1 [CREATE NEW RGB DOCUMENT]
Choose File>New, select Basic RGB from the New Document Profile pop-up menu, and click OK. Open the Symbols panel (Window>Symbols), then click the flyout menu and choose Open Symbol Library>Grime Vector Pack.

2 [DRAG SYMBOL ONTO ARTBOARD]
Next, click-and-drag Grime Vector Pack 09 from the Grime Vector Pack panel onto the artboard. Go up to the Control panel and click the Break Link button. This will turn the art into a regular shape rather than a symbol instance. Open the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches) and choose a bright green color for the shape.

3 [DRAG SECOND SYMBOL ONTO ARTBOARD]
Go back to the Grime Vector Pack panel and click-and-drag Grime Vector Pack 10 onto the artboard. Once again, click the Break Link button to turn it into a regular shape. Then choose a red color for this shape in the Swatches panel.

4 [TURN SHAPES BACK INTO SYMBOLS]
At this point we have two splat shapes: a red one and a green one. With the Selection tool (V), take these shapes and turn them back into symbols by dragging them into the Symbols panel. In the Symbol Options dialog that appears, choose Graphic and give each symbol a name. This will also turn these existing shapes on the artboard into symbol instances.

5 [CHANGE PERSPECTIVE OF SYMBOL]
Select one of the shapes and choose Effect>3D>Rotate. This will allow you to rotate the object in 3D while still being 2D. In the 3D Rotate Options dialog that appears, you can grab the cube and rotate the object freely, or you can input the numbers manually for exact positioning (click the Preview checkbox to see your changes). To rotate the object on a specific axis, place your cursor where any two sides of the cube meet in the dialog. The colored lines correspond to a specific axis, as indicated on the right. As a final touch, set the Perspective to 100° to give it an exaggerated perspective that adds more interest.

6 [APPLY SAME ROTATION TO SECOND SYMBOL]
Repeat Step 5 for the other symbol to apply the same 3D rotation, then position them so they overlap each other, as shown here. If the perspective seems off, you can always modify the 3D settings of either symbol. To do this, select a symbol, open the Appearance panel (Window>Appearance), and click the 3D Rotate effect.

7 [ADD TEXT; CONVERT TO OUTLINES]
Select the Type tool (T) in the Toolbox. While you may use any word you like, we’ve chosen to be obvious and use the word SPLAT! We’re using a very bold font called Rockwell Extra Bold. Switch to the Selection tool, then go into the Swatches panel and choose a color that will go along with the red and green; we’re using blue. Now convert the text to outlines by choosing Type>Create Outlines.

8 [POSITION TEXT]
With the Selection tool, position this text over the 3D splats and resize to taste. Then, choose Effect>3D>Extrude & Bevel. What we need to do here is use the current 3D splats as a guide for the perspective. You can grab the cube and position the text in 3D. Notice we set the Perspective to 125° for a more exaggerated look. Also, set the Extrude Depth to 40 pt. Next, click the More Options button to reveal the lighting controls. Grab the light handle on the sphere and position it so it’s front and left of the sphere in relation to the text itself. Click OK.

9 [ROTATE LETTERS]
We have the text in 3D, but it needs something extra because it looks like it just slammed down on the floor. Because the 3D effect is a live effect, we can modify the original shapes of the text and it will be updated as we change them. Grab the Direct Selection tool (A) in the Toolbox and select any one of the letters. Then grab the Rotate tool (R) and give the letter a slight turn. The 3D effect will redraw based on the new position. Do this to a couple other letters, slightly varying the rotation.

10 [ADD SHADOWS]
Select the Pen tool (P) in the Toolbox and set the Fill color to black up in the Control panel. Draw some shapes at the bottom of the letters that conform to the contour somewhat, as these will be shadows. Once all the shapes are done, choose the Selection tool and Shift-click each shadow area to select them. Open the Transparency panel (Window>Transparency) and lower the Opacity to 50%. Now we need to put these shadow shapes behind the letters. Click on a letter with the Selection tool and choose Object>Arrange>Bring to Front.

11 [MAP ART]
Let’s go back to those colored splats we created earlier. We’re going to make it appear as if some of the color splashed up onto the letters. With the text still selected, open the Appearance panel and click on 3D Extrude & Bevel. In the 3D Extrude & Bevel Options dialog, click on the Map Art button to open the Map Art dialog. The current surface is indicated by a red outline on the art itself. To get to the front face of the letter P, toggle through the numbered surfaces at the top of the Map Art dialog until the red outline selects it.

12 [ADD SPLAT COLORS TO LETTERS]
With the P selected (the outline, not the solid), click the Symbol menu and find the splat symbols. Select the green one and it will apply to the letter. If the graphic comes in really big, click the Scale to Fit button at the bottom, then drag it toward the bottom of the letter. Make sure the Preview button is checked so you can see the result. Use the control handles on the bounding box to resize and rotate the symbol as necessary. Continue to add these splats to other letters and this will result in a cool splash effect on the text.

Final Image

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Much of the peripheral visual media for a movie is also rich with inspiration. Has your attention ever been captured by a really well-designed movie poster, even if you weren’t interested in the movie? Before you know it you’re examining the logo, the overall image, the colors—and you suddenly find yourself a little inspired. This happens to me all the time and it motivates me to try and re-create the effect.

One of the most visually stunning aspects of these posters is the overwhelmingly creative use of type. For some movies, the logo becomes one of the stars of the movie, and it gets its own star treatment in a way. For instance, let’s consider Steven Spielberg’s film, Jurassic Park (www.jurassicpark.com). (I assume we’ve all seen it.) The posters for this movie were nothing more than the actual Jurassic Park logo on a black background. The logo had a certain theme park feel to it and that was all that was needed. It became an easily recognizable icon. Hence the name became one of the stars. You often see this with big-budget epic films—because these movies are promoted so heavily, they need eye-catching imagery.

Another Spielberg classic that has a recognizable typeface is Raiders of the Lost Ark (www.indianajones.com). This type style has been typecast (pardon the pun) as a standard look for conveying action and adventure, and it’s been mimicked many times. Then there are those films’ titles that are a bit understated, but the appearance of the text still plays a critical role. Take The Matrix (http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com), for example. The text treatment on this film used a standard typeface that was broken up and slightly offset in various places for a sort of convoluted effect. The result is a very simple graphic look, yet powerful enough to carry the theme of the movie. Other movies use simple customized fonts with mild type adjustments for a subtle effect. One example would be Spider-Man (http://spiderman.sonypictures.com). This text effect is a line of text in a specially designed typeface with some careful character spacing, which is very effective.

The font that’s chosen has a critical role, as it needs to invoke a feeling associated with the film. A common font used in movie titles is Trajan Pro. In fact, this font has been used so much that it has become sort of an inside joke with working professionals (check out http://typographica.org/001120.php). Why is it so popular? I’m sure different designers have different reasons, but I think it’s because it’s a classy looking and easily readable font. Still, it seems that it’s been overused. My point is this: It’s important that the typeface works with the title it’s portraying. You can see how certain types of movies, especially in specific genres, all have common type effects among them. Big effects movies tend to have really elaborate logos; sci-fi movies tend to have more angular, modern-looking text; while dramas will have more basic and straightforward text with subtle colors. Comedies and animated films tend to be colorful with bolder text, and often have some element of 3D.

For future reference
So with the ubiquity of so many examples on television, on the Web, and of course, in movie theaters, we seem to have an infinite database of images from which to gather ideas. If I see a logo or title that has a cool effect or captures my imagination in some way, I have to try and re-create it. When you’re studying an effect, look at the whole thing but also break it down and look at the parts. You might just see a part of the effect you like. When you do, then it’s time to reverse-engineer it—not to figure out how the original designer did it, but rather how you might do it and incorporate these techniques into your own work.

While it’s obvious that most of us aren’t creating type treatments for major feature films, by engaging our imagination we can use existing examples to help us explore how we might create a certain effect and perhaps come up with a new technique altogether. It’s been proven that you tend to be more creative when faced with a challenge, so start with something you’ve seen. No, don’t steal, but rather use it as a springboard from which to sort out your own technique and style.

Create your own title
Let’s put this into practice. Just recently, DreamWorks Animation released their newest feature Monsters vs. Aliens (www.monstersvs-aliens.com). The type treatment for this movie was designed to carry the theme of the movie, which portrayed the word “Monsters” with a more organic look and the word “Aliens” with a more angular, hi-tech look. Now, one thing was obvious when I first saw this: It was no doubt done in a 3D application. Does that mean we need a 3D app to create this look? Not necessarily. After a little experimenting, I discovered a way to get a similar result, all in Photoshop, with no 3D application at all. We’re going to create our own movie title in order to explore the technique, which would be the case anyway, because you want to use the technique on your own text.

STEP ONE: Start by creating a new file in Photoshop (the one shown here is 12×7″ at 150 ppi) and set your text. We’re going make a logo for a made-up movie called Human vs. Machine. Of course, the name isn’t super-important here; it’s the technique we’re playing with. We set the word “HUMAN” in Gill Sans Ultra Bold and “MACHINE” is conveniently set in a font called BN Machine (available from www.dafont.com). How nice! Adjust the tracking so the two words are the same width as shown here. (Note: To adjust tracking, double-click the type thumbnail in the Layers panel to both select the type and switch to the Type tool, hold the Option key [PC: Alt key], and use the Left and Right Arrow keys on your keyboard.)

STEP TWO: Control-click (PC: Right-click) on the HUMAN text layer in the Layers panel and select Create Work Path from the menu. This will create a vector path for the text. In the Paths panel, double-click on the Work Path, change it’s name to “Human” in the Save Path dialog, and click OK. Repeat this step for the MACHINE text layer. You should have two path layers in the Paths panel.

Select the HUMAN path layer in the Paths panel, grab the Path Selection tool (A), and select all the paths that create the letters on the canvas. Click the Eye icon next to the HUMAN and MACHINE layers in the Layers panel to hide the original text.

STEP THREE: Go under the Edit menu to Transform Path and choose Warp. In the Options Bar, choose Bulge from the Warp drop-down menu. Set the Bend to –15 and the Vertical Distortion setting to 10% (you may have to experiment with these settings depending on the size of your text and resolution of your document). Then press Enter twice to commit the transformation. Repeat this step for the other word in the title. You may need to do some additional scaling of the text after you apply the warp to both paths (just select the letters with the Path Selection tool and press Command-T [PC: Ctrl-T]).

STEP FOUR: In the Layers panel, click the Create a New Layer icon, and then
Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) on the HUMAN path layer in the Paths panel to create a selection. Click the Foreground color swatch at the bottom of the Toolbox, pick a dark gray color in the Color Picker, and click OK, then press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill your selection with the Foreground color. Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect.

Repeat this step for the MACHINE path and press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect. When done, you should have a result similar to what you see here with each word on its own layer. (Use the Move tool [V] to reposition the layers if needed.)

STEP FIVE: Double-click directly on the name of the first layer that you just created in Step 4 (Layer 1) and rename it “Human 1.” Similarly, rename Layer 2 “Machine 1.” Now Shift-click and drag these two layers to the Create a New Layer icon to duplicate them. Click the Eye icon for these new layers to hide them for now. We’ll come back to them later.

Activate the Rulers by pressing Command-R (PC: Ctrl-R), click the Human 1 layer in the Layers panel to make it the active layer, then drag a couple of vertical guides from the ruler and place them at each side of the text. They should snap right to the edge.

STEP SIX: With the Human 1 layer still active, click the Add a Layer Style icon (fx) at the bottom of the Layers panel and choose Stroke. Set the Size to 3 and the Position to Inside. Down in the Fill Type area, choose Gradient from the drop-down menu. Click on the gradient preview, choose the Copper preset gradient in the Gradient Editor dialog, and click OK. Back in the Layer Style dialog, set the angle to140˚. Click OK. This gradient will play an important roll when we make this look 3D.

STEP SEVEN: We need to rasterize this effect by merging it with an empty layer, so create a new layer and drag it under the Human 1 layer. Reselect the Human 1 layer and press Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E) to merge it down into the empty layer. This will render the layer style to the text (you’ll need to rename the merged layers to “Human 1” again). Then go under the Image menu to Adjustments and select Desaturate.

STEP EIGHT: Now press Command-T (PC: Ctrl-T) to invoke Free Transform once again. Grab the center target point, hold down the Shift key, and drag it straight down to the bottom of the canvas. This will be the vanishing point for the 3D effect. Go into the Options Bar and click the chain icon to lock the proportions, then enter 90% for the Width; the Height should change accordingly. The graphic will scale down toward the center target. Press Enter twice to commit the transformation.

STEP NINE: Now load this layer as a selection by holding down the Command key (PC: Ctrl key) and clicking on the layer preview thumbnail for Human 1 in the Layers panel. Press Option-Command-T (PC: Alt-Ctrl-T) to start a step-and-repeat move (keeping it selected will ensure the repeated items stay on one layer). Drag the center target point to the bottom of the canvas again just like before. Go into the Options Bar and again click on the chain icon to lock the proportions, and set the Width to 100.4%; the Height will set automatically. (Yes, this is a small amount but it’s important for getting the 3D look in the next step.) Press Enter twice to commit the transformation.

STEP TEN: Press Shift-Option-Command-T (PC: Shift-Alt-Ctrl-T) over and over until the edge of the graphic once again touches the guides. What you’ll get is a cool 3D effect that’s enhanced with the addition of the gradient stroke we applied in Step 6. Pretty cool, huh? Press Command-D (PC: Ctrl-D) to deselect and then repeat Steps 6 through 10 for the Machine 1 layer (you may need to reposition the guides to the left and right edge of the word first). Make sure to create a duplicate layer of any other layer to which you want to apply this effect.

STEP ELEVEN: Okay, now that the 3D part is done, let’s finish off the face of the text. Remember those duplicate layers we created? Go ahead and activate the Human 1 copy layer and make it visible. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the layer thumbnail to select that layer, set the Foreground color to R: 0, G: 174, B: 239, click OK, and press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the layer with that color. Click on the Human 1 layer to make it active in the Layers panel and select Hue/Saturation in the Adjustments panel. Click on the Colorize checkbox and set the Hue to 210 and the Saturation to 50. This will apply a blue tint to the 3D edge.

STEP TWELVE: Click back on the Human 1 copy layer to make it active, then double-click on the layer to open the Layer Style menu and choose Bevel and Emboss. Feel free to experiment with these settings to see how they look but the settings shown here work pretty good for what we’re after here. (Note the Gloss Contour has been changed to the Half Round preset and the Shadow Mode color has been changed to a dark purple.) Don’t click OK yet.

STEP THIRTEEN: Activate Pattern Overlay in the list of Styles on the left. Click the Pattern thumbnail preview to open the Pattern Picker and choose the Clouds pattern. (Note: If you don’t see the Clouds pattern, click the flyout menu in the Pattern Picker, choose Texture Fill at the very bottom of the menu, and click Append in the resulting dialog.) Then change the Blend Mode to Hard Light. Finally, activate Stroke. Set the Size to 5 and the Position to Inside. Change the Blend Mode to Overlay. Click OK and then deselect.

STEP FOURTEEN: Now we need to create a pattern to use for the MACHINE text. Press D to set your Foreground/Background colors to their default black/white. Then create a new layer, fill it with white, and drag it to the top of the layer stack in the Layers panel. Using a small, hard-edged brush (B), click a point on the canvas and then Shift-click a second point to draw a straight brush line. Brush up and down, left to right, and at various angles all over the canvas. Also change the brush size periodically to vary the width of the strokes. Once done, go under the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. Name your pattern and click OK. You can either hide the pattern layer or throw it away.

STEP FIFTEEN:Select the Machine 1 copy layer and make it visible. Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the layer thumbnail to select that layer. Set the Foreground color to green (R:57, G:181, B:74), click OK, press Option-Delete (PC: Alt-Backspace) to fill the layer with that color, and deselect.

Now drag the Hue/Saturation layer that you created in Step Eleven to the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to duplicate it. Drag this duplicate adjustment layer above the Machine 1 layer. Hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) and click between the two layers to clip the Hue/Saturation layer to the Machine 1 layer. This will add the blue shade to the 3D edge of the MACHINE text.

Activate the Texture option just under Bevel and Emboss in the list of Styles on the left. Click on the Pattern preview to open the Pattern Picker, locate the pattern you just defined (it should be the last one in the list) and set the Depth to about 25%. You can also reposition the pattern by moving the style window to the side and clicking inside the image and dragging; this allows you to move it around to where you like. When done, click OK.

Command-click (PC: Ctrl-click) the layer thumbnail for the Machine 1 copy layer, set your Foreground color to green, and then fill the MACHINE text with the green color.

Now drag the Hue/Saturation layer that you created in Step 11 to the Create a New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to duplicate it. Drag this duplicate adjustment layer above the Machine 1 layer. Hold the Option key (PC: Alt key) and click between the two layers to clip the Hue/Saturation layer to the Machine 1 layer. This will add the blue shade to the 3D edge of the MACHINE text.

STEP SIXTEEN: Now we need to create a pattern to use for the MACHINE text. Press D to set your Foreground/Background colors to their default black/white. Then create a new layer, fill it with white, and drag it to the top of the layer stack in the Layers panel. Using a small, hard-edged brush (B), click a point on the canvas and then Shift-click a second point to draw a straight brush line. Brush up and down, left to right, and at various angles all over the canvas. Also change the brush size periodically to vary the width of the strokes. Once done, go under the Edit menu and choose Define Pattern. Name your pattern and click OK. You can either hide the pattern layer or throw it away.

STEP SEVENTEEN: Double-click on the Machine 1 copy layer to open the Layer Style dialog and choose Bevel and Emboss. Again, feel free to experiment with these settings or use the settings shown here. (Note: Use Global Light was turned off.) Don’t click OK yet.

Activate the Texture option just under Bevel and Emboss in the list of Styles on the left. Click on the Pattern preview to open the Pattern Picker, locate the pattern you just defined (it should be the last one in the list), and set the Depth to about 25%. You can also reposition the pattern by moving the style window to the side and clicking inside the image and dragging; this allows you to move it around to where you like. The final layer style to activate is Satin. Set the Blend Mode to Darken, the Opacity to 51%, the Angle to 23˚, the Distance to 15 px, and the Size to 13 px. Change the Contour to Linear and uncheck the Invert box. When done, click OK.

As you can see, we’ve achieved something very close to the original, using some relatively simple techniques right here in Photoshop. The most exciting part is that I learned some really cool things that I might not have ever discovered if I hadn’t challenged myself to re-create an existing logo. What I’ve gained are some new techniques that I can use for whatever projects may come up in the future. So remember, when you’re at the movies, or just about anywhere, pay close attention to the world of ideas that surround you. They’re out there; you just have to pay attention.

I couldn’t come up with a super-cool or classy name for this effect, so I just called it what it is: a really cool, swirly border design effect. These swirlys and flourishes have become quite popular lately and you’ve probably seen different ways of creating them. We’re going to show you a way that’s not only easy but also fun. Do enjoy!

1 [CREATE A ROUNDED RECTANGLE]
Choose File>New, select Basic RGB from the New Document Profile pop-up menu, and click OK. Click-and-hold on the Rectangle tool in the Toolbox, select the Rounded Rectangle tool from the menu, and click once on the artboard. A dialog will open where you can manually enter the dimensions for your rounded rectangle. Enter a Width of 725 pt, a Height of 285 pt, and set the Corner Radius to 15 pt. Click OK.

2 [APPLY FILL & STROKE TO SHAPE]
With the shape created, we need to change the color. Open the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches) and choose the brown swatch labeled R=117 G=76 B=36 for the Fill color of the shape. In the Control panel, set the Stroke color to none.

3 [CREATE SMALLER ROUNDED RECTANGLE]
With the Rounded Rectangle tool, click on the artboard once more. This time set the Width to 650 pt, the Height to 225 pt, and keep the Corner Radius at 15. Click OK. This will create a similar shape that’s a bit smaller than the first.

4 [APPLY FILL TO NEW SHAPE; ALIGN SHAPES]
In the Swatches panel, choose the tan swatch labeled R=199 G=178 B=153 for the Fill color of this shape. Set the Stroke color to none. Switch to the Selection tool (V) and select both shapes. Use the alignment icons in the Control panel to center the shapes: Horizontal Align Center and then Vertical Align Center.

5 [COPY SMALLER RECTANGLE; PASTE IN BACK]
Press Shift-Command-A to deselect the shapes, and then use the Selection tool to select just the front smaller rectangle. Choose Edit>Copy to copy this shape to the Clipboard. Now choose Edit>Paste in Back to place the duplicate one level behind the smaller shape but in front of the larger shape.

6 [SELECT FIRST TWO SHAPES AND LOCK]
While this new shape is still selected, hold down the Shift key and drag a selection from outside the shapes into all of the shapes. This will select the two other shapes and deselect the one inner shape. Then go under the Object menu, under Lock, and choose Selection. This will lock these shapes in place so we don’t change or move them accidentally.

7 [SELECT CENTER SHAPE]
Now drag over the shapes once more. You should only be able to select the inner shape that’s in between the locked shapes. You can test this by dragging the object to the side just a bit to make sure the other shapes are locked. Simply press Command-Z (PC: Ctrl-Z) to undo the move.

8 [SET OPTIONS FOR TWIRL TOOL]
In the Toolbox, click-and-hold on the Warp tool and select the Twirl tool from the menu. Double-click this tool in the Toolbox to open the Twirl Tool Options dialog. Here you can change the brush size and intensity, among other things. Change the Intensity to 40%. For the brush size, enter a starting value of 125 pt for both the Width and Height. Click OK.

9 [TWIRL THE CENTER SHAPE]
This next step can be a bit tricky and it may take a few tries. It did for me. Anyway, start at the upper-left corner and position the cursor so it’s about two-thirds over the shape. Then click-and-drag the Twirl tool up and to the left. The twirl will start the moment you click and will change as you drag. Try this a few times to get a feel for it. As I said, it may take some practice.

10 [CREATE RANDOM TWIRLS AROUND THE SHAPE]
You’ll notice that the twirl direction is counter-clockwise by default. To reverse the direction, simply click to start the twirl and then immediately hold down the Option key (PC: Alt key). Continue to randomly twirl different areas around the shape, varying the directions as you go. You can also vary the size of the brush by pressing-and-holding the Option key (PC: Alt key) and clicking-and-dragging. Add the Shift key to maintain the brush’s proportions.

11 [CHANGE TO OVERLAY; ADD DROP SHADOW]
Select the swirly object, and then open the Transparency panel (Window>Transparency). Change this object’s blend mode from Normal to Overlay. As an optional step, go under the Effect menu, under Illustrator Effects, and choose Stylize>Drop Shadow. Depending on the shape and size of your swirls, the shadow settings will vary.

12 [ADD TEXTURE TO FRONT SHAPE]
Go under the Object menu and select Unlock All. Select the front shape. Go under the Effect menu, under Photoshop Effects, and choose Texture>Texturizer. Select Sandstone for the Texture drop-down menu, set the Scaling to 200%, Relief to 5, Light position to the Top Left, and click OK. All that’s left is to add text or whatever elements you would like inside your new really cool, swirly border design.

Final Result

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1 START WITH A PHOTO
As mentioned above, it all starts with a photo. We’ve placed (File>Place) our photo of a dancer into a new Illustrator document. We just want to make this a simple black-and-white graphic, so with the photo selected, click the Live Trace button in the Control panel to invoke the default settings.

2 TWEAK THE THRESHOLD
Depending on your photo, the graphic may need some tweaking. In the Control panel, locate the Threshold field, click the arrow to its right, and adjust the slider to increase or decrease the setting. You’ll see the graphic change as you do this. Find the setting that makes the graphic the most appealing. For our image, we used a setting of 83.

3 EXPAND THE SHAPE TO A STANDARD OBJECT
We want to edit the vector object itself but, because the graphic has been traced, we’ll have to expand the shape from a Live Trace Object to a standard object, so click the Expand button in the Control panel. Sometimes the graphic will be grouped by default: Simply go under the Object menu and choose Ungroup.

4 DELETE ANY STRAY WHITE SHAPES
Now, there may be some stray white shapes that you can’t see. Just click inside any white areas and if one is selected, go under the Select menu and choose Same>Fill Color. This will select all the other white-filled shapes. Then just press Delete (PC: Backspace). All you should have left are the black shapes (as shown here). (Note: If you have any stray black areas outside your object that you don’t want as part of your design, delete those as well.)

5 CHOOSE DOT PATTERN VECTOR PACK
Now we’re done with our main graphic, so let’s add some elements to jazz it up. Open the Symbols panel (Window>Symbols), click on the flyout menu (top right), and choose Open Symbol Library>Dot Pattern Vector Pack. Select the first Dot Pattern named Dot Pattern Vector Pack 01 and drag it into the artboard.

(Note: If you don’t have Illustrator CS4, click here.)

6 BREAK LINK, COLOR, AND SEND TO BACK
Because this is a symbol instance, we need to break the link to the master symbol so we can edit the graphic. Do this by clicking the Break Link button in the Control panel. Now, open the Swatches panel (Window>Swatches) and click on a light-gray box to apply that color to the graphic. Using the Selection tool (V), place this graphic over the traced graphic and scale it as needed. Then go under the Object menu and choose Arrange>Send to Back. (Note: If you can’t see the dots behind your object frame, make sure your Fill is set to None in the Control panel.)

7 APPLY A GRIME VECTOR PACK
Go into the Symbols panel flyout menu again and this time, choose Open Symbol Library>Grime Vector Pack. In this panel, click on the Grime Vector Pack 09 symbol and drag it to the artboard. As we did in Step 6, click the Break Link button to make this an editable vector shape.

8 FILL THE GRIME SHAPE
In the Swatches panel, we chose the blue swatch (C:70, M:15, Y:0, K:0) to fill the grime shape and add to the “edginess” of the design. Of course, you should try playing with other colors to change up the feel of your graphic.

9 PLACE, DUPLICATE, ROTATE, AND SCALE SHAPES
Place this shape over the working design. Then, while holding down the Option (PC: Alt) key, click-and-drag the shape to create duplicates, and position these duplicate shapes so that they somewhat cover the traced figure. Vary these shapes by rotating and scaling them so the overall shape is more appealing (as shown).

10 BRING TRACED SHAPE TO FRONT
These grime shapes need to be behind the traced shape but in front of the dot graphic. Select the traced shape, go under the Object menu, and choose Arrange>Bring to Front. If needed, reposition the blue shapes to reveal certain parts of the figure.

11 SELECT GRUNGE BRUSH VECTOR PACK
Now open the Brushes panel (Window>Brushes). In the Brushes panel’s flyout menu, go to Open Brush Library, then Vector Packs, and select Grunge Brushes Vector Pack. Click on the Grunge Brush Vector Pack 07, then choose the Paintbrush tool (B) from the Toolbox.

12 ADD SOME GREEN STROKES
In the Control panel, click on the Stroke icon (second from left), then click on the green swatch (C:50, M:0, Y:100, K:0) to set your stroke to that color. Now, using the brush we selected in Step 11, paint random strokes around the subject, as you see here. If the stroke seems too small, just double-click the brush in the Brushes panel to open the Art Brush Options dialog, and enter a new percentage for Width. Vary the illusion of depth by sending some of the strokes behind the other shapes.

13 ADD SOME TEXT AND YOU’RE DONE
That pretty much does it. All that’s left is to add some text (we found a cool grunge font over at www.daFont.com) in a color from the overall design, and there you have it.

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