Leaf Graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3: Apply Textures to Leaf Graphics

Leaf Graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3: Apply Textures to Leaf Graphics
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In this tutorial I am going to show you how to apply different textures to your leaf graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3. The textures can be found under the Graphic Libraries menu. Open your Illustrator program and create a new document to work on. Go ahead and draw a few leaves to work with in this tutorial. If you did not start with part one of this tutorial, you can click here to learn how to create a leaf. Once you draw your leaves, go ahead and group them as one object.

Applying Scribble Effects to the Leaf Graphics

First, we will apply some of the textures from the Scribble Effects box to the leaf. Go to the top of your window and click Window > Graphic Style Libraries > Scribble Effects. You will see the texture effects in the scribble box. To apply a texture, click the leaf and click the texture that you want to apply.

You can apply different textures to the different leaf graphics that you created. Some of the textures will not look right but some of them are pretty cool. After applying a texture, you can change the stroke size and color. To change the stroke color, click the leaf and double click the stroke color box and select the color that you want. To change the size, click the Stroke tab in the box on the right and change the size.

Leaf Graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3 - apply textures to leaf graphics - artistic effects

Applying Artistic Effects to the Leaf Graphics

Next, I will show you how to apply artistic effects to the leaf graphics. Open the Artistic Effects box by clicking Window > Graphic Style Libraries > Artistic Effects. There are only a few of the artistic effects that look right when applied to the leaf, but those few are really neat. Click a leaf and then click the effect that you want to apply. Again, you can change the stroke properties the same way that you did above.

Applying Texture Effects to the Leaf Graphics

Go to the top of your window and click Window > Graphic Style Libraries > Textures. When the textures box opens, click a leaf and click a texture to apply to the leaf. The texture box has a few great textures that can be applied to the leaf. Click

Leaf Graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3 - apply textures to leaf graphics - texture effects

through the different textures to see how they would look on the leaf.

Not every texture will work with the type of graphic that you are trying to create. You can open the other effects by clicking Window > Graphic Style Libraries > and click another effect. Don’t forget that you can also create a stem for the leaf using the arc tool or the pencil tool.

This post is part of the series: Leaf Graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3

This series will show you how to create leaf graphics in Adobe Illustrator CS3.

  1. Drawing the Base of a Leaf in Illustrator
  2. Creating Gradient Leaf Graphics in Illustrator
  3. Apply Textures to Leaf Graphics in Illustrator