How to Create a Vector Water Droplet in Adobe Illustrator

Today we will show you how to create a simple vector water droplet in seven easy steps using Adobe Illustrator.

​If you would like to download this button, click here!
(Graphic in CMYK colour mode for printing)

How to Create the Water Droplet
Step 1.
First let's create the document.
Width: 600 px
Height: 600 px
Units: Pixels
Color Mode: CMYK (under advanced options)
Raster Effects: High (300 ppi)
Then click Create.

Step 2.
Using the Ellipse Tool, click once on the artboard and enter these values:
Width: 350 px
Height: 235 px

Step 3.
Fill the ellipse with solid white.
Let's make the ellipse resemble a water droplet sitting on a surface and flatten the lower side. Using the Direct Selection Tool, select the two side anchor points and bring them down slightly, as seen below.

Step 4.
Go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow and enter the following values:
Mode: Multiply
Opacity: 75%
X Offset: 0 px
Y Offset: 5px
Blur: 5 px
Colour: C=75 M=65 Y=60 K=60
Then click OK.

Go to Window > Appearance to open the Appearance Panel.
Under Fill, change the Opacity to 100% Multiply.

It is important to change the blending mode here if you plan to use the water droplet placed on a graphic with a different colour than white. Multiply ensures that the white pixels will disappear when placed above another colour, while allowing us to give the ellipse a drop shadow. If there is no fill, we cannot add a drop shadow to a shape.

Step 5.
Take the ellipse shape and go to Edit > Copy, then Edit > Paste in Place to create a copy above the original ellipse. For the copied ellipse, remove the drop shadow and give the fill a Radial Gradient using these values:
1. K=0 (white)
2. C=40 M=0 Y=0 K=90

Step 6.
With the Selection Tool, select the top ellipse with the Radial Gradient fill and go to the Appearance Panel. Change the Opacity to 100% Multiply.

Step 7.
To add a highlight to the water droplet, use the Pen Tool to draw a shape like below.
Fill with white, and reduce the Opacity to 30%.

Note: keep the Blending Mode to Normal this time as we want the highlight to show

​Below you can see a sample of the water drop above a vector shape.
You can also add the vector graphic above photographs/images for the same effect.

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Thank you for reading this tutorial, if you would like to download the button graphic, click here!