How to Make a New iTunes Button in Illustrator CS5

You can make an iTunes button in Illustrator CS5 by applying color gradients -- smooth color blends -- to circular vector shapes to simulate button-shading. Use the "Paintbrush" tool to draw the eighth note symbol. The gradients are the key to this project, because the shading effects they provide make a 2-D circle shape appear as a 3-D sphere. Observe closely how real spherical buttons appear under a single light source to verify and improve the authenticity of Illustrator's gradient fill effects.

Instructions

1. Click the "Ellipse" icon from the tool palette to run the tool for drawing ellipses and circles, then press and hold the "Shift" key to indicate you want to draw a circle. Drag on the canvas to define the circle, then click the slider control at the bottom of the "Gradient" panel to indicate you want to fill this shape with a gradient rather than a solid color.

2. Click the tiny left tab below the gradient slider's left side to initiate selection of one of the colors for the gradient.

3. Click the "RGB" option from the "Colors" panel, then click a rich blue hue from that panel. Use this and the previous step's instructions to select the black color for the tiny color tab below the gradient slider's right side.

4. Click the tool palette icon shaped like a rectangle with multiple shades of gray to run the "Gradient fill" tool, then click above the circle to place the gradient's first point. Drag to point close below the circle, then click again to fill the circle with the gradient. This action shades the circle so it appears lit from above. Add a highlight to the circle to emphasize the simulated light source.

5. Press "Ctrl-C" then press "Ctrl-V" to copy and duplicate the circle. Press "V" to enter the movement and selection mode, then drag the duplicated circle so it overlaps the top of the original circle. The overlapping portion will hold the highlight for the button.

6. Drag a selection region around the original and duplicate circle, then click the "Divide" command of the "Pathfinder" panel to enable deletion of all parts of the duplicate circle except that which you'll use for the highlight.

7. Click each portion of the duplicated circle, except the one overlapping the original circle, and press "Delete" to delete the portion.

8. Follow the instructions from the first four steps to add a blue-to-white gradient to the highlight portion you just created, then drag the "Opacity" slider above the canvas to about 75 percent. This action enables the highlight to blend smoothly with the underlying circle.

9. Click the paintbrush icon from the tool palette to enter painting mode, then drag in the button to draw two connected eighth notes.

References

• "Illustrator CS5 Bible"; Ted Alspach; 2010
• "Design Basics"; David Lauer; 2007

Resources

• Stanford University: Common Music Notation
• Bob Keller: Impro-Visor Music Program
• Virginia Tech: Anatomy of a Note