What can one say about sausage? A sausage is an appetizing food that allows any person to feel the strength returning after hunger. And if you want to increase your vector illustration skills, then learn how to draw a sausage with ketchup in Illustrator. Let's get started!
Step 1
First, illustrate the following path using the Pen Tool (P).
Then increase the Stroke Weight to about 100 pixels, and change the Cap option to Round Cap in the Stroke palette.
Go to Object > Expand, and then Object > Ungroup.
Step 2
Now illustrate the following (green) path and lock it in the Layers palette. It must be bigger than the first (brown) path. See the diagram below.
Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a rectangle with a height approximately equal to the thickness of the green path at its widest point. Then change the Opacity of the rectangle.
Now go to Object > Create Gradient Mesh and change the number of columns in the dialog box.
Step 3
Take the Lasso Tool (Q) and select all the nodes of the gradient mesh except for the two left ones.
Now take the Rotate Tool (R), and make a rotation, as shown in the diagram below.
Take the Direct Selection Tool (A) and work on the mesh nodes in order to achieve the approximate connection of the mesh with the green path.
Repeat these manipulations with other mesh nodes in order to achieve the next result.
Step 4
Change the Opacity of the mesh to 100%, change the color of it to brown, delete the outer green path, and take the Mesh Tool (U), and add the mesh nodes.
Then select the first path which has a sausage form, bring it to front in the Layers palette, select both: this path and the mesh, and go to Object > Clipping Mask > Make (Command + 7), and receive the result shown below.
Place a source of light on the right side. Thus, change the colors of the nodes in order to represent the light distribution on the sausage accurately.
Step 5
Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a small reddish ellipse with the width about 5 pixels.
Drag and drop it into the Brushes palette, and select the Scatter Brush item in the dialogue box.
Set the approximate values of the brush options to those that are shown in the image below.
Step 6
Grab the Paintbrush Tool (B), and while the Scatter brush is selected in the Brushes palette, sketch a path similar to the one shown.
Crop it with the Clipping path.
Create another Scatter brush using the following elliptical path,\...
...and apply it to the sausage too.
Step 7
Now paint a background using the Rectangle Tool (M) and the Gradient Tool (G) as shown. Bear in mind that you must create a background before creating a metallic fork, because the background affects the luminosity of the object in front.
Now sketch a fork path...
...and place it under the sausage.
Step 8
After that you need to divide the path of the fork in the following paths using the corresponding button in the Pathfinder palette.
Select the green group of paths and fill them with the vertical gradient as shown.
Then select the violet path and fill it with the vertical gradient too.
Step 9
The blue path should be filled with a radial gradient.
The yellow path is filled with a vertical gradient. See the diagram below for reference.
And the red path should be converted into a mesh by going to Object > Create Gradient Mesh.
Step 10
Grab the Mesh Tool (U), and change the colors of the mesh nodes in order to achieve the following picture.
Pay attention to the light distribution of the upper part of the mesh...
...and the lower part of it as well.
Step 11
Select the group of the fork's teeth, copy it and paste in front (Command + C then Command + F).
Change the angle of the gradient filling to zero, and change the Blending mode of this group in the Transparency palette.
Repeat these actions with the path selected in the diagrams below.
Step 12
Grab the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw an elongated elliptical path. Now fill it with black.
Copy it and paste in front (Command + C then Command + F). Then go to Object > Transform > Scale and set there the values shown below.
And after these manipulations you will achieve the following result.
Go to Object > Blend > Blend Options and set the Spacing to Specified Steps and the quantity of steps to 100.
Change the Opacity of the biggest ellipse to 0.
Select both elliptical paths and go to Object > Blend > Make (Command + Alt / Option + B).
Step 13
Drag and drop this path into the Brushes palette. Select the Art Brush option in the dialog box.
Set the items for the brush as shown below. Name this brush "Black brush."
Produce the "White brush" with the ellipses filled with white the same way.
Step 14
Take the Pen Tool (P), illustrate a path in the lower part of the fork (shown in the diagram below) and apply the "Black brush" to it.
Change the Stroke weight and the Opacity of this path if necessary, and send the path backward.
Step 15
Continue to repeat these actions in order to apply the "White" and the "Black brushes" to other paths. Follow the helpful diagrams below.
Step 16
In order to make a sausage sappy we should pour out ketchup over it. Take the Pencil Tool (N), and picture a curved line similar to the one shown.
Increase the Stroke weight...
...and go to Object > Expand, then go to Object > Ungroup.
Step 17
Transform the path to represent the trickling drops of ketchup. In other words, you need to compress the path in the pointed areas and stretch out two drops downward. See the diagram below.
Now let's name this path "Main ketchup path." Save it for further use, lock it in the Layers palette and use it now as a stencil for creating the mesh of ketchup (as you did it earlier in this tutorial). Create the mesh over it.
Change the colors of the mesh nodes, while keeping in mind that the light source is placed on the right side.
Step 18
In order to create shadows from ketchup, first select the "Main ketchup path", and make the path offset by going to Object > Path > Offset path. Do this twice for both: to increase the path and to decrease it.
Move the paths to the left and fill them with black. Then send both paths backward.
After that produce a blend from the paths, decrease the Opacity of it if necessary, and crop the blend by using the clipping path of the sausage.
Then crop the ketchup.
Step 19
Do not forget that we need to create a shadow from the sausage itself over the fork. It is produced by a blend as well. See the diagram below where the blend is selected.
Step 20
In order to create steam, you should use the Bristle brush. Go to the Brushes palette and click there the New brush button. Select the Bristle brush option in the dialogue box.
Set the approximate values of the brush options to those that are shown in the image below.
Step 21
Take the Pen Tool (P), set the Stroke color to white and the Fill color to None, and then illustrate a usual vertical path over the sausage and ketchup shown below.
Apply the Bristle brush to it.
Grab the Twirl Tool, and change the path with it.
Crop it with the Clipping path.
Conclusion
The final image is below. Follow your feeling of beauty while creating your own sausages. Have fun using the techniques described in this tutorial in your own artwork!
