Create a Silhouette Logo for a Steak House Restaurant in Adobe Illustrator

核心提示： We are going to trace a picture of a “longhorn” using the Pen and Pathfinder Tools and we are going to slightly customize the free fo

We are going to trace a picture of a “longhorn” using the Pen and Pathfinder Tools and we are going to slightly customize the free font, Saddlebag, for the type treatment. Here is what you will need to complete this tutorial.

Adobe Illustrator (preferably CS2 or CS3)

Introductory knowledge of the Pen and Pathfinder Tools and bezier curves.

Download the free font, Saddlebag, from dafont.com.

Download a comp of a Texas longhorn from istockphoto.com.

Let’s begin.

Step 1: Set up your document

I like to work with a large canvas when creating a logo, so I will start off with a RGB document that is 11 inches wide x 8.5 inches tall. I will also drag out two guides, center and then lock them on the Artboard. Optionally, you can turn on the rulers but they will not be necessary for this tutorial.

Next, I will place the above longhorn image, from istockphoto.com, onto my Artboard as the perfect basis for my trace. (Note: If this was a project I was working on for an actual client, I would legally purchase the rights to a high resolution copy of this image. The higher the resolution, the easier it will be for you to trace the object.) From the File menu, choose Place… and navigate to where you saved the comp image and click Place. This will place the image in the center of your Artboard in Layer 1. Select the image and center the head of the longhorn with the guides. Double click Layer 1 to bring up the Layer Options palette window and select Lock and Dim Images to: 50%. Finally, create a new layer above Layer 1 and name it “Logo”. This is the layer you will be creating your logo in. Your document should look like this: