Backgrounds in illustration are often solely responsible for supplying the mood, without detracting from the main point of focus. The following nine steps make use of a few of Adobe Illustrators tricks to quickly demonstrate just that.

Step 1: Custom Brushes

Custom brushes are going to play a vital role in this tut, so let's get them organized before we go any further. We'll need a few, they'll be used to build the trees, so make yourself a small selection of twiggy, knobby brushes.