How to draw a realistic iPhone in Adobe Illustrator

- August 31, 2022

Yesterday, I completed a graphic based on rumours surrounding what the new iPhone 14 may look like when it’s unveiled next week. As has become the way of things for Apple, there have been a lot of leaks. I mostly used MacRumors website as a source. Below are a series of screenshots from the process I went through to mock-up a pseudo-realistic iPhone in Adobe Illustrator.

Note: If you want, tap an image to see it in high-resolution.

The completed graphic (it can be licensed here)

Step 1: Gather good schematics of what it will look like – this is the Pro Max model, apparently.

Step 2: Accurately trace the schematics – possibly the most important stage.
Everything alse depends on this being done right.

Stage 3: Turn the flat illustrations into 3D drawings. To do this, I rotate the flat art 45°, then vertically squeeze it by 70%. This produces an angle I like – not true isometric, but instead a view that shows more of the top surface. I then extrude downwards to create the depth.

Here I'm preparing the side view to be skewed into place.

Once it’s been skewed, I can accurately position the side buttons.

Side buttons are extruded outwards. All these distances and depths of extrusion are done in accordance with the original flat traces. Minimal guesswork is used.

Front and back illustrations are starting to take shape.

Time to add some colour – a new purple chassis is apparently in the offing this year.

This thing is going to be shiny, so it needs a good metalic blend making.

Dummy screen image placed on, just to see how it looks. Work begins on extruding the camera bump and lenses upwards.

Again, shiny blending is in order for the sides of the lenses.

Camera system almost complete, with added lens reflections.

Time to blend the side buttons too, even though they are small, the effect will add to the believablity.

Finishing up the side buttons on the other drawing now.

Here, I've taken an iOS 16 screen image off the Apple website and rotated and scaled it into the correct angle. I've also added a reflection of the upper handset on the lower one’s case and added a shadow.