Drawing a Victorian Lady in Illustrator

Drawing a Victorian Lady in Illustrator

1 Choose the Pen tool.

2 Draw the bodice of the dress.


3 Draw the skirt using the Pen tool.



4 Open a new layer and drop it below the layer. Create a sleeve.




5 With the Rounded Rectangle tool make a rounded rectangle. Rotate it into position. Duplicate it.




6 Draw the lower portion of the sleeve.




7 Use the Reflect tool and set to Vertical. Press Copy and move it into place.




8 Draw a belt in the layer on top.



9 Open a new layer and add to the skirt.



10 Make a bottom layer. Using circles draw skirt decoration. Create one circle. Press Ctrl+C then Ctrl+F. Press Ctrl+D several times. Select all and with the Selection tool adjust the size to fit. Use the Add to shape area button to combine then click on Expand.


11 Colour the dress as you like. Add a shadow to the outside skirt and send back Ctrl+[.



12 Make a new layer. Add a high collar to the dress. Choose all the pieces and press Ctrl+G to group.


13 Choose the empty layer below the dress. To create the head, make a circle and a rectangle. Using Add to shape area button combine and then press Expand.



14 Using the Line Segment tool draw a line. Apply Arc to the piece to curve it. Choose Expand Appearance to reset the bounding box.



15 Make an oval. Send behind eyelashes Ctrl+[. Create a blue circle. Make a smaller black circle. Create an even smaller white circle and offset it to the side. Duplicate the eye.



16 Draw one side of the upper lip. Duplicate using the Reflect tool set on Vertical. Make the bottom lip with a half circle and do the same approximately for the nose.



17 Make half of the hair. Using the Reflect tool duplicate it. Use the Add to shape area and press Expand. Use the Rounded Rectangle to add a bun. Again, use the Add to shape area and press Expand. Send to the back using Shft+Ctrl+[. Add a wavy line for the bangs and duplicate.




18 Form a rectangle to create the hand. Choose the Rounded Rectangle tool and create fingers. Adjust the finger size. Duplicate a finger and rotate for the thumb. Using the Direct Selection tool choose points to adjust and create a semblance of a hand. Rotate it into place. Duplicate with the Reflect tool. Make the shoe by creating one-half and then copy by using the Reflect tool. Then Add to shape area and Expand. Duplicate by using the Alt and Shift key simultaneously.



19 Select All (Ctrl+A) and Group (Ctrl+G). Duplicate. Choose the original since it is in the back and ungroup. Don't deselect. Use Add to shape area and then Expand. Uncheck the Fill colour and check the Stroke colour. Choose Flatten Transparency and check both items at the bottom. Set Stroke to 4 pts and Rounded Cap and Join. Set Stroke colour to black. Move the duplicated version onto the top of the outline version and group.