Keurig Coffee Machine Mechanical Illustration

This was an exercise I did using the gradient meshes in illustrator to create a realistic illustration of the first and most important machine of the day. The finished vector illustration is suitable to be used for the cover of a printed instruction manual as well as online product shots.

keurig-illustration-full-size
click image for full size

Creation process and challenges

The challenge was getting the rounded plastic top to look right and not too computer generated however, with my background in 3D, I found the gradient mesh to be easy to work with. The chrome and refracted water in the side tank were another challenge that I complete by using a combination of gradients as well as gradient mesh and freehand pen tool shapes.