I don’t know if there are other articles about creating smoke in Illustrator, or even if this is the best method, but I really like the outcome of my technique and wanted to share it.

1. Create a blend using two Bézier curves. Use specified steps and set the number to 40 (you’ll probably need to play with this some before you get the effect you want):

   

2. Now, take one of the paths and put a gaussian blur on it (use about a radius of 6 pixels). Do the same with the other path, only change the radius on the blur to about 3 pixels:

   

3. OK, now modify the shape of the paths so that they overlap, crossing over each other. It should start to look more and more like smoke:

   
   

4. Apply blending and opacity settings to the paths like overlay, screen, multiply, etc. Play time.
5. Copy/paste the blend and adjust the Bézier curves on that blend.
   
6. Cool, huh? Now, play with the color on each of the curves too.

   

There you have it. I discovered it by accident, and I haven’t played with the technique too much. There’s probably an Illustrator plug-in or brush out there that does the same thing, so you can decide for yourselves if this is of any value.

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