Step 3 .. round corners

select the top  rectangle, go to Effects > Stylize > Round corners.. give it a suitable value, i used 40 px.
expand it from Object > expand appearence , reposition & transform to get a nice rounded corners rectangle

Select both rounded & normal rectangles, go to the pathfinder .. add the two shapes by ” alt + add” .. make a copy of the final shape “alt + drag”

step 4 .. left wing

select one of the shapes, now press alt + shift + drag up .. now you have a copy aligned horizontaly with it’s parent .. transform it to a smaller size (from it’s right angle) .. you will get something like the image below, do the (add) process again.

Optional step :  you can adjust the nodes to make a better curve ..

step 5 .. 3D

now we will use the 3D filter, select the left part of the folder, go to effects > 3D > Rotate .. give the angles this values : 4 , -40 , 11

do the same with the other part .. but change the X-axis angle like : 44, -40, 11 . give it another color & reposition it with the left part to get the folder shaped , now expand the both.

hint: you may want to clean the objects after expanding .. go to the layers window, delete any clipping mask.. ungroup, now you are done with just two shapes.

step 6 .. something inside

we are now about coloring & adding some elements ..
i’ll add some papers inside .. make a rectangle with a gradient & stroke, copy it & (paste in front) = Ctrl + F , rotate the front object something,you may change the top paper gradient’s direction, now select the both & press (Alt + Ctrl + B) .. this will make a blend between them.
if you don’t like the result go to Object > blend > blending options & make it a one step blend .
now place papers between folder parts :) .

color the folder as you like, i added some strokes & gradients.

hint: seeing gradient strokes ? just copy an object, paste it in back ” Ctrl + B “, transform it to a bigger size (not much) , change the direction of the gradient & change it’s color to add more contrast

Step 7 ..  label

adding label & a pattern to fill the white side.
_______

• making the pattern  :  draw a rectangle, deselect it, select rectangle tool again but with no fill nor stroke, draw another wider rectangle from the center of the previous one, select both & drag to the swatches pannel .
now select the white wing of the folder, go to the appearance panel, add a new fill, select the pattern from swatches, to rotate it just go to object > transform > rotate , give -60 to tha nagle & unckeck “objects” .for scaling .. doubl click on the scale tool &  do the same.
you may adjust it’s opacity from transparency tab.

• adding the label : make a rectangle, rotate it with the 3D filter whith the angles
you gave to the white part of the folder, retransform & reposition then expand.
now type whatever you want by the type tool ” T ” & rotate it to suit the sahpe.

again, the final result

hint : i added some lighting & shading effects which we will cover later, anyway .. the

file is available for downloading :) , enjoy !

any suggestions or questions ?? please post your comment :)

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