradiated44]

Hahaha I don't care people in the comments say you don't explain enough. I think you are terrific! This tutorial changed my life, I always wondered how those artworks in stickers and shirts be done, I mean its really gotta be hard, but then I found this. LOL! I gotta get a pen tablet as soon as freakin' possible. That thing changes everything, huh THANK YOU VERY MUCH Miss Sopov!

[@tanmaykapadia]

This is simply awesome stuff !!!

[@sinu0us]

great tutorial, showed me exactly how to make good use of my graphics tablet, thank you Ioana Șopov!

[@GermanBlackSheep]

Stunning. I wish i had only 1% of your talent

[@tuyenlam4978]

This is fantastic. Love it

[@Rakuonsha1]

Thanks for sharing your talent with us beginners, I thoroughly enjoyed you creating your badass skull :)

[@YamanKain5]

Your all works are Awesome... Great Artist.. 👌👌

[@mirey7532]

OMG. I never knew you could do freehand drawing in vector form. I stayed away from vector arts because I felt that using the pen tool to draw is too troublesome. I'll definitely try doing it this way. Thanks for sharing!

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

Get yourself a Wacom Tablet, a beginner's one like the Intuos for $100.

[@jericorangas.]

i really enjoy watching this. nice job.

[@xmorierx]

Great tutorial :D im more of a photoshop person when it comes to drawing or just traditional pen and paper, always thought AI was a big pain in the crack, but your video cleared up many things i was struggling with. Again thank you ;)

[@Artstudioem]

Love your style!

[@9876543210goodbye]

Great Video! You are a very talented artist.

[@marisbra]

wow amazing! Great tutorial and fantastic result!

[@kozihoppy]

Top notch stuff. Enjoyed, keep it up!

[@KreativeKam]

Great Tutorial! just the inspiration I needed :)

[@adamographics]

Wow!!! Now that's creating art nice job I am very motivated to up my illustrator skills after seeing this.

[@OfficialReign]

Wow! I've never tried this method, yet it's a lot faster then using the pen tool. I can't wait to try your method using the brush tool! Nice upload!

[@Beatbyawhiteboy]

+Reign Designs Yeah. With a Tablet, it's so much faster than the "Pen Tool" to draw the shapes and create line strokes. Hence why I bought one recently. Got myself a Wacom Intous Pen & Touch.

[@LarrieFromCA]

Cool, thanks Iona. Very good tutorial.

[@marcelofaviodesigner]

great illustrator tutorial! love it

[@starblazer64]

Gorgeous Artwork! And Aye Love Pirates! Arrrrrr! Subscribed!

[@R_A120]

Thank you, I've been looking for a way to give better shape and outlines to my drawings, this has helped immensly

[@CMVATutorials]

Really nice job. Love your work. Just recently got a Cintiq and your video is very inspiring.

[@danthomas5934]

Awesome work!! fantastic tutorial!!! Thank You