We all remember our first love. And if you filled up your notebooks with drawings and love letters to your first love, then you probably relate to this really fun tutorial. Have fun sketching this romantic doodle!
Software: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Difficulty: Beginner
Completion Time: 2 hours
Images Used For This Tutorial
Blank notebook filler paper background a great backdrop to let your creativity
Young couple in love (romantic)
Creating The Doodle
Step 1
Open a new A3 document in Illustrator. Go to File > Place > and place both of your references into your new document.
Step 2
Place the picture of the couple [image:10731375] on top of the lined notebook paper [image:17936641] so that it meets the edge of the paper. Select the couple’s image and bring down the Opacity to 55%. Lock both layers so that your references stay put.
Step 3
Select the Paintbrush Tool (B). Set the Stroke Color to Black and the Brush to Charcoal. Now your brush will draw lines like a charcoal pencil.
Step 4
Begin tracing the couple on a new layer. You’ll need a pen tablet for this part, but feel free to try it with a regular mouse as well. Vary the thickness of your lines according to the details. Keep the sketch simple for a nice doodle effect. Hide the visibility of the picture layer when you’re done.
Step 5
Once you’re finished with the couple, move onto another new layer. On this new layer draw four different heart shapes. Try to draw them in one swipe of your pen so that you won’t have to worry about merging shapes together later.
Step 6
Draw a large heart around the couple as a guide. Take each of your four heart shapes and Copy and Paste them many times so that you have more copies of each shape. Position the hearts with the Selection Tool (V) so that they so that they fill in the guide you made. Delete the guide when you’re done. Now you’ve surrounded the couple with love!
Step 7
Draw some additional details like stars and a road to their love. Use the same Copy and Paste technique as before with the stars.
Step 8
Include the names of your lovers using the Type Tool (T). Fonts that simulate handwriting are the best for this so search for them on the web. We will be using the font: Dragon Is Coming. Copy and paste some more hearts around the name for extra lovey-dovey details.
Coloring The Doodle In Photoshop
Step 9
Coloring the doodle will be really simple. Make sure to save an Illustrator copy of this file in case you’d like to adjust the sketch later. But to color it really quickly, we’ll also Save for Web as a high quality jpeg.
Step 10
Open the .jpeg into Photoshop. Add a new layer and use the Paint Bucket Tool (G) to fill this layer with a dark gray color. Set the Blend Mode to Lighten because a pencil sketch is never really the color black.
Step 11
On a new layer select the Brush Tool (B). Use any textured brush you’d like to paint a light gray color all over the right side of the doodle. Bring down the Opacity of the layer as you see fit. This will represent the “shading” of the sketch and visually anchor the drawing.
Step 12
Use the Eraser Tool (E) to erase any shading you don’t want and you’re done! Have fun creating your own simple doodle designs!
