How To Draw A Funny Cop Illustration From A Sketch

Posted on 16. Feb, 2010 by Ilie Ciorba in Tutorials

Cops or Police Officers, their mission is to keep the peace and order around us. No one can escape from their batons. In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a funny cop illustration from a sketch. This tutorial requires intermediate knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and advanced pen drawing skills.

Final Result

Step 1

Open Illustrator; create a new document (800×600 pixels) download and import the provided sketch.

Rename “Layer 1” layer to “Sketch” and lock it. Create a new layer.

Step 2

Make sure that you have “Layer 2” selected. Select the Pen Tool (P), select the magenta as stroke color, set the stroke to 1pt and no fill. Zoom on the cop’s head and start tracing the head paths.

Continue tracing the mustache and then the nose.

Try to keep and order with creating paths so we have less stuff to take care of later.

Mention that I’ve traced the mustache first and then the nose because the mustache sub layer should be located under the nose. Trace out the eyes.

Draw two open paths for the eyebrow, we will fill them with a color later.

Create the hair and then the ear paths.

Add some detail to the ear by drawing two additional lines inside it.

Step 3

Since we’ve finished with the head we are moving forward to the hat. It is much simpler to keep the correct order here. Just start from the lowest path and continue by going up.

Last thing, draw the cop badge of the hat.

Step 4

It’s time to draw the whistle. First of all draw the main path and then the side.

Your accuracy shouldn’t be perfect because the whistle will be partially hidden under the mustache. Draw two lines from the whistle for the rope.

Step 5

Rename the “Layer 2” layer to “head“, create a new layer and name it “Body Top“. With your Pen Tool still selected start drawing the main body path.

Trace those two lines on the cop’s shirt.

Don’t worry about buttons; we’ll draw them later while working with colors. Draw the shape for the right pocket on the shirt that intersects the main body path.

Select the main body path, press Ctrl + C and Ctrl + F to make a copy of this path and paste it on the top of the original. You won’t see any changes but there are now two body paths. Select the newly created copy and the pocket path and press the Intersect button on the Pathfinder Palette.

The resulting path perfectly fits in the body path. If the head paths bother you, make the “Head” layer invisible. Now draw the collar path, but adjust its position.

Just draw the outline of the badge, we’ll add details later.

Step 6

Draw the baton path.

First draw the outline and then add small lines to delimitate fingers.

Trace out the sleeve and then the cuff paths.

The same way draw the second hand and fist.

Select the right hand sleeve sub layer and press “Shift + Ctrl + [“ to send it back.

Step 7

Create a new layer and name it “Body Bottom“, drag it under the “Body Top” layer and draw the bottom part of the cop’s body.

Draw a belt path, the same way we’ve drawn the pocket on the shirt .

Now add the details.

Trace the shoe on the left leg and then the trouser-leg.

Draw that decorative line.

Repeat this process and keep this order to draw the second leg.

Select all right leg paths and press “Shift + Ctrl +[” to send them back.

Step 8

We’ve made it to the most interesting part of the tutorial – adding color. Make all layers except “Sketch” visible.

Press Ctrl + A to select everything and set black as the stroke color.

I’ve chosen #FBCECF as skin color. Fill the head, ear, nose, fists paths with it.

Fill all face hair paths with 10% gray.

Use #27AAE1 to fill the shirt, the pants and top hat paths.

Fill the collar, the pocket and the cuffs with #56C7EF.

Fill the shoes, the baton, the belt and the lowest hat paths with 90% gray.

Fill the middle path of the hat, the metallic part of the belt and the badges with #F4CE36.

Fill the side of the whistle with 90% gray and the main path with 30% gray.

Select the Ellipse Tool (L) and draw a small circle filled with white and 1pt black stroke. That will be our button on the officer’s shirt.

Make another four copies of it and place them on the shirt.

Select the badge from the shirt, go to Object > Path > Offset Path and enter -4px as Offset value.

Make the same thing to the badge from the hat but use -2px as Offset value this time.

Step 9

Give your illustration a background by drawing a rectangle with the same dimensions as your art board and filling it with #F3787A.

Add some details and a shadow filled with #BF585E and here our Funny Cop Illustration is ready.

What Next?

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Tags: Illustration, Tutorials