How to make a Millifiori Paperweight - Adobe Illustrator Tutorial

Jacquelin Vanderwood  October 15, 2003   1 To make this paperweight we first have to create the designs. Let's start with a 30 sided star.   2 Copy (Control+C) and paste in front (Control+F) a new star. Select the Scale tool and reduce by 80%. Change the color to white.   3 Create a circle in the middle of the star. Copy. Paste in front. Reduce by 80%. Change the color to white. Apply Pucker & Bloat at 27%.   4 Copy. Paste in front. Reduce by 70%. Change the color to a darker purple.   5 Create a 6-sided star. The star will have the Pucker and Bloat filter already applied to it. Press Control+G to group.    6 Using the same basic method but changing percentages, numbers, radius, etc., let's create a variety of these designs. You can also use Zig Zag on two items at a time.   7 Use Pucker and Bloat on a multi-sided polygon.   8 So now we have five designs to work with.   9 Drop them into the Symbols palette for safekeeping.   10 Set up a pattern somewhat like the one below.   11 Select all the pieces and choose Transform. You may have to do it twice or more. Open KPT Vector Effects and choose 3D Transform. We want the light source coming from above. Also, we an want a medium extrusion. The Blackpoint should be set at medium.   12 Group all the pieces. Apply Warp Options>Fisheye.   13 Next apply Inflate to the piece. Then apply Bulge. Reduce the size vertically to about half by dragging down on the bounding box.   14 Copy and paste over into Photoshop. Use the Burn tool set at Highlight to create shadows. Create a circle the size of the artwork on a separate layer and drop it below. Then merge both layers. Apply Bevel and Emboss at the settings below.   15 Apply a Lens Flare to the piece. Then duplicate the piece. Use the first layer of the item. Fill it with a dual colored gradient such as yellow and blue. Add a Gaussian Blur to it. Use Transform to make the necessary size adjustment for more realism. Finally, use the Elliptical Marquee tool to round out the shape. Create the circle on the paperweight layer, flip the circle by inverting it, then delete. You may have to do this several times to make the piece more believable. Below is our finished piece.     Copyright 2003, Jacquelin Vanderwood, All Rights Reserved