How to Create a Cat Logo Design in Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you'll learn how to make a creative cat logo design in Adobe Illustrator.

For starters, you'll learn how to set up a simple grid and how to create a vector cat face. Using an art brush and some effects along with basic vector shape-building techniques, you will learn how to add the ears and a nice collar to your kitten logo.

Finally, you'll learn how to add the background and some stylized text to finish off your cool cat logo.

If you don't have the time to learn how to draw a cat in Adobe Illustrator, you can always try Envato Elements, where you can find a massive collection of cat logo designs, cat emblems, and other assorted feline logos. This cat gaming logo is just one of the many examples.

Do you prefer to learn by watching video tutorials? If that's the case, you can learn how to draw a cat in Adobe Illustrator by watching this new video from the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:

What You'll Learn as You Create This Cute Cat Logo

• How to set up a grid


• How to create an art brush


• How to create a cat face vector


• How to create a cat head logo

What You Will Need:

You will need the following resource in order to complete this cute cat logo:

• 
  Jalibar font

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 500 px, and then click that More Settings 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:

• 
  Graphic Design
  
  
  Understanding Adobe Illustrator's Grid System
  
  
  Andrei Stefan

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 start work on your new cat logo.

2. How to Create the Head of Your Kitten Logo

Step 1

Focus on your toolbar and pick the Ellipse Tool (L). Remove the color for the stroke and then double-click the fill and set it to black (R=0 G=0 B=0).

Move to your artboard and simply create a 50 x 10 px shape—the grid and the Snap to Grid should make this pretty easy.

Focus on the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes), and let's start by quickly removing all the unused brushes. Open the fly-out menu and go to Select All Unused to easily select all those unused brushes. Once selected, just click the Delete Brush button from the bottom of the panel to remove the brushes.

Step 2

Make sure that your shape is still selected and click the New Brush button from the bottom of the panel. Check the Art Brush box to save your shape as an art brush, and then click OK to open the Art Brush Options window.

Enter the settings shown in the following image, and don't forget to select Tints for the Colorization Method as this will allow you to change the brush color. Click OK to save your brush, and free to delete the shape from your artboard.

Step 3

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L) from your toolbar, and set the fill color to R=255 G=253 B=245 and the stroke color to R=23 G=26 B=69. Click and drag or simply click on your artboard to create a 200 x 180 px shape.

Move to the control panel and make sure that the Alignment is set to Artboard, and then use the Vertical Align Center and Horizontal Align Center buttons to easily move your shape to the center of the artboard.

Focus on the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) and increase the stroke Weight to 10 pt, and then move to the Swatches panel (Window > Swatches). Make sure that the stroke is still selected and click that New Swatch button to save the stroke color. You'll use this color several times in the following steps, and having it saved will make things go more quickly.

Step 4

Make sure that your ellipse is still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Arc Lower. Check the Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -20%, and then click OK to apply this effect.

Step 5

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 30 x 20 px shape and fill it with your saved color from the Swatches panel. Click the Horizontal Align Center button to align this shape and place it as shown in the following image.

Step 6

Focus on the shape made in the previous step, select the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C), and click the bottom anchor point to turn it into a sharp point.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), hold down the Shift key to select the top and bottom anchor points, and then simply drag them 5 px down. Let's continue and learn how to add the eyes and the mouth to this cute cat logo.

3. How to Add the Eyes & the Mouth to This Cat Logo Design

Step 1

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 60 x 50 px shape, and place it as shown in the first image.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the top anchor point (highlighted in the first image), and press the Delete key to remove it.

Keep the resulting path selected and move to the Appearance panel. Select the stroke, apply your art brush from the Brushes panel, and use that saved color from the Swatches panel.

Step 2

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 35 x 40 px shape, and place it as shown in the first image.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), this time select the bottom anchor point (highlighted in the first image), and press the Delete key to remove it.

Keep the resulting path selected and move to the Appearance panel. Select the stroke, apply your art brush and use the saved color, and then click the Stroke button to open the Stroke fly-out menu. All you have to do is lower the Weight to 0.75 pt.

Step 3

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 20 px circle, and place it as shown in the first image.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), hold down the Shift key to select the two anchor points highlighted in the first image, and press the Delete key to remove them.

Keep the resulting path selected and apply the same Appearance settings that you used for the previous path. You can do this easily by using the target icons from the Layers panel (Window > Layers). Target icons are the little round icons displayed at the far right of each individual layer or shape. Hold down the Alt key, click the target icon that stands for your first path, and then drag it onto the target icon that stands for this new path.

Step 4

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 30 px circle, and place it as shown in the first image. Keep it selected and go to Object > Path > Anchor Points to add four extra anchor points.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), hold down the Shift key to select the five anchor points highlighted in the third image, and press the Delete key to remove them.

Keep the resulting path selected and apply the same Appearance settings that you used for the previous paths.

Step 5

Using the Pen Tool (P) or the Line Segment Tool (\), create three straight lines roughly as shown in the first image.

Pick the Selection Tool (V) and hold down the Shift key to select these paths, apply your art brush, use the saved color, and don't forget to lower the stroke Weight to 0.5 pt.

Step 6

Make sure that your straight lines are still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Check the Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to 20%, and then click OK to apply the bend.

Step 7

Using the Selection Tool (V), select all the paths highlighted in the following image and press Control-G to Group them.

Keep this group selected and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Transform. Set the number of Copies to 1, check the Reflect X box and drag the Move-Horizontal slider to -83.5 px, and then click OK to add a horizontally flipped copy of your group, as shown in the following image.

Step 8

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 30 x 20 px shape, and place it as shown in the first image.

Fill this new shape with R=239 G=148 B=147, increase the stroke Weight to 10 pt and apply your saved color, and then switch to the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) and just click the top anchor point to turn it into a sharp point. Let's continue and learn how to add the ears to this cat head logo.

4. How to Add the Ears to This Cat Face Logo

Step 1

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 45 x 55 px shape, and fill it with yellow.

Focus on the top side of this rectangle, pick the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-), and use it to remove the right anchor point.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the remaining top anchor point, and drag it 35 px to the right.

Step 2

Make sure that your yellow shape is still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Check the Vertical box and drag the Bend slider to 50%, click OK to apply the effect, and then go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand it.

Step 3

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 15 x 55 px shape, fill it with blue, and place it on top of the yellow one.

Focus on the top side of this rectangle, pick the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-), and use it to remove the right anchor point.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the remaining top anchor point, and drag it 10 px to the right.

Step 4

Make sure that your blue shape is still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Check the Vertical box and drag the Bend slider to 50%, click OK to apply the effect, and then go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand it.

Step 5

Select your yellow shape and set the fill color to R=255 G=253 B=245. Move to the stroke, apply your art brush, and use the saved color.

Select the blue shape and simply replace that blue with your saved color.

Step 6

Select the two shapes highlighted in the following image and Group them (Control-G). Keep this group selected and go to Object > Transform > Rotate. Set the Angle to -30 degrees and click OK to rotate your group.

Step 7

Keep the group selected and place it as shown in the first image, press Shift-Control-[ to move it behind the rest of the shapes, and then go to Object > Transform > Reflect.

Check the Vertical box and click that Copy button to easily add a horizontally flipped copy of your group. Drag it to the left and place it as shown in the third image. Let's continue and learn how to add a simple collar to this kitty face logo.

5. How to Add a Collar to This Cat Face Logo

Step 1

Using the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 70 x 20 px shape and place it as shown in the following image.

Set the fill color to R=70 G=197 B=243 and then select the stroke. Apply your saved color, set the Weight to 10 pt, and don't forget to check that Round Join button.

Step 2

Make sure that your blue rectangle is still selected and go to Effect > Warp > Arc. Check the Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -50%, and then click OK.

Step 3

Using the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 20 px circle and place it as shown in the following image.

Set the fill color to R=255 G=201 B=41 and then select the stroke. Apply your saved color and set the Weight to 10 pt.

Step 4

Pick the Selection Tool (V) and hold down the Shift key to select your blue and yellow shapes, and then press Shift-Control-[ to move them behind the rest of the shapes. Let's continue and learn how to add a simple background to this kitty face logo.

6. How to Add a Background to This Cartoon Cat Logo

Step 1

Pick the Type Tool (T) and open the Character panel (Window > Type > Character). Select the Jalibar font and set the size to 50 px. Click on your artboard and just type in 'kitty cat'.

Keep this text selected and start by clicking the [None] swatch from the Swatches panel to remove the current text color.

Move to the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) and add a new fill using the Add New Fill button. Select that new fill and set the color to R=255 G=253 B=245.

Add a second fill for your text using that same Add New Fill button, drag it below the existing fill, and select it. Apply your saved color and then go to Effect > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset to 10 px and click OK.

Step 2

Finally, let's add a background to this creative cat logo.

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create an 860 x 510 px shape, fill it with R=255 G=201 B=41, send it to the back (Shift-Control-[), and don't forget to center it.

Move to the Appearance panel, add a second fill to this shape, and select it. Change the Blending Mode to Soft Light and then apply the radial gradient shown in the following image. Don't forget to lower the Opacity of that left gradient slider to 0% and use the Gradient Tool (G) to stretch the gradient as shown below.

Congratulations! You're Done!

Here is how your creative cat logo design should look. I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques in your future cat logo brand projects.

Feel free to adjust the final cat emblem and make it your own. You can find some great sources of inspiration at Envato Elements, with interesting solutions to create cat logo brands, fashion cat logos, cat gaming logos, or cat business logos.

Popular Cat Logo Designs From Envato Elements

Envato Elements is an excellent resource for cool cat logos or any other type of feline logos. Here's a short list of some of the most creative cat logos that you can find.

Cat Store Logo (AI, EPS, JPG, PNG)

This cat store logo could be the perfect cat emblem for a pet shop or any other type of store that's dedicated to cats.

Cute Black Cat Logo (AI, EPS, PNG, JPG)

Pump up the cuteness level of your design using this cute black cat logo. It's amazing how much you can achieve with a simple black cat logo.

Cartoon Cat Logo (AI, EPS, PNG, PDF, PSD)

Keep it sweet and cozy with this cartoon cat logo. The warm colors and smooth contours make this small cat logo stand out.

White Cat Logo (AI, EPS)

Looking for a bolder cat logo design? This white cat logo might be a good solution. The thick outline and the sharp details are perfect for this small cat logo.

Minimalist Cat Logo (AI, EPS, PDF, PNG, PSD)

Keep it smooth and simple with this minimalist cat logo. This small cat logo could be an excellent solution if you're looking for an elegant cat business logo.

Want to Learn More?

We have loads of tutorials on Envato Tuts+, from beginner to intermediate level, including a tutorial on how to draw a cat in Adobe Illustrator. Take a look!

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