Vector Brush Tricks

In this tutorial, I will show you a few vector brush tricks that will allow you to create some quick, easy, and super-cool effects in Adobe Illustrator. I use this technique all the time to create custom ornamental borders, frames, and background patterns.

Here is the final product I'll be showing you how to create:

Start with some ornamental horizontal pieces, like the ones shown below. You can draw your own, or you can use pre-made border elements, like the ones available in Borders 001, 002, and 003 vector sets. The main thing is to make sure that your border element repeats seamlessly left to right. One easy way to accomplish this is to make a copy of your element, flip it horizontally and then butt the two pieces back together.

Open your brushes palette and then drag your border element right into the palette window. A New Brush window pops up. Select the New Pattern Brush option.

Next, select the Approximate Path option and click OK. Now you have a brush that will show up in the brush palette window.

When I am creating a new brush, I like to test it out to check and see if it looks and behaves the way I want it to. Here, I made 4 circles then clicked on my new brush in the brush palette window to apply it. The cool thing about brushes is that you can change the stroke weight to alter the thickness of your brush.

Just a side note here... If you get to a point where you are happy with your creation, you may expand the brush into vector points by going to Object >> Expand Appearance. This way you can go in and edit and color the vector points if you so desire.

I went ahead and created a brush with the more ornamental border element shown previously. Here I applied the brush to a curve to show you how the brush can follow the lines of any curve you draw. If your brush is complex, make sure your curves are smooth. Otherwise you may have problems with the lines getting kinked.

Here I made a path with the Rounded Rectangle Tool. I then went to Object >> Path >> Offset path in order to make the outer path, which follows the radius of the inner path.

Here, I applied the first brush to the outer path. And then I applied the more ornamental brush to the inner path. The result is a cool ornamental frame which you see below. Experiment with various settings (such as Flip Across in your brushes palette) and also stroke widths until you achieve a result that you like.

About the Author

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Ray Dombroski is a Graphic Designer and the founder of TheVectorLab, a California based design website that features high quality vector stock art geared towards professional graphic designers. Ray has worked in the surf apparel industry for companies such as: Billabong, Op/Ocean Pacific, Quiksilver, Globe, Body Glove, and many other well-known brands.