Make a Paint Splat Brush in Adobe Illustrator

If you need a vector paint splatter that is compatible with Illustrator and ready to use, read on and learn how to make and save a splatter brush in Illustrator.

What You Will Learn:

• How to make:
• paint splatter brush in Illustrator
• ink splatter brush in
• drip vector brush

Setting Up The Workspace

1. Create a New Document

Start by, creating a New document( ctrl+N shortcut). Now, select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, then, in the width and height boxes, enter 850. Next, click the Advanced Settings button. Choose RGB for the Color Mode, set the Raster Effects to HIGH (300 ppi), and select Create Document.

2. Set up the Grid

Enable the Grid View > Show Grid  (ctrl+")
and Snap to Grid's. We need a grid every 5px, so open Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid.
Put in the "Grid every" box: 5 and in "Subdivision" box: 1.

Setting Up Your First Brush:  Paint Splatter

1. Basic shapes:

First, pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 200px circle, and fill it with your color of choice. 
I chose a green: R=69 G=155 B=73.
Using the same tool, create a 20px circle and place the smaller one 20px from the first circle.
Next make a 40 x 60px oval shape, leaving a 90px gap between these two shapes. (count the grid lines! Earlier we set each to 10px.) 
Fill both shapes with the same initial color (R=69 G=155 B=73)
Now select the Rectangle Tool (M), create a 40 x 130px shape, and place it over the last two shapes. 

2. Making the Paint Run:

We're going to the top side of this rectangle, and select the Direct Selection Tool (A). Select the left anchor point and move it 10px to the right, and then select the right anchor point and move it 10px to the left.

Select the three small shapes made, and click Unite icon on the right.
Alternatively you can go to Window > Pathfinder >Unite.

Make sure that the shape made is still selected, and go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Enter the settings  style: bulge, Vertical, Bend -25% as shown in the following image, click OK, and go to Object > Expand Appearance.

Now we can disable the "snap to grid" and the grid itself. (Shift + ctrl + "), and (ctrl + ") respectively.  

3. Spread the Runs:

Multiply this shape a few times (Control-C > Control-V), resize these copies, and spread them similarly to the next image.

Select the Curvature Tool (Shift+~) and draw a new path that makes the connection between those drips and the main circle a lot smoother.
An easy tip, is to use the Direct Selection tool(A) to adjust and blend the curves.

Next, add a wavy path on the top half of the circle.
Get creative and make it splat the way you would like!
You should have something resembling the next Image.

4. Make That Brush!

Select All (ctrl+ A) and click the Unite button we used earlier. This creates a single compound path.

Finally, Select your new compound path, open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes or F5), and click New Brush button (the little plus sign).

Check the Art Brush box and click OK.
Give your new brush a name!
Check the Stretch Between Guides box and look at the brush preview. Drag the guides where the drips start and the other where the drips end. (use start and end position boxes for precision)
This ensures this is the only section of the brush that will stretch when you use the brush.

Lastly, you can select the Brush Tool (B) and use your newly created brush!

You can choose the bounds you want to be stretched. Simply double click on the brush, it will open options, you can adjust the start and end bounds there. You can adjust the width to a smaller size(recommended) for more detailed work.

You'll notice, to use the brush, you have to make strokes the same size as the original image you created. Since these are vectors, they will scale perfectly to any size.
The feel free to scale the original image to a smaller more manageable size.
Go ahead and play around! Have fun creating new splat brushes!

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About Jeremy Blair