Create a Simple Audio Player Bar in Adobe Illustrator

In this quick tip you will learn how to create a simple audio player bar. This is mostly about the basics of pixel perfect vector shape building techniques. We’ll start with a simple rectangles and the Rounded Corners effect. Next, we’ll use some Offset and Pathfinder techniques to create the highlights. Finally, some masking/blending techniques and the Drop Shadow effect will help us add the final touches.

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Step 1

Create a 600 by 300px, RGB document. First, enable the Grid (View > Show Grid) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid). Next, you’ll need a grid every 5px. Go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid, enter 5 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. You can also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Do not forget to replace the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Unit > General. All these options will significantly increase your work speed.

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Step 2

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 525 by 30px shape. Fill it with the linear gradient shown below, make sure that there’s no color set for the stroke and go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners Enter a 5px radius, click OK and go to Object > Expand Appearance.

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Step 3

Reselect the shape created in the previous step and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Enter a 1px Offset and click OK. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown below and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the left window, click OK then go again to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the right window and click OK.

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Step 4

For the following steps you will need a grid every 1px. So, go to Edit > Preferences > Guides > Grid and enter 1 in the Gridline every box. Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 47 by 30px shape. Fill it with the linear gradient shown below, remove the color from the stroke and place it as shown in the following image. The Snap to Grid should ease your work.

Select this new rectangle and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and hit the down arrow once. Thanks to the Snap to Grid your shape will move 1px down. Reselect both copies, open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder) and click on the Minus Front button. Fill the resulting shape with white.

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Step 5

Reselect the two shapes created in the previous step and group them. Make a copy (Control + C > Control + F) of this group and drag it to the right as shown in the following image.

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Step 6

Pick the Type Tool (T), add some simple text and place it as shown in the following image. Use the Tahoma font then set the size at 10pt and the color set at R= 75 G=75 B=75. Make sure that this text is still selected and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown below and click OK.

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Step 7

Reselect the rounded rectangle created in the second step and make two copies. Select the top copy and move it 1px up. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with white and bring it to front (Shift + Control + Right Square Bracket).

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Step 8

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create two, 1 by 30px rectangles. Place them one next to the other then fill the left shape with R=150 G=150 B=150 and the right shape with white. Group these two rectangles then make a copy of the group. Select this second group and hit the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown below and open the Transparency panel (Window > Transparency).

The white numbers from the gradient image stand for location percentage. Select this new shape along with the group created in the beginning of the step, open the fly-out menu of the Transparency panel and click on Make Opacity Mask. In the end your masked group should look like in the fourth image.

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Step 9

Reselect the masked group from the previous step and duplicate it (Control + F). Move this new group a few pixels to the right and go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check the Vertical button and click OK. Reselect both groups and duplicate them (Control + C > Control + F). Drag these groups one by one and place them as shown in the final image.

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Step 10

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 5px square, fill it with R=95 G=95 B=95 and remove the color from the stroke. Continue with the Rectangle Tool, create a 5 by 11px shape, fill it with R=95 G=95 B=95 and place it as shown in the second image. Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and focus on this new shape. Select the top, left anchor point and move it 4px down then select the bottom, left anchor point and move it 4px up.

In the end your shape should look like in the third image. Return to the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 1 by 3px , a 1 by 7px and a 1 px 11px shapes, fill them with R=95 G=95 B=95 and place them as shown in the fourth image. Select all the shapes created in this step, click on the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel and go to Object > Compound Path > Make.

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Step 11

Reselect the compound path created in the previous step and place it as shown in the first image. Focus on it and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 2px down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make) and fill it with R=45 G=45 B=45. Reselect the compound path created in the previous step and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the final image and click OK.

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Step 12

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create two, 3 by 11px shape, fill them with R=95 G=95 B=95 and place them as shown in the first image. Turn them into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make) then make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F).

Select the top copy and move it 2px down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make) and fill it with R=45 G=45 B=45. Reselect the compound path created in the beginning of this step and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the final image and click OK.

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Step 13

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 250 by 6px shape, fill it with the linear gradient shown below and place it as shown in the first image. Continue with the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 150 by 6px shape, fill it with R=175 G=175 B=175 and place it as shown in the second image.

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Step 14

Select the first rectangle created in the previous step and make two copies in front (Control + C > Control + F > Control + F). Select the top copy and move it 1px down. Reselect both copies and click on the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with R=62 G=62 B=62, change its blending mode to Screen and bring it to front (Shift + Control + ] ). Reselect the first rectangle created in the previous step and add a 1pt stroke. Set, its color at R=45 G=45 B=45, align it to inside. Make sure that your shape is still selected and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the data shown in the final image and click OK.

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Step 15

Pick the Rectangle Tool, create a 60 by 6px shape and a 30 by 6px shape place them as shown in the first image then add the properties used for the shapes created in the previous two steps.

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Conclusion

Now your work is done. Here is how it should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tut.

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How to Create a Broken Mirror Effect with Clipping Masks in Illustrator

Lately I have seen on a magazine a woman reflected on a broken mirror. The shot was supposed to be real, but it was a clear Photoshop job, and I felt like the magazine was cheating. So I thought, how could I make an artistic broken mirror effect?

Introduction

This is an artistic effect that gives the impression of an image reflected on a broken mirror, and it is done using Adobe Illustrator. To achieve this effect you will learn how to use Clipping Masks on multiple objects, to give a 3D effect and to use the Blob Brush Tool to add a shadowing effect.

For the purpose of this tutorial I am using a picture from Photodune.

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Step 1

In Illustrator, open the picture of a broken mirror to use as a reference (to do that: File > Open > Name of your file). Double click on its layer, rename it "Mirror" and lock it.

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Step 2

Now we will draw the fragments of the mirror on four different layers, so open four new layers and call them "Small", "Large", "Medium" and "Small2".

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Step 3

Select the Pen Tool (P) and choose a color that will stand out from all the rest of the colors, such as green, blue or red. Select the layer "Small" and lock all the rest of them. Use the Pen Tool (P) to trace the borders of the smaller fragments. Don’t trace them all, as for the small fragments you have two layers.

Notice that some fragments overlap. Continue tracing them imagining the shape they have under the piece of mirror that covers them. As this is just a guide, there is no need to be precise, and pay attention to the beauty of the composition, more than the actual displacement of the fragments.

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Step 4

When you finish tracing the fragments of the layer "Small", lock this layer and move to the next one. Change the color of your pen and trace the fragments of the layer "Medium". You can let overlap some of the fragments. Do the same with the other two layers. At the end you will have a result similar to this:

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Step 5

Now it is time to bring the picture we will be using. Make a new layer right above the "Mirror" one and call it "Pict".

To place your picture, go to File > Place > Name of your picture.

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Step 6

Selecting the Artboard Tool (Shift + O) in the tools palette, change the size of the artboard to adapt it to your picture.

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Step 7

Copy and paste some of the fragments you traced in order to cover the entire picture, with the biggest fragments covering the face. Now you can delete the layer "Mirror" if you want.

Copy and Paste in place (Ctrl/Command + Shift + V) the picture on all the other layers, then send it back (select it, right click on it and choose Arrange > Send To Back) to have the fragments covering it.

Make small changes to all of the copies of the picture to replicate the casuality of the broken mirror: one will be smaller, one will be slightly moved to the left and so on. Reposition all the fragments in each layer to cover nicely your picture. Resize the fragments if you need to.

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Step 8

Now it’s time to make the masks that will create the effect of the broken mirror. Make all the layers invisible but the "Large" one. Select all by pressing Ctrl/Command + A and deselect the picture by keeping pressed Shift on the keybord and selecting it with the mouse. Now just the fragments are selected.

Go to Object > Compound Path > Make. Select both the fragment and the picture and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make.

Done! Impressive result, isn’t it? Do the same thing with all the other layers. You can delete the layer "Pict" if you want.

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Step 9

Let’s add some 3D effect. With all the layers visible, press on your keybord Ctrl/Command + A to select everything. Then go to Effect > 3D > Extrude And Bevel.Place the window that opens in a place where you can see what happens to your work, then check the Preview box. This slows the memory of your computer, but you can preview what you are doing.
Play directly with the cube to adjust the orientation of your artwork and with the value of Extrude and Depth.

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Step 10

Move the layers until you find the right visual combination and change their hierarchy. If necessary, you can also delete one layer.

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Step 11

Almost finished, we just need a floor. Now make a new layer, call it "Texture" and put it on the bottom of your layers pannel, then place your texture of a floor.

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Step 12

Make a new layer above the "Texture" and call it "Shadow". With the Blob Brush Tool (Shift + B) and all the other layers locked, choose the black fill and draw part of the edges of your broken mirror.

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Step 13

Now with all the other layers locked, select all the content on your "Shadow" layer, go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and choose a radius (for this work I chosed 20 pixels). Click OK and then change the Opacity to 50%, to give just a bit of shadow, and you are done!

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Conclusion

I hope you liked this effect. To accomplish the final result you learnt a few helpful tricks that you could creatively use also in your future works. Till the next time!

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