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vdelaplante

Draw a Camper Van using Adobe Illustrator (For Beginners)


 


Step 1

Using the Rectangle Tool (M) draw a square, and two rectangles as see here. Switch over to the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw two circles for wheels.

The bottom left square and right rectangle are the same height, but the rectangle is about 25% wider than the square.


The top longer rectangle starts halfway between the square below it, and ends perfectly in line with the rectangles right side.


Tip When you’re clicked on an object, hold down the Option+Shift (Mac) / Alt+Shift (PC) to drag a copy of the rectangle, while keeping it in line. This way, you get a perfectly aligned copy and you just need to adjust the length.

 

Step 2

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), Ellipse Tool (L), and Line Tool, draw in the missing shapes, highlighted in yellow.



Tip Create a second circle perfectly entered within the first by doing the following:

  • Copy and “paste in place” (⌘+F / Ctrl+F) the original circle so you have a second copy in the exact same position

  • Double click the Scale Tool in the left tool bar, and uniformly scale the circle around 65%.


 

Step 3

Using the Direct Selection Tool (A), click the anchor points and round as highlighted.

To create the front window on the camper, you’ll need to add two new anchor points. Using the Add Anchor Point (+) Tool, add two new anchor points where highlighted.

Remove the left corner anchor using the Remove Anchor Point Tool (-).


Adjust the front window by using the Direct Selection Tool (A) to drag in the top left anchor point (as marked with the star). Click, and use your arrow keys to nudge it to the right until it matches the angle of the windshield.


Tip Curve individual parts of the rectangle by selecting the single anchor point with the Direct Selection Tool (A). Curve all angles by clicking the entire shape with the Selection Tool (V) then switching to the Direct Selection Tool (A).


 


Step 4

Now that the frame work of the camper van is built, it’s time to colour and style it.

Select the entire camper van and select the Shape Builder Tool (Shift+M).


If you need a tutorial on how this tool works, check this one out here (no affiliation).

Colour the van in with the Live Paint Bucket (K).



I like to expand my artwork after I’m done colouring to make some final tweaks, if needed. To do this, highlight your entire camper van and from the top menu, select Object>Expand


 

Follow along here


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