3D Brush Stroke Effect in Illustrator
This tutorial turns a bundle of paint brush strokes into a twisting 3D ribbon in Adobe Illustrator. The strokes are saved as a symbol, mapped onto the surface of an extruded path with the classic 3D effect, then expanded to clean vector shapes and shaded by hand. The same method makes wavy brush-stroke text. The video was sponsored by Domestika.
Step 1: Build the brush stroke bundle
- Draw five or so lines of different lengths with the Line Segment Tool.
- Open Brushes (F5), go to Brush Libraries > Artistic > Artistic Paintbrush, and apply a different brush to each line, including a couple of splatter brushes. Vary the stroke weights (2 to 5 pt).
- Give each stroke a colour from your palette (apply colour to the stroke, not the fill), send the darker one to the back and overlap them so the splashes sit on one side.
- Add a few short lines and dots with the same brushes for extra splatter, and copy or mirror strokes until the bundle looks full.
Step 2: Save it as a symbol
Group everything and drag the group into the Symbols panel (Window > Symbols). Name it “brush stroke” and delete the original from the artboard.
Step 3: Draw the ribbon path and extrude it
With the Pen Tool draw a flowing S-shaped path with no fill and a stroke. Go to Effect > 3D (Classic) > Extrude & Bevel, rotate it to taste, and set the extrude depth to around 750 pt so the path becomes a wide ribbon.
Step 4: Map the symbol onto the surface
Click Map Art, step through the surfaces until the wide face of the ribbon is highlighted, choose the brush stroke symbol, click Scale to Fit, and rotate it about 180 degrees so the splashes face the right way. Tick Invisible Geometry to hide the ribbon’s own stroke colour. Keep the default lighting; shading is added by hand later.
Step 5: Shape it
With the Direct Selection Tool move the path’s anchor points and the whole ribbon re-flows. You can reopen the Extrude settings from the Appearance panel to adjust the mapping at any time.
Step 6: Expand to clean vectors
Object > Expand (two or three times), ungroup, group only the stroke shapes, release the clipping masks, cut the stroke shapes (Ctrl+X), delete everything left over, and paste in place (Shift+Ctrl+V). You now have the brush strokes as separate vector shapes.
Step 7: Shade with gradients
For each stroke: copy and paste in place, unite the copy with Pathfinder, remove its stroke and fill it with a gradient (press G to adjust). Use dark to light along the twist, with a white stop around 200,200,200 and a black stop where the ribbon turns away, set the copy to Multiply at 60 to 75 percent, and send it behind the stroke. Repeat for each stroke so the ribbon reads as one twisting form.
Conclusion
Symbol mapping is what makes this work: any artwork saved as a symbol can wrap around an extruded path. Expanding afterwards frees you from the 3D effect’s flat lighting so you can shade with gradients and blending modes. Draw the path as a word and you get brush-stroke lettering.
Links from the video
- Join the members-only content: https://bit.ly/3fEEvD4
- Sign up for Domestika (video sponsor, code DIGITAL_ART_CREATION-10 for 10 percent off): https://bit.ly/2Y0haW6
- Premium tutorials on Udemy: http://bit.ly/2Cqmcgo
- Download the colour swatches: https://bit.ly/3us3sYg
