How to Make a Snow Globe in Illustrator
Beginning Illustrator artists can test their digital skills by creating a snow globe. You will play with transparency, masks, layers and even create custom brushes. You don't have to create a Christmas or winter scene, your snow globe can depict any scene you want.
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Instructions
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1
Import a JPEG image, or create a rectangle with a colored gradient fill to use for the background. Draw a base for your snow globe toward the bottom of the image, or a import clip art base. Lock both layers so you don't accidentally change or move them.
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2
Create a new layer named "Globe," and draw a circle with the ellipse tool above the base. Make sure you see a square next to the globe layer to indicate the globe path is inside the layer. Set the stroke to empty and change the fill to a radial gradient (blue at the outer edge to white at the center). Open the transparency palette and set the blend mode to "Hard Light" and the opacity to 15 percent.
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3
Add an object at the base of the snow globe (a Christmas tree, a dove, a cottage). You can create your own object, import clip art or add a symbol from one of Illustrator's symbol libraries.
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4
Select the paintbrush tool. Choose the 5-pt oval brush from the brushes palette. Set the fill to empty and the stroke to white. Paint a stroke inside the globe area.
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5
Choose "New Brush" from the brushes palette options menu and select "New Scatter Brush" as your new brush option. Change all of the options from "Fixed" to "Random" and adjust them until the dots begin to look like snow (the wider the ranger in the scatter settings, the better). Paint snow to fill the globe (don't worry if you cross the borders of the globe).
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6
Duplicate the globe and drag the copy to the top of the globe layer. Set the fill and stroke to empty. Select the globe layer in the layer palette and choose the "Make/Release Clipping Mask" icon in the layers palette. The snow outside the globe will disappear.
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7
Make another copy of the globe and drag it to just beneath the clipping path in the globe layer. Adjust the transparency and blend mode until your happy with the glass effect.
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Tips & Warnings
Hold the shift key while drawing with the ellipse tool to constrain the ellipse to a circular shape, or click on the art board to open the ellipse dialog and type in the exact measurements.
