Create a Professional 3D Twitter Icon in Illustrator
Learn how to create a sleek & professional Twitter icon or button using Adobe Illustrator. To create this icon we'll be using must know methods and techniques to create this attractive icon which can be used for various design projects.
Resources:
Final Result
1. Create a new document that's 600×600 pixels. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool and click on the canvas once to bring up the options, put in the options below and click OK. Select the shape with the Selection Tool edit the shape to look like below & change the colour.
2. Select the Rounded Rectangle Tool again and draw a shape like below, select the shape with the Selection Tool and rotate to make the point of the speech bubble. Select the 2 shapes and click on the Unite icon in Pathfinder to turn the 2 shapes into one.
3. Click on the shape, hold down the ALT Key and drag away to duplicate. Place the bottom shape down like below and put in a Gradient Overlay.
4. Duplicate the shape again, on the top shape place it up a bit and put on a Gradient Overlay (black to none).
5. Duplicate the main shape 2 more times and place them elsewhere on the canvas. Place the 2 shapes like below to make a thin bottom, select the 2 shapes and click on the Minus Front icon in Pathfinder. Place the leftover shape on the speech bubble and change the colour to white.
6. Repeat step 5, but make the bottom shape thicker. Change the shape colour to white and place over the speech bubble. Select the shape with the Selection Tool and make the width smaller. With the shape selected go into Effect > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Make the Opacity 37%. This will create a nice 3D Bevel effect.
7. Press CTRL & + to zoom into the icon. Using the Pen Tool, draw a rectangle shape on the bottom of the speech bubble and make the Gradient Black to None. Repeat the process on the opposite side.
8. Duplicate the main shape again and drag elsewhere on the canvas. Using the Ellipse Tool, draw a circle while holding down the Shift Key (to keep the shape perfect). Place the circle over the shape like below, select the two shapes and click on the Minus Front icon. Place the leftover shape over the icon and make the Gradient White to None.
9. Open up the EPS version of the Twitter bird and copy/paste it onto the icon document. To make the bird bigger select it with the Selection Tool, hold down the Shift Key and drag the top corner out. Duplicate the bird and drag it elsewhere on the canvas ready for the next step. With the original bird put in a black > dark grey > black Gradient. With the bird selected go into Effect > Stylish > Drop Shadow.
10. Next go into Window > Swatch Libraries > Patterns > Basic Graphics > Basic Graphics_Dots. Select the duplicated bird and click on a dot pattern. Lastly place the bird over the previous bird to add a nice effect.
Final Result
