1. How to Create a New Document and Set Up a Grid
Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, set the Width to 850 px and the Height to 600 px, and then click that Advanced Options button. Select RGB for the Color Mode and set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click the Create button.
Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid or Control-“) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid or Shift-Control-“). You will need a grid every 5 px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid, and enter 5 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. Try not to get discouraged by all that grid—it will make your work easier, and keep in mind that you can easily enable or disable it using the Control-“ keyboard shortcut.
You can learn more about Illustrator’s grid system in this short tutorial from Andrei Stefan: Understanding Adobe Illustrator’s Grid System.
You should also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview with the size and position of your shapes. Don’t forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units. All these options will significantly increase your work speed. Now that you’re set, let’s see how you can create a dog icon logo.
2. How to Create the Body of the Dog Logo
Step 1
Focus on your Toolbar and pick Ellipse Tool (L), and then focus on the color settings. Select the stroke and remove the color, and then double-click the fill and set it to R=71 G=32 B=65.
Move to your artboard and simply create a 30 x 10 px shape—the grid and the Snap to Grid should make it easier.
Keep this shape selected, move to the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches), and click that New Swatch button to save the fill color as you’ll need it again throughout this tutorial.
Make sure that your shape is still selected, open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes), and click that New Brush button. Check the Art Brush box and click OK. Enter the settings shown in the following image and then click OK to add your art brush in the Brushes panel. Once you’re done, feel free to remove that ellipse from your artboard.
Step 2
Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and use it to create a 110 x 85 px shape.
Fill this rectangle with R=196 G=125 B=32 and then select the stroke and simply apply your art brush from the Brushes panel.
Step 3
Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A), click and drag across the top side of your rectangle to select it, and then press the Delete key to remove it.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and focus on the bottom side of your shape. Select the left anchor point and drag it 20 px to the right, and then select the right anchor point and drag it 20 px to the left.
Hold down the Shift key to select both anchor points that you just moved, and then focus on the control panel to set the Corner Radius to 10 px.
Step 4
Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M) and use it to create a 30 x 35 px shape. Fill this new rectangle with R=225 G=156 B=68 and place it as shown in the following image, and then go to Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. Check that Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to 75%, and then click OK to apply the effect.
Step 5
Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 30 x 40 px shape, remove the fill color, and apply your art brush for the stroke.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), and use it to select and remove the top edge of this rectangle.
Place the remaining path as shown in the third image, and then select the two highlighted anchor points. Move to the control panel and increase the Corner Radius to 10 px.
Step 6
Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 50 x 10 px shape, remove the fill color, and apply your art brush for the stroke.
Switch back to the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select and remove the top edge. Place the remaining path as shown in the third image.
Step 7
Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 60 x 20 px shape. Fill it with R=166 G=95 B=2 and then select the stroke. Increase the Weight to 10 pt and apply your saved color from the Swatches panel.
Switch to the Delete Anchor Point (-) and use it to remove the top-right anchor point (highlighted in the first image).
Pick the Direct Selection Tool (A) and use it to select the two anchor points highlighted in the third image, move to the control panel, and set the Corner Radius to 8 px.
Step 8
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 50 px circle. Fill it with R=166 G=95 B=2 and then select the stroke and apply your art brush.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select the right anchor point, and press the Delete key to remove it.
Step 9
Pick the Selection Tool (V) and hold down the Shift key to select the two shapes made in the last two steps.
Hold down the Alt key and simply click and drag to add copies of your selected shapes. Use the Reflect Tool (O) to easily flip your copies horizontally, and then place them as shown in the second image.
Reselect the Selection Tool (V) and use it to select all four shapes, and then press Shift-Control-[ to send your selection to the back.
Step 10
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 70 px circle and place it as shown below. Remove the fill color and apply your saved color for the stroke.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), hold down the Shift key to select the two anchor points highlighted in the following image, and press the Delete key to remove them.
Keep the remaining path selected, press Shift-Control-[ to send it to the back, and then focus on the Appearance panel. Open the Stroke fly-out panel to increase the Weight to 20 pt, and don’t forget to select Width Profile 4.
Step 11
Make sure that your path is still selected, and go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke. Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the anchor point highlighted in the following image, and set the Corner Radius to 2 px.
3. How to Create the Head of This Dog Logo
Step 1
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 160 x 120 px shape, fill it with R=225 G=156 B=68, and place it as shown in the first image.
Keep this shape selected and go to Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. Check that Horizontal box, drag the Bend slider to 40%, click OK to apply the effect, and then go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand it.
Step 2
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 30 x 25 px shape, fill it with your saved color, and place it as shown in the first image.
Keep this shape selected and focus on the Appearance panel to select the existing fill, and then go to Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. Check that Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -50%, and then click OK to apply the effect.
Step 3
Make sure that your smaller ellipse is still selected, focus on the Appearance panel, and add a second fill using that Add New Fill button.
Select the new fill and set the color to R=250 G=207 B=152, and then go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset to -10 px, click OK, and go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Check the Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -40%, click OK, and then go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Just drag that Move-Vertical slider to -2 px to move your selected fill 2 px down, and then click OK to apply the effect.
Step 4
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create two 30 px circles and place them as shown in the first image. Select both shapes and go to Object > Path > Add Anchor Points.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select the four anchor points highlighted in the second image, and press the Delete key to remove them.
Select the remaining two paths and go to Object > Path > Join (Control-J). Using the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-), click the two anchor points highlighted in the fourth image to remove them.
Make sure that your remaining path is selected and simply apply your art brush from the Brushes panel.
Step 5
Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 30 x 15 px shape, fill it with your color, and place it as shown in the first image.
Focus on this new shape, switch to the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C), and simply click the left and right anchor points to turn them into sharp points.
Using the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the bottom anchor point and drag it 15 px down, as shown in the third image.
Step 6
Make sure that the shape made in the previous step is still selected and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset to -5 px and click OK to create your new shape.
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 25 x 30 px shape, fill it with R=251 G=95 B=100, and place it as shown in the third image.
Select both shapes made in this step and click the Intersect button from the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder).
Step 7
Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) and create two 10 x 15 px shapes. Fill both ellipses with your saved color and place them as shown in the first image.
Using the same tool, create two 20 x 15 px shapes. Fill these ellipses with R=196 G=125 B=32 and place them as shown in the first image.
Step 8
Make sure that your 20 x 15 px ellipses are still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Arc Lower. Check that Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -50%, and click OK to apply the effect.
Now, select just the left ellipse and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Just set the Angle to 45 degrees and click OK to apply the effect.
Move to the right ellipse, select it, and go again to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. This time, set the Angle to -45 degrees and click OK to apply the effect.
Step 9
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 50 x 40 px shape, fill it with R=250 G=207 B=152, and place it as shown in the first image.
Use the same tool to create two 60 x 50 px shapes. Fill both ellipses with the same colors and place them as shown in the second image.
Select all three ellipses and go to Effect > Warp > Arc Upper. Check that Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -30%, click OK to apply the effect, and then go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand it.
Switch to the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 110 x 50 px shape, and place it as shown in the third image.
Step 10
Select that main head shape and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F).
Select the four shapes made in the previous step and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel.
Select the resulting shape along with that copy of the head shape, and click the Intersect button from the Pathfinder panel.
Move to the Layers panel (Window > Layers) and simply drag your newly created shape below the ones that make up the nose and the mouth.
Step 11
Press Shift-Control-V to add a new copy of that head shape, keep it selected, and focus on the Appearance panel. Remove the fill color, select the stroke, and apply your art brush.
Step 12
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 60 x 40 px shape and place it as shown in the first image. Apply your art brush and make sure that the fill color is set to none.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select the bottom anchor point, and press the Delete key to remove it.
Step 13
Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 30 x 15 px shape and place it as shown in the first image.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), use it to select the bottom-right anchor point, focus on the control panel, and set the Corner Radius to 15 px.
Using the same tool, select the top-left anchor point and press the Delete key to remove it.
Keep the remaining path selected and simply apply your art brush, as shown in the third image.
4. How to Create the Ears of This Dog Logo
Step 1
Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 50 px circle, fill it with R=196 G=125 B=32, and place it as shown in the first image.
Switch to the Convert Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) and click the top anchor point to turn it into a sharp point.
Use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select this sharp point and move it 35 px up and 25 px to the right, as shown in the third image.
Step 2
Make sure that the shape made in the previous step is still selected and go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check that Vertical box and then click the Copy button.
Select the newly added shape and move it to the right, as shown in the second image.
Step 3
Keep focusing on your two ear shapes. Select the left one and go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Check the Vertical box and drag the Bend slider to 15%, and then click OK to apply the effect.
Move to the right shape, select it, and again go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Check the Vertical box and drag the Bend slider to -15%, and then click OK.
Reselect both shapes and go to Object > Expand Appearance.
Step 4
Make sure that your two shapes are still selected, and apply your art brush from the Brushes panel.
Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A) and use it to select the two anchor points highlighted in the first image, and then click the Cut path button from the control panel. This will adjust the look of that applied art brush.
Once you’re done, remember to reselect both of these shapes and press Shift-Control-[ to send them to the back.
Step 5
Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 190 px circle and fill it with R=175 G=228 B=237. Place this new shape as shown in the following image, and don’t forget that you can easily send it to the back using the Shift-Control-[ keyboard shortcut.
Step 6
Finally, let’s add a simple background for this dog icon logo. Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create a shape that covers your entire artboard, fill it with R=250 G=237 B=182, and send it to the back (Shift-Control-[).
