Tutorial:Create a Sweet Pair of Glossy Vector Lips

A Sweet Pair of Red Vector Lip

let’s create a sweet pair of super glossy vector lips. Start with a sketch, scan it in, Live Trace it, then proceed to color your illustration with layer upon glossy layer until your vector lips are complete. The workflow uses the Eraser Tool to reveal the shadows below, which is a useful approach to review. Let’s get to it!Step 1
First, draw the lips on paper. It’s always good to start with a solid sketch. Next, scan them in, convert the scan to a black and white image in Photoshop, and then drag the image into your Illustrator workspace.

Make a Sketch

Step 2
Click on the Live Trace button and use the Default settings, or ones you prefer, so you can work with the lines and colors as vectors.

Make Live Traces

Step 3
Expand the image.

Expanding the image

Step 4
Select all the white fill with the Magic Wand Tool and delete it, so your left with only the black line.

White Fill

Step 5
Draw a red square with your Rectangle Tool.

Drawing a Red Square

Step 6
Send the square back with CTRL + Left Bracket Key. Select the square and the lips with the Selection Tool. After that press the Divide button from Pathfinder options.

Making the red square overlay

Step 7
With the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the red color outside the black outline and delete it.

Deduct all red outside the lip

Step 8
Now with the Direct Selection Tool (A) select the teeth and change their color to white.

Draw the color

Step 9
Ungroup all at once (Command + Shift + G), then with the Selection tool select the red path and copy it above the original one. Verify if the action worked by dragging the copy a little to left. Then set it back to the way it was, above the original fill, by hitting Undo (Command + Z).

Ungroup all at once

Step 10
Change the color of the above red to a brighter one and then start erase with the Eraser Tool. Remove the spaces where you want to leave a shadow (reveal the darker red underneath).

Brighten one lip

Step 11
Apply the same technique with a brighter color. Copy it and set it above all the reds. Same as in the previous step, erase it a little so it seems like a soft light and let the darker red underneath look like a shadow.

Making more stripes

Step 12
Add some white lines with the same method and arrange them if it’s necessary with the Warp tool.

Make some white lines

Step 13
With your Pen Tool draw the shadow of the teeth.

Drawing the shadow of teeth

Step 14
Send it under the black and red colors, and leave it only above the white color of the teeth.

Send it under the black

Step 15
Play a little with the colors in the overall illustration until your satisfied with the results.

Finalizing the Colors

Conclusion
Draw a dark red square behind the final work and that’s all! Enjoy!

Final Image

Courtesy– VectorTutsPlus