How to: Add Texture to Vector Illustrations to Make Them Pop

Digital design and drawing tools are amazing, but the fact that they’re created inside a computer and not created from physical media can leave them a little…flat.   Creative couple Omar & Jen from These are Things are pros at warming up flat vector art with little vintage warmth for their awesome maps and other travel-inspired graphic goodnesss.

On their new site, Making It, they walk us through their standard method for finishing vector illustrations in Photoshop to really make them pop.

The process is a one-two-three punch using gradients, shadows, and textures, and as you can see from the photo, turns a flat, 2D illustration into something much more physical and wonderful.

Get the full how-to at Making It – Ask J+O: Making Vectors Pop