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Create Confetti Shapes Quickly and Easily in Illustrator

Create Confetti Shapes Quickly and Easily in Illustrator

Save time by using Scatter brushes

In this tutorial we will create a scattered confetti effect. This effect could potentially be very time consuming to draw, resize, rotate and rearrange each shape manually, so we will use Scatter Brushes to simplify the whole process and make it much more fun!

Step 1

Get started by creating a new document in Illustrator, 800 x 600 pixels. create confetti in illustrations

Step 2

The first thing to do is draw some simple shapes to scatter. Hold down the shift key and use the Ellipse tool to draw a circle. create confetti in illustrations

Step 3

Next draw a triangle, the easiest way to do this is with the Polygon tool, click on the canvas and enter '3' sides. create confetti in illustrations

Step 4

Now, a simple horizontal line. Make it roughly 20 pixels long and give it a 5 pt stroke with round end caps. create confetti in illustrations

Step 5

Draw another line or duplicate the last one and make it a little longer, around 34 pixels. create confetti in illustrations

Step 6

Apply the Zig Zag filter from the Effect > Distort & Transform menu. Enter 2 px for the size, choose Absolute, 2 Ridges and Smooth points. create confetti in illustrations

Step 7

Finally, lets draw a simple spiral shape. Use the spiral tool and click on the canvas, enter 18 px for the Radius, 80% for Decay and 6 Segments. Use the second style option. Give the spiral the same stroke options as the line and wavy line. create confetti in illustrations

Step 8

Highlight the 3 shapes with strokes and go to the Object > Path menus and choose Outline Stroke. create confetti in illustrations

Step 9

With our shapes ready to use, now we just need to turn them into Scatter Brushes. Select the circle first and create a new Scatter Brush. create confetti in illustrations

Step 10

Enter the options shown in the screenshot below. We want the size to vary slightly but not too much, the spacing to be quite wide, the scatter to also be quite wide and the rotation to be full. Make sure you also select the Hue Shift colorization method which will allow us to use different colors for the shapes. create confetti in illustrations

Step 11

Enter the same options for the triangle shape: create confetti in illustrations

Step 12

Enter the same options for the line shape: create confetti in illustrations

Step 13

Enter the same options for the wavy line shape: create confetti in illustrations

Step 14

Enter the same options for the spiral shape: create confetti in illustrations

Step 15

All the prep work is done now, time to have some fun with the brushes. Choose the Brush tool, set the foreground color to #AF7EED and paint in a random zig zag line with the circle scatter brush. create confetti in illustrations

Step 16

Switch the brush preset to the triangle, and foreground color to #F49EB8 and paint another random zig zag line. create confetti in illustrations

Step 17

Switch the brush preset to the line, and foreground color to #F2ED9E and paint another random zig zag line. create confetti in illustrations

Step 18

Switch the brush preset to the wavy line, and foreground color to #65E6A3 and paint another random zig zag line. create confetti in illustrations

Step 19

Switch the brush preset to the spiral, and foreground color to #62E3ED and paint another random zig zag line. create confetti in illustrations

Step 20

Go to the Object menu and select Expand Appearance. This will convert the scatter brushes into individual shapes. create confetti in illustrations

Step 21

Select all shapes and ungroup them, then manually click and drag each shape around to rearrange them. Aim for even spacing between each shape. create confetti in illustrations

Step 22

If you want, we can also add some text to the arrangement. Simply move the confetti shapes around to make some space in the middle. create confetti in illustrations

Result & Conclusion

Here is the final result: create confetti in illustrations This effect is great for celebrations such birthday party invitations and sale adverts etc. For a more sophisticated effect, limit the confetti to only one or two different shapes. Hopefully you have enjoyed following along with this tutorial and if you were new to Scatter Brushes now feel much more comfortable with them.

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