April, 2006
This is a tutorial to create a background inspired by Asian sunburst patterns seen in artwork and on the old flag of Japan. This vector sunburst can be used to create a nice active background for a scene, and can help lead the eye to a focal point in a piece. The steps are amazingly simple and can be done in Adobe Illustrator CS2 as well as earlier versions.
First draw the background shape for you live area, this is the area of space the sunburst pattern will occupy in the end.
Draw a group of lines that share the same center point, create enough lines to divide your shape up into the amount of pieces you want.
Place these lines over the live area of the background, focus the center point wherever you want the focal point to be...and drag the lines out beyond the boundary of the shape
Note: Make a copy of the shape and set this aside so you can use it later for added fun.
Now select the lines individually and go to Object>Path>Divide objects below, working your way around the circumference.
Your background area is now a group of shapes making the full shape. Select alternating pieces going around the area, and apply a colored fill. Select the other alternating shapes and add another fill color, or white.
Now you have a sunburst vector pattern, but you can also add some more depth to it...
Take the copy of the shape you made earlier and apply a radial gradient, make sure the center point is similar to the focal point of the pattern, place it directly over the sunburst pattern and apply a transparency, play with them to make the right choice for your design.
In my final piece I chose darken, and placed my vector Chinese dragon in the foreground. You can also add a stroke to the gradient shape if you want to enclose the background.
Have fun and play, try adding strokes to the internal pieces, or change the colors or transparency.
Copyright (c) 2006, Carl Grivakis, All Rights Reserved