In this tutorial we will learn how to create vector mosaic in a few minutes. This tutorial is designated for beginners who are taking the first steps in mastering Adobe Illustrator. Such artworks are easy to create, however, they are in good demand at the stocks, such as Shutterstock and iStockphoto.

Tutorial Details

   
• Program: Adobe IllustratorCS-CS5;
   
• Difficulty: Beginner;
   
• Estimated Completion Time: 10 minutes;

Step 1

In our work the hardest thing is to pick up a suitable image. It should be bright and sharp. The image can be raster or even a vector, which, however, have to be converted to raster. I decided on the image shown below. This is a so-called bokeh effect. You can see how to create a similar effect here. Copy the found image to a hard drive of your computer and then insert into a running document (File> Place ...)

Step 2

The image must be embedded into the document, to do it, click Embed in the top toolbar. This button will appear when the image is selected.

Keep the image selected, go to Object> Transform> Rotate ... and set the rotation angle 45 degrees.

Step 3

Now go to Object> Create Object Mosaic ... Suppose, the value of a single cell mosaics will be equal to 50px. In order to obtain a square cell, enter the width and height of the image in the Number of Tiles field and divide by the width of the cell.

Also set the value of the distance between cells, I have 5px.

And press Ok button.

Step 4

Ungroup the created mosaic (Shift + Cmd / Crtl + G) and go to Effect> Convert to Shape> Rounded Rectangle ... and set the options listed below.

Step 5

Keeping it selected, go to Object> Expand Appearance, then Object> Transform> Rotate ... and set the angle of rotation equal to -45 degrees in order to return the mosaic to the original shape. Group up all the elements of the mosaic (Cmd / Crtl + G).

Step 6

Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a square of black color so that it could cover all the mosaic, and move it below all the objects (Shift + Cmd / Ctrl + [).

Our mosaic contains a lot of empty cells.

Take the Magic Wand Tool (Y) and select these cells, now press the Delete key.

Step 7

Mosaic has denticulate edge, let's hide this fact. Take the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a square of any color (mine has a white fill) as shown below.

Now select all the objects (Cmd / Ctrl + A) and create a Clipping Mask (Cmd / Ctrl +7).

Conclusion

Applying different distorting effects to the mosaic, you can get interesting results, so never get tired of experimenting!