Create a Coffee Mug Design in Adobe Illustrator

Mugs are part of our everyday life. They help us enjoy most of our favorite daily beverages - from warm coffee and tea to cold milk and ice tea. Can we make the experience even more enjoyable while having our drink from our very own designed mug? Sure we can. It’s always more fun to use a colorful mug instead of the boring blank ones. And it will be also a nice addition in the kitchen. So let’s start designing our mug!

1. Create a New Print Document.

Most of the printable mugs are the same size – so we’ll go with 200mm by 90mm. 

2. Start Sketching

Step 1

Let’s make a sketch filled with funny monsters which will brighten our sleepy mornings. Most of the blank printable mugs are white – let’s take advantage of it and make a bright and cheerful illustration on white background. We can also put a small banner at the middle bottom of the mug where you can write your name on it, so everyone (siblings, roommates and co-workers) will know it’s your mug! I am using a pen tablet but you can also draw your sketch on a piece of paper and then scan it and import it to Illustrator.

I chose five colors for our illustrations. They may seem little, but later on we’ll add tiny details and you’ll be glad we didn’t add more colors.

Step 2

 Rasterize the sketch. Select the drawing and go to Object > Rasterize.

Step 3

Choose 150 dpi from the dialog box.