In this tutorial Eren Gurbuz of Shmart Studio will show you how he created this negative space rabbit logo. He goes through the step-by-step process in Adobe Illustrator to help you achieve the final result, I hope this exercise helps you improve your logo design. And you can follow Eren on Instagram @shmartstudio and contact him via email erengurbuz@gmail.com.

STEP 1
Sketching. First make a few rough sketches to see what you have in mind on paper. If you can, make a new detailed sketch. That will help you to see what the final work will look like.

Download Sketch by Eren Gurbuz © Shmart Studio

STEP 2
Place the sketch in Illustrator and use it as your guide (File > Place). Create a rectangle and make grids (Object > Path > Split into grid. 9 Rows, 8 Columns) based on the sketch. Create a “Background” layer, place both the sketch and the grid in that layer and lock it, so you can easily draw your logo over them.

STEP 3
Make sure you activate Smart Guides (View > Smart Guides). Then use the Ellipse Tool (L) Click (right top) + (Hold Shift) and drag the cursor to the bottom left.

STEP 4
Use the Pen Tool (P) and draw the rest of the letter R.

STEP 5
Open the “Pathfinder” window by clicking Window > Pathfinder. Select both of the objects with Selection Tool (V) and click the “Unite” symbol on the Pathfinder. Here is the outline of the letter “R”.

STEP 6
Use the Pen Tool (P) to draw the rabbit and the back ear roughly. Don’t bother to trace all the curves of your sketch. Illustrator will do it for you when you drag the blue dot at the intersection point by selecting the anchor with Direct Selection Tool (A). Use the Ellipse Tool to draw the eye of the rabbit.

STEP 7
Select and drag the blue dots at the intersection points shown above.

STEP 8
Select the rabbit and the ear with the Selection Tool (V) and click the “Unite” button on the Pathfinder window.

STEP 9
Adjust the colour of each object by using the fill/stroke colours on the toolbar.

STEP 10
Use the Pen Tool (P), draw a path as shadow and fill it with grey. When it’s selected, right click and send it to the back as shown above.

STEP 11
To make the same curve to the shadow just like the ear; Duplicate the rabbit (Copy (Ctrl+C) + Paste in place (Ctrl +F)). Select one of the rabbits and the shadow, click the “Minus Front” button on Pathfinder. Then send the shadow back as shown in step 10.

STEP 12
Select both the rabbit and the letter R, click the “Minus Front” button on Pathfinder.

STEP 13
Use the pen tool (P), draw the second shadow and send it back as shown above.

STEP 14
Final product. Hide the “Background” layer by clicking the eye button on the layer window.

STEP 15
Don’t forget to test your logo on a mockup to see how it works.

Congratulations! You’re Done.

I hope this tutorial is useful for you. After few practices, you can apply this technique to create your own unique designs.

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