How to Create a Stained Glass Effect in Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to create a stained glass effect in Illustrator. First, you will learn how to create the frame of your stained glass effect using basic vector shapes. Using a bunch of colors and effects, you’ll then learn how to create a glass effect in Illustrator.

Finally, using some gradients along with raster effects, you will learn how to apply a glass texture in Illustrator.

If you don’t have the time to learn how to create a stained glass effect in Illustrator, you can always try Envato Elements, where you can find plenty of stained glass illustrations. Here’s one of the many examples:

Interested in video tutorials instead of written guides? Then visit the Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel to find the best Design & Illustration tutorials, like this new video on how to create a glass effect in Illustrator:

What You’ll Learn in This Stained Glass Illustration Tutorial

• How to draw a stained glass effect
• How to create glass or window effects in Illustrator
• How to create a glass texture in Illustrator

1. How to Create a New Document and Set Up a Grid

Hit Control-N to create a new document. Select Pixels from the Units drop-down menu, set the Width and Height to 850 px, and then click that Advanced Options button. Select RGB for the Color Mode and set the Raster Effects to Screen (72 ppi), and then click the Create button.

Enable the Grid (View > Show Grid or Control-“) and the Snap to Grid (View > Snap to Grid or Shift-Control-“). At first, you will need a grid every 10 px, so simply go to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid, and enter 10 in the Gridline every box and 1 in the Subdivisions box. Try not to get discouraged by all that grid—it will make your work easier, and keep in mind that you can easily enable or disable it using the Control-“ keyboard shortcut.

You can learn more about Illustrator’s grid system in this short tutorial from Andrei Stefan: Understanding Adobe Illustrator’s Grid System.

You should also open the Info panel (Window > Info) for a live preview of the size and position of your shapes. Don’t forget to set the unit of measurement to pixels from Edit > Preferences > Units. All these options will significantly increase your work speed. Now that you’re set, let’s learn how to draw a stained glass effect.

2. How to Create the Frame for Your Stained Glass Effect in Illustrator

Step 1

Focus on your Toolbar and pick the Rectangle Tool (M), and then focus on the color settings. Select the fill and remove the color, and then double-click the stroke and set it to black (R=0 G=0 B=0).

Click on your artboard to open the Rectangle window and use it to create an 850 px square. Keep it selected and focus on the control panel. Set the Alignment to Artboard and then click the Horizontal Align Center and Vertical Align Center buttons to easily move your square to the center of the artboard.

Open the Appearance panel (Window > Appearance) and click that Stroke text to open the Stroke fly-out panel. Increase the Weight to 20 pt and then check that Align Stroke to Inside button to move the stroke to the inside of your square.

Step 2

Make sure that your square is still selected and press Control-C > Control-F to add a copy in front.

Keep this copy selected, make sure that the Selection Tool (V) is active, and focus on one of the bounding box corners. Hold down the Shift and Alt keys, and then click and drag from the corner to the inside of the shape to shrink it. Make it a 630 px square. Move to the Appearance panel and decrease the stroke Weight to 10 pt.

Step 3

Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M) and use it to create four 120 px squares. Make sure that all of the squares have that same 10 pt black stroke aligned to the inside.

Place a shape in every corner of your artboard. The grid and Snap to Grid will make this easier, or you can use the Align buttons from the control panel again.

Step 4

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 420 x 450 px shape, and place it as shown in the first image. You can use the Vertical Align Center button from the control panel to easily center this shape on the horizontal axis of the artboard.

Use the Selection Tool (V) to reselect that 630 px square and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy along with your ellipse, open the Pathfinder panel (Window > Pathfinder), and click the Intersect button.

Step 5

Reselect the Ellipse Tool (L), use it to create a 280 x 190 px shape, and place it as shown in the first image.

Switch to the Anchor Point Tool (Shift-C) and simply click the left and right anchor points to turn them into sharp points, as shown in the second image.

Step 6

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) and create a 120 x 390 px shape. Fill it with black and place it as shown in the first image, and then go to Effect > Warp > Bulge. Check that Horizontal box and drag the Bend slider to -50%, click OK to apply the effect, and then go to Object > Expand Appearance to expand it.

Keep the resulting shape selected and press Shift-X to quickly swap the fill and stroke settings. Select the stroke, align it to the inside, and increase the Weight to 10 pt.

Step 7

For a few steps, you will need a gridline every 5 px, so go back to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 5 in that Gridline every box.

Pick the Ellipse Tool (L), create a 200 px circle, and place it as shown in the first image.

Switch to the Direct Selection Tool (A), select the two anchor points highlighted in the first image, and simply press the Delete key to remove them. You’ll end up with the arc shown in the second image.

Step 8

Make sure that your arc is still selected and go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Just check the Horizontal box and then click that Copy button. Use the Selection Tool (V) to move the newly created shape as shown in the second image.

Step 9

Pick the Line Segment Tool (\) and use it to create a 40 px horizontal path, as shown in the following image.

Step 10

Go back to Edit > Preferences > Guides & Grid and enter 10 in that Gridline every box.

Pick the Selection Tool (V) to select the six shapes highlighted in the first image, and then go to Object > Transform > Reflect. Check the Vertical box and then click that Copy button. Move the newly created shape as shown in the third image.

Step 11

Reselect those six shapes along with the copies added in the previous step and go to Object > Transform > Rotate. Set the Angle to 90 degrees and then click that Copy button.

Step 12

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M) to create a 110 px square and place it in the center of the artboard. Apply that same 10 pt black stroke, and don’t forget to align it to the inside.

Switch to the Selection Tool (V) and use it to rotate your square 45 degrees, as shown in the second image.

3. How to Color a Stained Glass Effect in Illustrator

Step 1

Select all your shapes and go to Effect > Distort & Transform > Roughen. Enter the settings shown in the following image and then click OK to apply the effect.

Step 2

Make sure that all your shapes are still selected. First, go to Object > Expand Appearance, and then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke.

Step 3

Make sure that your expanded shapes remain selected, and focus on the center of your artboard.

Select the Shape Builder Tool (Shift-M), hold down the Alt key, and use simple clicking and dragging to remove all the shapes that lie inside that middle rhombus shape. Additionally, you can hold down the Shift along with the Alt key to draw a rectangle and remove all the shapes inside it.

Once you’re done, things should look as shown in the third image.

Step 4

Make sure that all your shapes are still selected, and click the Unite button from the Pathfinder panel. The resulting shape will serve as the frame. Fill it with R=27 G=35 B=58.

Step 5

Reselect the Rectangle Tool (M), use it to create an 830 px square, fill it with yellow and center it, and then press Shift-Control-[ to send this shape to the back.

Step 6

Reselect that frame shape and add a copy in front (Control-C > Control-F). Select this copy along with your yellow square and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Press Shift-Control-G to quickly Ungroup the resulting group of shapes.

Step 7

Focus on your set of yellow shapes and replace that yellow with the colors shown in the following image.

4. How to Further Stylize Your Stained Glass Illustration

Step 1

Select all your colored shapes and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Enter the settings shown in the following image and then click OK. You can also press Control-G to Group all these shapes.

Step 2

Press Shift-Control-“ to disable Snap to Grid for a few moments, and then go to Edit > Preferences > General and make sure that the Keyboard Increment is set to 1 px.

Select your frame shape and go to Object > Path > Offset Path. Set the Offset to -2 px and click OK to create the new shape. Press Control-C > Control-F to add a copy in front, and then press the down arrow button twice to move this copy 2 px down.

Select this moved copy along with the original one and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make or Control-8), set the fill color of this compound path to white (R=255 G=255 B=255), and lower its Opacity to 20%.

Step 3

Reselect your frame and add two copies in front (Control-C > Control-F > Control-F). Select just the top copy and press the up arrow button twice to move it 2 px up.

Now select both copies and click the Minus Front button from the Pathfinder panel. Turn the resulting group of shapes into a compound path (Control-8) and fill it with black (R=0 G=0 B=0).

Step 4

Reselect your frame shape, focus on the Appearance panel to select the fill, and go to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the settings shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 5

Make sure that your frame shape is still selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a second fill using that Add New Fill button.

Select it, keep the existing color, and go again to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the settings shown in the left window, click OK, and go one more time to Effect > Stylize > Drop Shadow. Enter the attributes shown in the right window and click OK.

Step 6

Make sure that your frame shape is still selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a third fill.

Select it and set the color to black, lower its Opacity to 25% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light, and then go to Effect > Artistic > Film Grain. Enter the settings shown in the following image and click OK.

Step 7

Make sure that your frame shape is still selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and select the stroke.

Drag it below the existing fills and open the Brushes panel (Window > Brushes). Click that Charcoal – Feather brush to apply it and return to the Appearance panel. Lower the stroke Opacity to 25% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light, and then go to Effect > Stylize > Rounded Corners. Set the Radius to 1 px and click OK.

Step 8

Make sure that your frame shape is still selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a second stroke using that Add New Stroke button.

Select this new stroke and set the color to white (R=255 G=255 B=255), lower its Opacity to 15% and change the Blending Mode to Soft Light, and then open the Stroke fly-out panel. Increase the Weight to 5 pt and set the alignment to Outside.

5. How to Create a Stained Glass Texture in Illustrator

Step 1

Pick the Rectangle Tool (M), create an 850 px square, center it, and focus on the Appearance panel.

Select the fill and set the color to black, lower its Opacity to 50% and change the Blending Mode to Overlay, and then go to Effect > Artistic > Sponge. Enter the settings shown below and click OK, and then go to Effect > Artistic > Plastic Wrap. Enter the attribute shown in the following image, click OK, and then go to Effect > Distort > Glass. Enter the settings shown below and click OK.

Step 2

Make sure that your front square is still selected, keep focusing on the Appearance panel, and add a second fill using that same Add New Fill button.

Select the new fill and change its Blending Mode to Overlay, and then move to the Gradient panel (Window > Gradient) and click that Radial Gradient button to easily apply a radial gradient. Select the right gradient slider and lower its Opacity to 0%, and then use the Gradient Tool (G) to stretch the applied gradient, as shown in the following image.

Step 3

Keep your front square selected, make sure that the gradient fill is still selected, and duplicate it using that Duplicate Selected Item button.

Select the new fill and use the Gradient Tool (G) to stretch the existing gradient as shown in the following image.

Step 4

Keep your front square selected and add one last fill on top of the existing ones.

Select it and set the color to black, lower its Opacity to 10% and change the Blending Mode to Multiply, and then go to Effect > Artistic > Film Grain. Enter the settings shown in the following image, click OK, and with this final touch, our stained glass tutorial is complete.

Congratulations! You’re Done!

Here is how your stained glass illustration should look. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and can apply these techniques as you create more glass or window effects in Illustrator.

Feel free to adjust this stained glass vector and make it your own. You can find some great sources of inspiration at Envato Elements, with interesting ideas on how you can create glass effects in Illustrator.

Popular Resources From Envato Elements

Envato Elements is an excellent resource for glass and stained glass effects. Here’s a short list of some of the most popular assets that you can find.

10 Special Effects (ATN)

Check out this amazing pack, which also contains an action that can be used to quickly create a stained glass effect.

Frosted Glass Icons Set (FIG, PNG, SVG)

Looking for some glass icons, and you don’t have the time to learn how to create a glass effect in Illustrator? This pack of colorful icons might be the solution.

Shattered Glass Explosion Backgrounds (AI, EPS, JPG)

Don’t have the time to create a stained glass vector effect? Here’s another set of stained glass backgrounds that can be used to make your designs stand out.

Text Illustrator Glass Effect (AI, EPS)

Looking for a way to apply a glass effect in Illustrator, but for text? This simple design might be the solution.

Broken Glass Texture Mockup (PSD)

These mockups can also be used to easily apply a glass texture in Illustrator. Check the entire pack and find the one that’s fit for your project.

Want to Learn More?

We have loads of tutorials on Envato Tuts+, from beginner to intermediate level. Take a look!

• 
  Text Effects
  How to Create a Stained Glass Text Effect in Illustrator
  Andrei Marius

• 
  Illustration
  Create a Detailed Glass of Milk and Cookies in Adobe Illustrator
  Yulia Sokolova

• 
  Gradient Mesh Tool
  How to Draw a Watermelon and a Glass of Juice in Adobe Illustrator
  Vladimir Galantsev

• 
  Gradient Mesh Tool
  How to Create a Holiday Retro Background With Champagne Glasses Design in Illustrator
  Vladimir Galantsev

• 
  Adobe Illustrator
  How to Draw in Illustrator
  Monika Zagrobelna

• 
  Adobe Illustrator
  How to Create a 70s Background in Illustrator
  Andrei Marius

• 
  Adobe Illustrator
  Create an Embroidered Patch Style With Adobe Illustrator
  Andrei Marius

• 
  Illustrator Brushes
  How to Make a Watercolor Brush in Adobe Illustrator
  Andrei Stefan