Illustrator Tutorial: How to Create an Icognito Icon

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Welcome back to another Illustrator based tutorial, in which we’re going to take a close look behind the process of creating an incognito icon, using nothing more than a couple of simple shapes and tools. So, assuming you already have the software running in the background, bring it up and let’s jump straight into it!

1. Set Up a New Project File

As we do with all our new projects, we’re going to kick things off by setting up a New Document, by heading over to File > New (or by using the Control-N keyboard shortcut), which we will adjust as follows:

  • Number of Artboards: 1
  • Width: 64 px
  • Height: 64 px
  • Units: Pixels

And from the Advanced tab:

  • Color Mode: RGB
  • Raster Effects: Screen (72ppi)
  • Preview Mode: Default
Creating a new document in Illustrator

2. Create the Incognito Icon

As soon as we’ve finished setting up our project file, we can zoom in on our little Artboard and then start working on the actual icon.

Step 1

Start by creating the main shape for the background using a 56 x 56 px circle, which we will color using #39383D and then center align to the underlying Artboard using the Align panel’s Horizontal and Vertical Align Center options.

Aligning the shape to the artboard

Step 2

Create the main shape for the glasses’ left lens using an 8 x 8 px circle with a 2 px thick Stroke, which we will color using #EDEDED and then position on top of the background as seen in the reference image.

Creating the left lens for the glasses

Step 3

Add the right lens using a copy (Control-C > Control-F) of the one that we’ve just created, which we will position onto the background’s right side, at a distance of 4 px from the original.

Creating the right lens for the glasses

Step 4

Create the bridge using a 6 x 6 px circle with a 2 px thick Stroke (#EDEDED), which we will position in-between the lenses so that their paths overlap as seen in the reference image.

Creating the bridge

Step 5

Adjust the shape that we’ve just created by selecting its bottom anchor point using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then immediately removing it by pressing Delete. Once you’re done, select all three shapes and then group them together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Grouping the shapes together

Step 6

Start working on the hat by creating the main shape for the brim using a 28 x 4 px ellipse (#EDEDED) which we will position above the glasses, at a distance of just 1 px.

Creating the hat's brim

Step 7

Quickly adjust the shape by removing its bottom half, by first selecting its bottom anchor point using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then pressing Delete, immediately closing the resulting path using the Control-J keyboard shortcut.

Forming the shape of the brim

Step 8

Give the resulting shape an outline using the Stroke method, by creating a copy (Control-C) of it, which we will paste in front (Control-F) and then adjust by first flipping its Fill with its Stroke (Shift-X) and then opening up the Stroke panel and setting its Weight to 2 px and its Corner to Round Join. Once you’re done, make sure you select and group the two together using the Control-G keyboard shortcut.

Adding a stroke to the brim

Step 9

Create the main shape for the hat’s crown using a 12 x 10 px rectangle, which we will color using #EDEDED and then center align to the brim’s bottom edge.

Creating the shape for the hat's crown

Step 10

Adjust the shape that we’ve just created by adding a new anchor point to the center of its top edge using the Add Anchor Point Tool (+), which we will select using the Direct Selection Tool (A) and then push to the bottom by a distance of 2 px using the directional arrow keys.

Adjusting the anchor point at the top of the hat

Step 11

Finish off the icon and with it the project itself, by giving the resulting shape a 2 px thick outline (#EDEDED) with a Round Join using the Stroke method, making sure to select and group (Control-G) the two together, doing the same for the entire icon afterwards.

Adding a stroke to the shape

Awesome Job!

As always, I hope you had fun working on the project, and most importantly managed to learn something new and useful during the process. That being said, if you have any questions feel free to post them within the comments section, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Finished incognito icon