How To Create an Intricate Vector Heart

Illustration
TUTORIALS

14 FEBRUARY 2011

34 COMMENTS

This post was originally published in 2011

THE TIPS AND TECHNIQUES EXPLAINED MAY BE OUTDATED.
In case you havent noticed, today is Valentines Day, so I thought it would be fitting to

base todays tutorial on some kind of lovey-dovey theme. Follow this step by step

Illustrator guide to creating an intricate vector heart illustration. Well build the various

patterns and shapes out of simple objects and modify their appearance with Illustrators

handy distort tools in order to completely fill our heart graphic with detailed elements.
Heres the illustration well be creating today. It features a range of vector shapes and

elements that combine to produce a super intricate and detailed pattern within the

overall heart outline.

VIEW THE FINAL HEART ILLUSTRATION

Open up Adobe Illustrator and create a new document. Draw and align two circles side

by side, then draw a triangle using the Polygon tool to match the exact width of the two

circles.
Use the Pathfinder tool to merge all the shapes together, then go to Object > Path >

Offset Path. Enter 2mm in the options to create a duplicate of the outline running

parellel to the original.

Copy (CMD+C) and Paste Behind (CMD+B) the outline, then switch the stroke to 5pt

weight with round options checked, then select the Dashed Line options and enter 0pt

dash and 5pt gap. This will create a cool dotted border.

Make another offset path, this time with -2mm settings. Add a dotted stroke to this

shape but with an 11pt gap in the dash settings. Play around with these figures to

balance out the number of dots so theyre symmetrical on both sides.

Elsewhere on the artboard draw a circle and give it a Zig Zag effect (Effect > Distort >

Zig Zag). Select the Smooth option and adjust the sliders to create a cool shape.
Create an offset path duplicate of this shape, then give the original a white stroke to

differentiate between the two.

Draw and align a circle to the centre of the shapes then give it some tweaking with the

Pucker & Bloat effect from the Distort menu.

Continue creating random shapes to build up the detail. Here Ive duplicated and rotated

the Pucker and Bloat shape and added a range of circles at various sizes.
Draw a couple of concentric circles, group and align them above this collection of

shapes. Select the Rotate tool and Alt-click the centre pivot point to open up the options

box. Enter 22.5 as the angle and press Copy. Repeatedly press CMD+D to repeat this

transformation until you have a full circle of shapes.

Draw a circle elsewhere on the artboard and drag to lower most point vertically

downwards with the Direct Selection tool. Hold ALT and click it with the Pen tool to clear

out the bezier handles from this point to form a sharp edge.
Duplicate and scale the shape to produce a white inner area then finish it off with a little

black circle. Group all the elements together.

Position this shape between two of the recently created circles, then repeat the rotation

transformation to create a series of teardrop shapes running around the circumference

of the pattern.
Continue adding various elements to build up the detail, keeping everything aligned and

centered. Clip a circle to size with the Scissors tool then add the same dotted stroke

setting to continue the lines around the patterned objects.

Select all the elements that make up the patterns in the top left corner and duplicate

them onto the right hand side.

Continue making unique shapes by building up layers and layers of random objects.

Here Ive made a shape with the Pucker and Bloat tool, rotated it, then added a couple

of simple circles with alternating fill and strokes.

Create a teardrop, rotate it by 180 degrees and position it on the opposite side. Then

select and duplicate both these shapes and rotate by 45 degrees until you have a basic

flare.
Select all the shapes that make up the flare and paste in front (CMD+F). Go to Object >

Transform > Rotate and enter 22.5 to accurately position the new shapes exactly

between the originals to create a much more detailed flare shape.

Draw and align a series of circles to the centre of the flares to build up the details. Use

different dash settings to create dotted strokes with various sizes and gaps.

Keep alternating between black and white using both fills and strokes. Adding Zig Zag

or Pucker and Bloat effects helps mix up the design with a variety of different shapes.
Position this new collection of patterns in the lower portion of the heart then continue

filling the gaps with more simple shapes and objects.

Use duplicates of shapes used elsewhere in the design to fill in the remaining gaps

between the three main elements.

Position a copy of the teardrop shape in the lower portion of the design and select a

centre pivot point for the rotate tool. Add a series of copies using the 22.5 angle.
Select all the objects that overlap or dont fit into the design very well and delete them,

leaving just a half-circle of elements.

Fill in the last few gaps with simple shapes to finish off the design. Take a step back and

check for uneven gaps in the patterns and adjust if necessary.

The whole process is pretty simple, but repetitive. Simply building up layer upon layer of

basic shapes can really help create some interesting patterns.