Chinese Bamboo
Do you like the bamboo scene on my Flash site? Well, here is the quick tutorial. This tutorial will show you how to illustrate Chinese bamboo with Illustrator Symbol Sprayer and Mesh Tool.
Version: Illustrator 10+
1. Draw bamboo body
Create a path like the image shown below with the Pen Tool and fill it with green color. Then, select Mesh Tool 
click on the lower left corner of the bamboo body(pt. 1) and pick a lighter tone color(yellow-green). Then, add another Mesh point at the upper left corner of the bamboo(pt. 2). Just a little right above pt. 2, add another point(pt. 3). Now, add the final point beside pt. 2 and select a darker tone green for shadow.
2. Create bamboo stick
Select the bamboo body you’ve created in previous step, hold down the ALT key, drag it up to make a copy (you can use Copy & Paste if you like). Then shrink the new bamboo body horizontally with Selection Tool. Send this new bamboo body behind the first bamboo body by select Object > Arrage > Send Backward or press Ctrl+[. Repeat this step until you get a stack of 5 or 6.
3. Duplicate bamboo stick
After you’ve finished the first bamboo, make a copy of it by ALT drag or Copy & Paste. Select the new bamboo stick, apply Filter > Distort > Twist(Angle=3) so that they don’t look identical.
