How to: Ghost Illustrator
Drawing a ghost in Adobe Illustrator depends on two variables: how you visualize your subject matter and which tools you rely on as you create your artwork. You can use the Pen tool to draw a chain-dragging figure with a candlestick, or apply Live Trace to a photograph and turn your portrait subject into a ghostly apparition. If you prefer quicker results, rendering a nebulous floating figure doesn't require a detailed drawing. Today's Illustrator tool set includes transparency features and live effects that can help your ghost transcend the sharply defined shapes of classic vector artwork.
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Instructions
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Open the "Window" menu and choose "Color" to bring up the color panel. Open the fly-out menu at the top right corner of the panel and set the color mode to "Grayscale."
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Activate the "Rectangle" tool in the Adobe Illustrator toolbox. Click and drag on your art board to create a box that will serve as the background for your ghost. Set the fill color of your box to 100 percent black in the color panel.
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Switch to the "Ellipse" tool. Click and drag on top of your black panel to create a shape that's wider than it is tall, narrower than your background box and roughly centered relative to it.
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Double-click on "Gradient" Adobe Illustrator toolbox to bring up the "Gradient" panel so you can set the fill for your ellipse. Set the gradient type to "Linear" with an angle of -90 degrees. Double-click on the gradient slider at the left below the color ramp and set its color to zero percent black in the Color panel. Double-click on the gradient slider at the right end and set its color to 65 percent black. Click on the small diamond-shaped midpoint above the color ramp and set "Location" to 75 percent, increasing the area of the gradient that's filled with white and reducing the darker portion.
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Open the "Window" menu and choose "Transparency." Set your ellipse to 75 percent opaque so it fades subtly into the background.
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Open the "Object" menu, choose "Path" and select "Add Anchor Points" to create intermediate control points along the path of your ellipse, placed halfway between each existing pair. Repeat this operation to add another set of points.
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Open the "Effect" menu, select "Distort & Transform" and "Roughen." Activate the "Preview" check box so you can observe the results of your settings as you enter them. In the "Options" section of the "Roughen" dialogue box, set the size to 10 percent, activate the "Relative" size option and set the detail level to two per inch. Set the "Points" style to "Smooth" so your ellipse transforms into a wavering shape with no jagged edges. Click on the "OK" button to apply your effect.
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Open the "Effect" menu again, navigate to the "Stylize" submenu in the top section of the menu and select "Outer Glow." Set the "Mode" to the default of "Normal." Click on the color swatch to the right of the "Mode" drop-down menu to open the "Color Picker" so you can set the color of your glow. In the "Color Picker," set the "B" value in the "HSB" section to 100 percent to yield white. Click on the "OK" button to apply the color setting. Back in the "Outer Glow" dialogue box, set the "Opacity" to 75 percent and the blur to 36 points. Click on the "OK" button to apply your effect, which gives your shape an unearthly halo.
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Open the "Effect" menu a third time. From the "Blur" submenu in the bottom section of the menu, choose "Gaussian Blur." Choose "Radius" and set it to 50 points. Click on the "OK" button to apply your effect, which softens the outer edges of your shape into their appropriately nebulous form.
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Tips & Warnings
Save your combination of effect settings as a graphic style in the Illustrator panel of the same name. Once you do so, you can apply everything from the gradient fill through the effects and transparency features in one click, making it easy to add more ghosts with the same appearance attributes.
Unless you work on top of a dark background object or fill your ghost shape with some color other than white, you won't be able to see it in your Illustrator document because your art board also is white.
Reduce the opacity of your ghost to make it look as if it is farther away to create an illusion of depth.
If you're working on a computer that meets the minimum, rather than the recommended, specifications for Adobe Illustrator, these effects may slow down your performance as you apply them.
References
Resources
- The Adobe Illustrator CS5 Wow! Book; Sharon Steuer
- Real World Adobe Illustrator CS5; Mordy Golding
- Adobe Illustrator CS5 Bible; Ted Alspach
- Illustrator CS5 for Windows and Macintosh Visual QuickStart Guide; Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
- Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium All-in-One for Dummies; Jennifer Smith et al.
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
