Follow this tutorial and learn how to create a bagel sandwich icon in Adobe Illustrator. At the beginning you will create the two bagel pieces, and then you will draw all the ingredients for the sandwich: pieces of lettuce, a slice of cheese and a slice of ham.
The most fun part is to compose the bagel sandwich, because you can get creative here. The final thing is to sprinkle some sesame seeds on top with the help of a scatter brush. If you love food-related tutorials as much as I do, let's start the fun!
1. Start a New Project
LaunchIllustrator and then go to File > New in order to open a blank document. Type a name for your file and set up the dimensions, selecting Pixels as Units and RGB as Color Mode.
Next, go to Edit > Preferences > General and set the Keyboard Increment to 1 px and while there, also go to Units to make sure they are set as in the following image. I usually work with these settings, and they will help you throughout the drawing process.
2. Create the Bagel
Step 1
Grab the Ellipse Tool(L) and draw two circles with the dimensions indicated. While having them selected, press Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center in the Align panel.
Step 2
With the circles still selected, go to Object > Compound Path > Make (Control-8) and then fill the resulting shape with light brown. I will name it “bagel-top”, and you will need extra copies of this shape throughout the tutorial.
Step 3
With “bagel-top” still selected, add a New Fill in the Appearance panel above the first. Use the radial gradient shown, and then go toEffect > Sketch > Bas Relief and apply the settings from the next image. Set the Blending Mode to Soft Light.
Step 4
Add a New Fill in the Appearance panel and use the color brown; then set the Blending Mode to Soft Light.
Step 5
Add a New Fill again and use the color indicated, and then go to Effect > Sketch > Note Paper and apply the settings from the next image. Set this Fill attribute to Blending Mode Overlay and 15% Opacity.
Step 6
To get rid of the pixelated edge that is generated by the Note Paper effect, we will create a mask. Select “bagel-top”, Copy and Paste in Front (Control-F) to make a copy, and then remove all existing appearances. Now, select both shapes and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7). Name the resulting group “Bagel Top”.
Step 7
Let's create the bottom piece of the bagel. Make another copy of “bagel-top” on your Artboard and use the radial gradient shown to fill it. We don't need to add more details because most of it will be covered by the ingredients in the sandwich.
3. Create a Piece of Lettuce
Step 1
Grab the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a similar shape, filling it with the radial gradient shown. Use the Gradient Tool (G) to adjust the direction if necessary.
Step 2
With the lettuce-shape still selected, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and apply a 1.2 px Offset in order to get a slightly bigger shape. Fill this new shape with the linear gradient shown and make sure it's behind the first one.
Step 3
Now, grab the Pen Tool (P) and draw some shapes like below on the lettuce. Fill them with different shades of green (1). To add some dimension, draw a few small shapes between the “waves” of the lettuce, but make sure you send them in back. Use a darker shade of green as the fill color (2).
4. Create a Slice of Cheese
Step 1
Use the Rectangle Tool (M) to draw a 73 x 150 px rectangle, and use yellow as the fill color. Next, draw some circles with the Ellipse Tool (L) and Group (Control-G) them.
Before you continue, make a copy of this group, because you will need it in the next step. Now, select the rectangle along with the group of circles, and press Minus Front in the Pathfinder panel to obtain the holes in the cheese.
Step 2
Now, you will need the copy of the group of circles from the previous step (1). Select it and Copy and Paste in Front (Control-F) to get another group of circles (the green ones). Move them a little down and to the right (2).
Next, select both groups and press Exclude in the Pathfinder panel, and then Ungroup (Shift-Control-G) from theObject menu (3). Delete all the resulting shapes from the bottom-right side of the holes because we don't need them. If some of the shapes go over the edge, just take the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) and delete the anchor points at the end that are unnecessary, and make small adjustments if needed (4). Fill these shapes with the color indicated (5).
5. Create a Slice of Ham
Step 1
Use the Pencil Tool (N) to draw a shape like the one in the following image, and use the linear gradient shown to fill it. Move some of the anchor points towards the inside with the Direct Selection Tool (A) to create a more realistic look.
Step 2
Use the Pencil Tool (N) again to draw a shape at the bottom. Next, select the ham shape and Copy and Paste in Front (Control-F); then select this copy along with the black shape and press Intersect in the Pathfinder panel. Fill the resulting shape with the linear gradient shown.
Step 3
As explained in the previous step, create two new shapes and fill them with the linear gradient shown in the next image.
Step 4
Grab the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a few random shapes on the ham in order to add more details. Fill them with the linear gradient shown below.
6. Compose the Bagel Sandwich
Step 1
At this point all the elements are ready. Before you continue, Group (Control-G) all the shapes that compose the lettuce and name the group “Lettuce”; Group (Control-G) all the shapes that compose the slice of cheese and name the group “Cheese”, and you guessed it... do the same for the “Ham”. Since they are in vector form, you can also scale them if you want.
Step 2
On top of the “bagel-bottom”, start to arrange the pieces of lettuce. Multiply the “Lettuce” group as many times as you want, and arrange them as you desire. You can be creative here. Also add the first slice of cheese.
Step 3
Let's add some shadows as we go, because it will be more difficult to add all the shadows at the end. It's better to work in layers.
Use the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N) to draw two paths along the outer edge of the cheese, but don't go over the edge of the “bagel-bottom”. Give them a 2 pt Stroke using the color indicated, and then go to Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply aRadius of 2 px. Send these two paths behind the “Cheese” group.
While the paths are still selected, press New Graphic Style at the bottom of the Graphic Styles panel in order to save it for later use. Name it Brown Shadow Graphic Style.
Step 4
Now, make a copy of the “Ham” group and arrange it over the bagel. With the Pen Tool (P) or the Pencil Tool (N), draw a path in the top corner and then simply select the Brown Shadow Graphic Style from theGraphic Styles panel to add the shadow. Move this path behind the “Ham” group but in front of the “Cheese” group.
Step 5
Draw another path in the bottom corner, give it a 2 pt black Stroke, and then apply a 2 px Gaussian Blur. Move this path behind the “Ham” but in front of the “Lettuce”.
Save this style in the Graphic Styles panel and name it Black Shadow Graphic Style.
Step 6
Arrange a second slice of ham over the bagel, draw two paths as in the following image, and select the Black Shadow Graphic Style from theGraphic Styles panel to add the shadows. Move these two paths behind “Ham”.
Step 7
Arrange the third slice of ham and draw the two paths like below. For the black path, select the Brown Shadow Graphic Style, and for the blue path select the Black Shadow Graphic Style. Don't forget to send them behind “Ham” but in front of the first slice (1).
Add another slice of cheese, draw the green path and select the Brown Shadow Graphic Style for it. Send this path behind "Cheese" (2).
Step 8
Now, grab the “Bagel Top” group and arrange it over the ingredients. Do not place it directly over “bagel-bottom” but a little down and to the right.
7. Add Shadow Under the Bagel Top
Step 1
Select “bagel-top” and Copy and Paste in place (Shift-Control-V). Remove all existing appearances and just give it a white fill; then go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and apply the settings shown below. Move this copy behind the “Bagel Top” group.
As indicated by the arrows, there are areas where we don't have any lettuce, ham or cheese sticking out from the bagel, so there is no need for shadow there. To make the shadow not visible in those specific areas, we will create a mask in the next step.
Step 2
First lock the “Bagel Top” group in the Layers panel, or hide it for the moment. Now, select all the ingredients in your bagel (in my case: 3 x “Lettuce”, 3 x “Ham” and 2 x “Cheese”) but without the shadow-paths and then press Unite in the Pathfinder panel (1). As a result you will get a compound path (2).
Next, select the white shape from the previous step along with this compound path (which must be in front) and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Control-7) (3). You can see the end result in the following image (4).
Step 3
Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw a 57 x 57 px circle and then place it in the center of the bagel. Select white as the fill color; then go toEffect > Stylize > Inner Glow and apply the settings shown below. In the Appearance panel, change the Blending Mode for the white Fill to Multiply to make it transparent. We only want the shadow to be visible.
8. Add the Sesame Seeds on the Bagel
Step 1
Grab the Pen Tool (P) and draw a sesame-like shape followed by a smaller shape on top. Use the colors indicated to fill these shapes and create the white and black sesame seeds. At 100% View the seeds are very small, so take this fact into consideration.
Drag the white sesame into the Brushes panel and choose New Scatter Brush. Type a name for your brush and set the Rotation relative to Path. Leave the rest of the settings as they are and hit OK. Repeat the same thing with the black sesame.
Step 2
Take the Pencil Tool (N) and draw a random path over the “Bagel-Top” and stroke it with the Sesame Scatter Brush saved earlier. The Stroke Weight is set at 1 pt but the stroke color is not important. Open theStroke Options window from the Appearance panel and change the settings in order to scatter the seeds as much as possible. Play with the settings until you like the end result.
Step 3
With the path still selected, press Add New Stroke in the Appearance panel. Use the same Sesame Scatter Brush but open the Stroke Options window and choose different settings. This will add more sesame seeds on the bagel.
Step 4
Let's add a few black sesame seeds. In the Appearance panel, press Add New Stroke and this time use the Black Sesame Scatter Brush that you saved earlier. Open the Stroke Options window and play with the settings.
Step 5
With the path still selected, choose Expand Appearance from the Object menu. As a result, the three strokes will turn into three groups of seeds. Double click on one of the seeds a few times to enter theIsolation Mode until you are able to select the individual seeds and delete the ones that go over the edge of the bagel.
When you are done, exit Isolation Mode by pressing the Back one level arrow in the top-left corner of your Artboard.
Step 6
Next, select the entire group of sesame seeds and go to Effect > Stylize> Drop Shadow. Apply the settings from the image below and hit OK.
9. Add Shadow Under the Bagel Sandwich
Step 1
Select the compound path that you made earlier in the tutorial using all the ingredients in the sandwich, and then Copy and Paste in place (Shift-Control-V). Send the new copy behind everything by going toObject > Arrange > Send to Back (Shift-Control-[) (1).
Now, select “bagel-bottom” and then Copy and Paste in Back (Control-B) (2). While these two copies are selected, press Unite in thePathfinder panel to get a new compound path (3).
Step 2
Select “bagel-top” and then Copy and Paste in place (Shift-Control-V). Send the new copy behind everything by going to Object > Arrange > Send to Back (Shift-Control-[) (1). Now, select the compound path from the previous step along with the copy of “bagel-top” and press Unite in the Pathfinder panel again (3).
Step 3
The shape is now ready. Select black as the fill color and then go toEffect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Apply this effect two times using the settings shown below. In the Appearance panel, set theOpacity for the black Fill to 0%.
Step 4
Draw a rectangle in a new layer behind the bagel and use the radial gradient shown to fill it in order to create the background (1). You can, of course, add another background if you prefer.
Use the Ellipse Tool (L) to draw a new 57 x 57 px circle, and place it in the center of the bagel. Send the circle behind everything by going to Object > Arrange > Send to Back (Shift-Control-[). Select black as the fill color and set it to Blending Mode Overlay (2). This will darken the area in the center of the bagel a little more (3).
Congratulations! You're Done
The bagel sandwich icon is complete. I hope this was fun for you to create, and don't forget to share an image with us. I would love to see your re-creations. Also, let me know if you want more food-related tutorials in the future.
Are you hungry now?
