't have to line up perfectly, we'll fix that next.
Once you're satisfied with the overall look and flow of the letters expand all the letters by going to Object > Expand Appearance. After that, Unite them using the Pathfinder.
Use the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) and clean up the messy areas of the letters.
You want to achieve a smooth line as shown below.
Next, make a copy of the letters and paste it directly on top (Command + F) of itself. Give the top copy a thick stroke with no fill and the bottom copy should just have a green fill. You should have two sets of letters now.
Expand the letters with the black stroke by going to Object > Expand Appearance. Using the Direct Selection Tool (A) drag the points of the black outline so that the outline becomes more varied and natural looking. Lock the green letters if necessary so that you're not inadvertently selecting them at the same time.
Observe how I've varied other areas as well.
Once you're finished varying the outline make sure to adjust the green shape so that there's not white gaps between the black and green. Use the Direct Selection Tool again to accomplish this.
To create the impression of volume we'll add more black lines and shapes where needed. Use the Pen Tool (P) as opposed to the Paintbrush Tool this time. The Pen Tool will give you more control over what you're drawing. Since these shapes will indicate how the letters curve and overlap, the Pen Tool will give us more control over small details like this.
Use your imagination to envision where the letters could fold. Accentuate what you've already drawn; I essentially started drawing in corner areas.
This is what your artwork should look like right now.
Give your letters a green to light green linear gradient.
For the background, draw a rectangle using the Rectangle Tool (M) and fill it with a radial blue to light blue gradient.
To add more volume to the letters, select the green shape that comprises the letters and go to Effect > Stylize > Inner Glow. Select Multiply for Mode, use green for the color and adjust the Opacity and Blur to your liking.
We'll give the letters a subtle texture by drawing arbitrary shapes using the Pencil Tool (N.) The Pencil Tool will allow you to more organically draw shapes over the letters.
Give the texture shapes a green to white linear gradient and set them to Multiply in the Transparency Palette.
To create the small vines that wrap around the letters simply use the Pen Tool to draw the basic shape. After that, draw another smaller shape inside the black shape and fill if with the green gradient. Copy and paste these vines throughout the illustration in various groups to achieve a random look.
To create the black vines in the background use the Paintbrush Tool, as we did to create the word "spring." To make the vines really skinny simply adjust the stroke weight.
We'll add other details like leaves by using the Pen Tool to draw the basic shape of the leaf.
Since the leaves are going to be small we only need to apply a stroke to the shape. There's no need to make two leaves and adjust the outline.
Place the leaves throughout the illustration.
This is what your illustration should look like right now.
Small details really enhance the overall design. To draw the ladybug start with a red circle drawn using the Ellipse Tool (L.)
Draw a rectangle over the circle and click Minus Front in the Pathfinder to cut the shape in half.
Draw a series of other ovals to give the ladybug spots. The head is just an oval that's behind the main body of the ladybug.
Use the Star Tool to draw the legs of the ladybug. When you are drawing the star press the down key on the keyboard to reduce the amount of points the star has. You'll obviously only want three points, as a triangle has three sides.
Select the ladybug's main body and the black ovals that overlap it, and then in the Pathfinder select Divide. Ungroup the objects and get rid of the unnecessary shapes around the edges that are leftover.
This is what your ladybug should look like right now.
We'll warp the ladybug to add more of a cartoon-i