Step 1
Open a new document of 8 inches wide by 11 inches tall. Using the Rectangle Tool (M), make a rectangle similar to the size of the document. Fill the rectangle.
Step 2
Click on the rectangle about an inch from the top in the centre with the Mesh Tool (U).
Step 3
After adding a mesh point with the Mesh Tool (U), change the colour of the mesh point in the Colour Panel. If you have accidentally clicked away from the mesh point, use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to select the mesh point.
Step 4
Make another mesh point using the Mesh Tool in the centre of the rectangle. Keep it in line vertically with the first mesh point.
Step 5
Change the colour of the second mesh point from the Colour Panel.
Step 6
Add another mesh point about an inch from the bottom and change the colour.
Step 7
Next, we are going to create a brush for the glowing lines in the illustration. With the Rectangle Tool (M), make a rectangle of 4 inches wide by .125 inches tall. Fill it with a 5% black.
Step 8
Copy (Command + C) the new rectangle and Paste it in Front (Command + F). Change the height of the copied rectangle to .03 inches and fill a colour.
Step 9
Choose the first long rectangle and change the transparency to 0%. To see the rectangle more clearly, you can place them over the Gradient Mesh.
Step 10
Choose both rectangles and make a Blend using Object > Blend > Make. Now the line should look like it is glowing.
Step 11
Choose the blend and drag it into the Brush Panel. Then pick the New Art Brush from the options. Keep all the default settings of the Art Brush Options. We’re done with the blend and you can set it aside or delete it.
Step 12
With the new brush start creating the vertical lines. If you have a Wacom tablet it is easy to use the Brush Tool (B) to create smooth flowing paths for the gradient mesh. If you don’t have it, then use the Pen Tool (P) and apply the brush to the path.
Step 13
Choose the new line and select Overlay for the blend mode in the Transparency Panel.
Step 14
Draw three to five lines overlapping each other and set to Overlay.
Step 15
Draw three to five more lines, set to Overlay, and change the Stroke Weight to .5 pt.
Step 16
Again draw five to ten more lines, set to Overlay, change the Stroke Weight to .25 pt, and set the Opacity to 20% from the Transparency Panel.
Step 17
Add a little more glow to the illustration. First, make an ellipse of 5 inches by .5 inches with the Star Tool. Change the colour.
Step 18
Copy (Command + C) the star, Paste it in Front (Command +F), scale it down to .25 inches by .25 inches, and change the fill.
Step 19
Change the Opacity of the first star to 0% from the Transparency Panel and blend the two stars like the brush we created.
Step 21
Place the blended star over the line where a couple of them converge and set the blend mode to Overlay.
Step 22
Copy (Command + C) and Paste (Command + V) the blended ellipse around the converging areas of the other lines. We are done!
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