Master the Art of Watercolor Backgrounds in Illustrator

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Setting up the Document
3. Creating the Circle Shape
4. Adding Gradient Mesh
5. Distorting the Gradient Mesh
6. Creating the Background
7. Adding More Copies of Gradient Mesh
8. Creating a Brush
9. Adding Brush Strokes
10. Final Touches

How to Create a Watercolor Background in Adobe Illustrator

Are You looking for a quick and easy way to Create a watercolor background in Illustrator? Look no further! In this tutorial, I will guide you through the process of creating a beautiful watercolor background in Adobe Illustrator.

Introduction

Before we begin, make sure to check out Envato Elements, where with a simple subscription, you can get unlimited access to millions of creative digital assets, such as music graphics, including watercolor backgrounds, photos, fonts, and many more. You can subscribe right now with the link in the description.

Setting up the Document

Let's open Illustrator and create a new document. Select "Pixels" from the drop-down menu, set the width to 1920 pixels, and the Height to 1080 pixels. Make sure that the color mode is set to RGB and the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. Then click the "Create" button. You can press "Ctrl + 0" to fit this artboard on your entire screen.

Creating the Circle Shape

Once we have set up the document, we can start working on the design. Go to "Window" in the menu bar and open the brushes panel, the color panel, the layers panel, and the transparency panel. Once you're set, you can select the ellipse tool from your toolbar and click on your artboard to open a window where you can easily set the size for the shape that you wish to create. Let's make it a 150-pixel circle. Click "OK" to create your new shape and then focus on the color panel to set the color of your shape. First, select the stroke and remove the color, and then select the fill and replace the white with "31 102 and 158". Press "Ctrl + " a few times to zoom in on your circle, and then go to "Object" and create a gradient mesh. Set the number of rows and columns to 7, keep the appearance set to flat, and the highlights to 100 percent. Then click "OK" to easily turn your circle into a gradient mesh.

Adding Gradient Mesh

Now switch to the Lasso tool font from your toolbar and use it to draw a selection around these points to easily select them. Once you're done, move to the color panel and change the color of these points to "0 148 and 211". Get back to your mesh and use the lasso tool again to select these two points. Hold down the shift key to add to your selection these points and again hold down the shift key to select all these points. Once you're done, return to the color panel and change the color of these nodes to "0 202 and 234". Head back to your mesh and use the same technique to select all these points. Once you're done, return to the color panel to change the color for these selected nodes to white.

Distorting the Gradient Mesh

For the next move, you'll need the wrinkle tool. If you can't find this tool inside your toolbar, all you have to do is click this button and drag the wrinkle tool inside your toolbar. Click again this button to close the panel and then double-click the wrinkle tool to set the settings for this tool. Start by setting both of these settings to 60 pixels, the angle to 45 degrees, and the intensity to 100. Set both of these settings to 100, increase the complexity to 6, and lower the details to 1. Make sure that you have all of these boxes checked and click "OK". Switch to the selection tool so that you can select this entire gradient mesh, and then reselect the wrinkle tool to distort your mesh. Click and drag and make circular movements to distort the lines of your gradient mesh until you end up with something that's somewhat similar to this.

Creating the Background

Once you're done, move to the transparency panel and change the blending mode of your distorted gradient mesh to multiply. Now press "Ctrl + 0" to fit the artboard on your entire screen. Switch to the rectangle tool from your toolbar and use it to create a shape that's the size of your artboard. Click "OK" to create this new shape. Make sure that the fill color is set to white and then focus on the control panel to set the alignment to artboard. Click these two buttons to easily center your rectangle. Now move to the layers panel, open your layer, and drag this rectangle to the bottom of the layers panel. Then lock it to make sure that you will not select or move it by accident. Press "Ctrl + N -" to zoom out a bit, and then drag this gradient mesh outside your artboard about like this.

Adding More Copies of Gradient Mesh

Now hold down the alt key and just click and drag your gradient mesh to easily duplicate it. Continue to use this technique to add more copies, Scale and rotate these copies as you wish, and create something like waves above and below the background until you end up with something that's somewhat similar to this design. Once you're done, you can use the selection tool to select all of these gradient mesh copies, press "Ctrl + G" to group them, and then focus on the transparency panel to lower the opacity of this group to 40 percent. This group will serve as the background. You can lock this group to make sure that you will not select or move it by accident. Then reselect your original gradient mesh, remember to drag it on top of the group in the layers panel, and then use the same technique to add a bunch of new copies until you end up with something that's somewhat similar to this. The elements of this new set of copies shouldn't totally cover up the first one.

Creating a Brush

Once you're done, select all of these copies and press "Ctrl + G" to group them. Lower the opacity of this new group to 40 percent, and this group will serve as the middle ground of your composition. Make sure that you lock this new group. Move again your original gradient mesh in the top of the layers panel, select it, and create one more set of copies that shouldn't totally cover up the first and Second groups. Again, select all of these new copies, press "Ctrl + G" to group them, and lower the opacity of this new group to 70 percent.

Adding Brush Strokes

For the final touches, let's create a brush. Start by selecting the ellipse tool from your toolbar and use it to create a 6-pixel circle. Click "OK" to create this new shape, fill it with "0 148 and 211", and then click this new brush button from the brushes panel to save it as a scatter brush. Set these variations to random and the values between 18 and 100, 10 and 1000, and minus 160 and 160. Click "OK" to save this new brush, and grab the paintbrush tool from your toolbar. Use it to add some brush strokes with the help of your scatter brush. When you're done, you can go to the layers panel, hold down the shift key to easily select all of these pads. You can adjust the size of the brush by changing the thickness of the stroke, and finally, press "Ctrl + N + G" to group all of these pads and lower the opacity of this new group to 50.

Final Touches

With this final touch, your design is complete. I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. Remember to hit that like button as it helps me know that I did a good job. Subscribe if you aren't already, and don't forget to click the little Bell icon to be notified of any new tutorials. If you are looking to learn even more, you can always check out some of the many tutorials that Embattled Task Plus has to offer. I'm Andre Marius, and I'll see you in the next video.

Highlights

• Learn how to create a watercolor background in Adobe Illustrator
• Use the ellipse tool to create a circle shape
• Add gradient mesh and distort it with the wrinkle tool
• Create a background with multiple copies of the gradient mesh
• Use a scatter brush to add brush strokes
• Group and adjust the opacity of the elements to create a beautiful watercolor background

FAQ

Q: Can I use this technique to create other types of backgrounds? A: Yes, you can use this technique to create a variety of backgrounds by changing the colors and shapes of the elements.

Q: Do I need to have experience with Illustrator to follow this tutorial? A: No, this tutorial is designed for beginners and experts alike. It provides step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow.

Q: Can I use this technique for commercial projects? A: Yes, you can use this technique for commercial projects. However, make sure to check the licensing requirements for any assets you use from Envato Elements.