drawing a Space Vector Illustration featuring a cool planet

Enjoy a great space vector illustration filled with a great planet and cool effects. Drawing a nice looking planet using a vector application is one of the easiest thing to do. All effects were almost made to create something like this. It's simple and quite realistic!

I will show you how to draw a simple planet and a small sun using only a few basic shapes and accessible tools. Open your vector software and follow me!

Step 1

First, you need to create a black background and add a small circle in the middle. I decided to create a planet similar to Mars, so I have chosen a light tone of red/brown color to start.

Step 2

Next, select the gradient tool. This tool is perfect to create simple shadows very quickly. Use a circular fill and make sure that the middle of the gradient effect is filled with a light tone of red while the outside part is darker. As you can see, the effect is not perfectly aligned with the middle. Instead, you can place the lighter part on the top/right section of the circle.

Step 3

This step might seem complex, but it is not. All I did was to duplicate the circle and add four additional layers on my circle. Three of these circles are filled with fractal effects that are usually found within the gradient fill options. The last circle is a transparent shadow that should help the circle look more like a sphere.

Step 4

The image above is the result of all five layers when placed together. Remember that all four new layers that were added previously are slightly transparent otherwise the circle that was placed in the first step would not be visible at all.

Step 5

Create a white circle behind the planet and make this new shape slightly larger. I also added a small dark outline to the planet. Great! Our space vector illustration is getting more beautiful as we are progressing!

Step 6

Another great tool that can be helpful is the "feathering" one. This tool allows you to blur the edges of an object so it blends or fades more efficiently with the illustration. Let's apply this effect to the new circle.

Step 7

All major vector software are now able to create simple shapes like stars within seconds. Create a white star and place it near the edge of the planet like shown above.

Step 8

Once again, use the feather tool to hide the edges of the star to make it more subtle.

Step 9

Create another circle, but this time the new shape must be larger and placed behind the planet. Don't worry if your space vector drawing looks funny with this huge star, the feather tool will make everything more appealing!

Step 10

Select the feather tool and hide the edges of the large star. Things look great, but it can be better!

Step 11

Create two white rings and place these new shapes over the two stars as seen on the illustration above.

Step 12

Once again, use the feather tool to partially hide the rings. This space vector illustration is almost done now! :)

Step 13

Create a white circle and place this new shape on the stars.

Step 14

Finally, use the feather tool for one last time and blend the white circle with the previous shapes. Make sure that the new circle doesn't completely hide the shapes that were made in the previous steps. God job! The result is a good-looking space vector illustration that can be created in a few minutes using the right tools. More fun planets can be drawn below. Enjoy! :)

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