Just in time for the holidays… a tutorial for creating those fun, festive holiday snowflakes. These vector flakes are a must-have for turning your holiday designs into a winter wonderland. So sit back, grab a cup of eggnog, and feast your eyes on how amazingly simple it is to create a vector snowflake.

1. Begin by creating a shape that will act as your snowflake arm, or snowflake leg if you prefer. I created my snowflake leg below by combining several circles and random shapes then creating a mirror of that shape so that it appears symmetrical on both sides. This shape can be as detailed as you like. Feel free to be experimental here. This stage will determine the detail and overall look of the snowflake, and rememember no two snowflakes are alike.

2. Once you’ve created a shape that looks snowflake-alishus. Click your shape and select “New Brush” from the menu that appears when clicking the small arrow in the upper right corner of the brushes palette.

3. Select “New Pattern Brush” from the pop-up window that appears.

4. In the Options window choose “Tints” for the Colorization Method. This will allow you to easily change the color of your brush strokes. Then click “Okay” to close the window. You should then see your newly created pattern brush appear in the brushes palette.

5. Next, draw an empty circle with a black stroke.

6. With your circle selected, apply your new pattern brush by selecting it from the brushes palette. Depending on the size of your circle and the amount of stroke applied your snowflake will vary. Play with sizing your snowflake until you get the right look you are after.

7. Once you’ve decided on the right look, turn your brush stroke into a shape by selecting “Object | Expand Appearance” from the File menu. You may then need to ungroup (Cmd+Shift+G) the shape in order to select and delete the outline from your original circle. Now select the entire snowflake and click the “Add to Shape Area” shape mode from the Pathfinder tab, and click “Expand” to convert the shape into one solid object. The shape can then be scaled and resized without distorting or losing proportions.

And that’s it! This technique can be used to create all sorts of interesting circle patterns. Try it out, experiment, and have fun!

Download my vector snowflake designs.
(346.6 KB)