Insight Using Custom Symbols and 3D Effects in Illustrator Dateline: May 12, 2006 Version: Illustrator CS More Insight articles
Scott Weichert used customized swatches and symbols to quickly illustrate repeating objects in Illustrator, then added panache with 3D effects.
	For the stone texture of the gargoyles and pedestal, Weichert created a custom pattern swatch. He drew a stone texture, duplicated it multiple times, and altered the colors of the duplicates, adding each to the Swatches palette. “Creating various colored swatches of the same texture is a better method than using opacity to get variations, since you don’t have to flatten the artwork,” he explains.
	Weichert dragged the Grass 6 preset from CS’s Nature Symbol Library to the artboard, chose Object > Expand, changed the colors, and placed the customized grass in the Symbols palette. He double-clicked the Symbol Sprayer tool to set the density level, then click-dragged on his illustration to place. He used the Symbol Shifter tool to move pieces. “The biggest advantage to using the Symbols palette is that Illustrator treats all the grass as one object, which reduces file size and speeds output,” Weichert says.
	To create the globe, Weichert selected a stone pattern swatch, dragged it to the artboard, then dragged it to the Symbols palette, creating a new symbol. He drew a semi-circle with a white Fill and no Stroke, and chose Effect > 3D > Revolve in CS. He used the default Revolve settings and clicked Map Art. From the Symbol drop-down menu, he chose the stone symbol, checked Scale to Fit, and clicked OK. Back in the 3D Revolve Options dialog box, he clicked More Options and adjusted the lighting controls.
	The final image is shown at left (click to enlarge). Tip: When working with the Symbols tools, you can easily switch between them. Press Control-Option while clicking on the artboard to access the Symbols toolbox.

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Since 1988 Scott Weichert and Weichert Creative, LLC have been creating, editing, manipulating and otherwise tearing apart vector images.