Create a Cute Moldovan Chibi Character in Adobe Illustrator

In this tutorial you'll learn to create a cute Moldovan chibi character. We'll use simple shapes, brushes, gradients, which are easy to apply in other illustrations.

1.Make a Sketch

Step 1

At the beginning let's draw
a sketch. You can draw it on the paper or directly in Illustrator. I portrayed a cute chibi in a traditional Moldovan costume. We need to use references of folk
costumes and ornaments to make the image plausible.

Step 2

Create a New
document 500 x 700
px RGB. Then File > Place your
sketch in Adobe Illustrator and change the layer name to "sketch".

Step 3

Create a New
Layer for the lines. For a convenient work process, we'll need two types of
layers for each group of objects: line and shape.

2. Create a Brush
for the Contour of the Character

Step 1

Start by making a black ellipse with the Ellipse Tool (L) with 100% fill and
without stroke. Drag this shapeto theBrushespanelusing theSelection
Tool (V). Go to
New Brush > New Art Brush.

Then press OK, and the window Art Brush Options will appear.
Choose theTints method. It will change your
brush color at any time.

Step 2

Let's draw the contour of our character. Choose thePaintbrush Tool (B), find your new brush
and set its thickness on the Stroke panel.

Start drawing the face. Draw lines as smoothly as you like—don't close the contour.
If necessary, change the evenness of lines.

Don't worry about
crooked lines—you can always fix them using theDirect Selection Tool (A).

Step 3

At the intersection
of the lines, cut unnecessary pieces using theScissors
Tool (C), select the segment and press Delete.

Step 4

Draw the entire sketch this way, creating new layers one
by one: flower, hair, hands,etc.

Here is how the
character looks now.

3. Create the
Main Shapes

Step 1

Add a new layer for
the background.

First create the swatch of the main colors—pick the
most suitable for you. We’ll be able to adjust them later. Also let's choose the
background’s color. Create a500 x 700 pxrectangleusing theRectangle Tool (M), and fill it with
linear gradient from light-yellow to light-turquoise.

Open the Align panel and choose Align to Artboard, and then Align Objects: Horizontal and Vertical.

Step 2

Now it's time to begin painting. I will start by creating
main shapes for the head on the "face_shape" layer. Choose the skin color
from your swatch using theEyedropper Tool
(I). You can use thePencil Tool (N)
or thePen Tool (P) for your
convenience. Start drawing the main shape following the brush contour. If you
choose thePencil Tool (N), hold Alt to close the contour.

Add a new layer for the eyes and lips. It will make your work
on the skin much easier.

Step 3

Well, it's time to draw the main shapes of the hair.

As you can see, the hairstyle of our chibi can be divided
into two parts: front and back. So we'll add a new layer for the "back"
hair under the "face_shape" layer.

It's difficult to draw the entire hair shape using thePencil Tool (N), so we'll create
a few smaller shapes and then unite them. Open the Pathfinder panel and click Unite.

Step 4

Fill the whole picture with colors using this method.
Here's what we've got at this stage.

Step 5

Now we need to repaint the contours for each of the objects.
Allocate the contours using theSelection
Tool (V), holding the Shift button.
Choose the color on the Color panel,
moving the crawler’s pick to the desired position.

Step 6

Let's repaint the contours of the hair in one color.
Unlock the layer "hair_line", and select all the hair at once. Using theSelection Tool (V) and holding the left mouse button, move the mouse to select all lines.

Using theEyedropper
Tool (I),just select the color we picked for the eyebrows and lashes.

Step 7

Repaint all contours following this method.

4. Create a Pattern
Brush for the Embroidery

Step 1

First of all we'll
draw a cross using our brush. Select this figure and group by pressing Control-G. Then drag it to the Brushes panel. Create a New Pattern Brush as shown below.

Step 2

We'll create several pattern brushes this way.

Step 3

Choose the brush and draw lines to decorate the clothing
of our chibi.

Sometimes the pattern goes off the drawing frame. In
this case, select the brush and go to Object
> Expand Appearance. Then draw a shape covering the part of the
pattern that needs to be deleted, go to thePathfinder
panel and click Minus Front.

Step 4

The main part of the drawing is done. Here is how the
chibi looks now.

5. Add Shadows
and Highlights

Step 1

Let's add some volume to the face. We'll work on the
"face_shape" layer.

We'll draw the blush first. Choose a red color and form the shape of the blush, and then go to Effect > Blur
> Gaussian Blur. On the Transparency
panel, reduce theOpacity to 30%.

Add some blushes to the eyes, neck and hair growth
line.

Step 2

Add some shades. Choose the color of the face contour, and reduce theOpacity to 7–10%. We'll draw the shapes on the
area where shadows usually appear.

Lay the shapes one on top of the other till you
get the desired result, changing Opacity
in the process. Then choose a darker color and draw falling shades.

Step 3

Let's add some shades and highlights. Starting from the base skin color, select lighter shades, varying theOpacity from 5% to 20%. Choose a brighter color and draw some
highlight shapes. TheOpacity can be 50–100%.

Step 4

Now we'll get to work
on the eyes and lips. We need to make volume on the white of the eye. Draw some
dirty-pink shapes on the white parts of the eye. TheOpacity may vary according to your
taste (my choice was 20%).

Select the eyebrow color using theEyedropper Tool (I), reduce theOpacity
to 40%, and draw the shadow under the eyelashes. Make sure all paths are drawn
in the correct order, usingControl-[ to
send backward or Control-] to bring
forward.

Now we get to the
iris of the eye. The eye color is brown-green, so choose the darker color for the
top of the iris and lighter for the underside. Add some bright twinkles.

I noticed that the white
round shapes are too big. Make them smaller and delete the outline. Also add
some shadows and highlights to the eyebrows and the eyelashes.

Let's paint volume
lips. The upper part of the lips is shaded, so make it darker. Draw the dark-red
shape between the lips. Add some highlights to the bottom part.

Step 5

To make the skin look more natural and the face cuter,
add some freckles and moles. The freckles shouldn't be perfectly round, so draw
them randomly, with a different size and opacity on the nose and cheeks.

Now add shades from the background. Select the cyan
color and draw some shapes on the edge of the face and neck.

Step 6

Draw shadows and highlights on the hands and legs as
described above.

Step 7

Let's start forming the hairstyle. The method of painting is
the same: dark shades, fallen shadows, highlights and gloss. Draw different
shapes, and lay them on each other, playing around with theOpacity where possible.

Step 8

We’ll draw the flower
using the same principles, as you can see below.

Don't worry about
ragged shapes, because they make the drawing more decorative and picturesque.

Step 9

It’s time to add highlights and shadows to the
clothing. Let's start with the shirt and petticoats. They are of the same color, so
we'll draw them both at the same time, switching between layers. Don't forget
about background shades. Also add some gloss to the embroidery using our first
new brush. Just draw short lines on the lightest area.

Step 10

Now we'll draw the skirt and belt. First add some shadows
and highlights to the main brown cloth, and then add decorative red and green
elements. In the end, add some gloss to the embroidery. Decorate the belt using the
gold brush.

Step 11

We have a few steps left. This is a bit of a slow
process, but we'll get a great result, going step by step.

Unlock the layers with the shoes and shawl—they are of
the same color. We'll draw some shades, shadows and highlights switching
between layers. Add some falling shadows and gloss too.

Here is how it all looks now.

Step 12

It's time for the final touch. Let's add some necessary
details. For example we can add a few thin hairs to the hairstyle. This will
make it look more natural. Draw some hairs on the edge of the hairstyle using the same brush,
reducing the weight of the stroke. Change the color for the lighter ones.

Add some dark shapes to the shady area of the shawl
and set their Blending Mode to Overlay, 13% Opacity. Also draw some glows on the shawl using our brush.

Then add some brighter shapes to the lighter area of
the hair and the flower, setting their Blending
Mode to Screen, 17% Opacity.

Finally our character is ready!

6. Create an Abstract Background

Step 1

Firstly let's create some circles using a radial gradient, as shown below. I
choose bright-green color, 30% Opacity.
(This method is available in Adobe
Illustrator CS5 and above. If your version of Illustrator doesn't have this
option, you can use a Gaussian Blur or Blend).

Select the circle pressing Alt and duplicate it randomly as you wish. For diversity, change the circle radius, color and opacity.

Step 2

Let's draw stars and glows for the background
decoration. Create a star using theStar
Tool on a New Layer. Go to Effect
> Stylize > Round Corners. Change the radius on the Radius Corners panel to the desired value using the up and down arrows on the keyboard. Reduce the star to the desired size and drag it to the Symbols
panel. Create a circle symbol in the same way.

Step 3

Spray some symbols on the background surface randomly
using theSymbol Sprayer Tool (Shift-S).
Change their size, duplicate them, and move them as you wish. Reduce the opacity of
separate elements using theSymbol Screener
Tool. If you need to move a single element, you can expand the symbols.
Select the symbol and go toObject >
Expand. Add some sparkles in the end.

Wow, We're Done!

I hope you liked creating this really cute chibi
character with me. Enjoy the result!