Illustrator - Basic

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Overview

Adobe Illustrator is the industry-leading vector drawing program used by professional designers around the globe for digital graphics, illustrations, and typography. If you are an aspiring graphic designer or budding artist, this Adobe Illustrator beginner course online will help you harness Illustrator's powerful design tools to create breathtaking works of art.

Designed for beginners, no prior experience with Illustrator or other design applications is required. Step by step, you will get familiar with the essential tools you need to create beautiful vector art through practical tutorials, hands-on application and example files. Video tutorials are recorded in Adobe Illustrator CC 2017.

Highlights:

  • 41 practical tutorials.
  • Explore the different types of documents you can create in Illustrator for print or web.
  • Understand the fundamentals of CMYK and RGB colors and when to use each.
  • Create, scale and manipulate shapes.
  • Add color with fill and stroke, and apply linear and radial gradients.
  • How to use the Pen tool and Curvature tools to create shapes.
  • Work with preset brushes and create your own custom brushes.
  • Create basic paths which can be used to trace an image. 
  • Add text and adjust its size, style and formatting.
  • Distort shapes and type, and add perspective with the Free Transform tool.
  • Blend lines or shapes gradually with the Blend tool.
  • Merge shapes with the Pathfinder and Shape Builder tools.
  • How to use masks on shapes or text, and opacity masks for gradients and highlights.

If you already have some experience with Illustrator and are looking to improve your skills, check out the Illustrator - Advanced course.

Once enrolled, our friendly support team and tutors are here to help with any course related inquiries.

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Summary

Skill level

Beginner

Certificate

Yes

Lessons

41

Accredited by

CPD

Pre-requisites

None

Versions supported

CC 2017

Video duration

3h 28m

Estimated study time

20h 30m for all materials

Accreditations and approvals

CPD - The CPD Certification Service.

Syllabus

Preparing for Launch

Launching the program from the beginning and looking at the different types of documents that can be created in Adobe Illustrator.

Try it!

CMYK vs RGB

Covering the differences between CMYK and RGB.

Art Boards

How and why to use art boards when working in Adobe Illustrator.

Creating Your First Document

Creating and saving your first document.

Overview of the Tools

Once setting up a document we will take a look at the basic tools that you will want to know about and how to navigate the toolbar interface.

Overview of the Panels

Taking a look at the panels that you will want to know about and how to use them.

Overview of the Menus

Browsing the different menus that you will want to know about and briefly covering the different things that can be found in each menu.

Oh Snap

Learn how to use Rulers, grids, Smart Guides and guides that snap into place.

Layers on Layers on Layers

Learn about working with layers - how to create them, stack and reorder them, hide them, and delete them.

Different Tools to Get the Job Done

We will take a look at the different tools and methods available for making selections (Selection Tool, Direct Selection Tool, Magic Wand, and Lasso Tool).

All Shapes and Sizes

Covering the different types of basic shapes that can be made and how to scale them, rotate or flip them, and manipulate them.

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Fill vs Stroke

How to toggle between fill and stroke and how to change the settings for each.

Swatches

Using and saving colors to the Swatches Panel.

Gradients

How to apply linear and radial gradients.

Getting Familiar with the Pen Tool

An introduction to the Pen Tool and how to use it. Will discuss Anchor Points / Handles and how to add or remove points from shapes.

The Curvature Tool

A brief look at the Curvature Tool and how it can be used with the Pen Tool.

Preset Brushes

A basic demonstration of how to use the default / preset brushes in Illustrator.

Try it!

Custom Brushes

How to create, save, and load your own Illustrator brushes.

Drawing with the Pencil Tool

How to draw with the Pencil Tool and use the Smooth Tool to smooth out jagged lines.

Shaper Tool Basics

How to use the Shaper Tool to quickly scribble and manipulate shapes.

Following the Path

How to use the Pen Tool to create basic paths or trace an image.

Adjusting Strokes

Show how to change the weight of a stroke or make the caps rounded or flush.

Broken Lines and Dashes

Show how to create dotted lines or dashes from a stroked path.

Arc and Spiral

Showing how you can use the Line Tool along with the Arc and Spiral Tools.

Different Strokes

How to change the width or thickness of a line.

Easy Erasing

Showing how you can erase shapes or parts of shapes.

Cut it Out

Using the Scissor Tool and Knife Tool.

Adjusting Size, Style, and Spacing

Covering the basics of how to add text and adjust the size, style, kerning, and linespacing.

Justified

How to format and justify copy.

Type on a Path

How to add type to a path.

Distorting Type

Show examples of how to distort type using the Envelope Warp feature.

Distorting Shapes

Show examples of how to distort shapes using the Bloat and Pinch Tools.

Transformers

How to distort shapes and type.

Putting Things in Perspective

How to add perspective to your shapes and text.

Scaling Objects

How to quickly and easily scale any object using percentages using the Scale Tool.

Rotating Objects

Rotate objects or shapes or create a series of shapes on a circular path.

The Art of The Blend Tool

How to blend lines or shapes either gradually or with a specified number of steps.

Shape Builder Tools

How to use the Shape Builder Tool.

The Pathfinder

How to use the Pathfinder Tool to manipulate shapes.

Masking Basics

Masking shapes or text using shapes.

Opacity Masks

Using opacity masks to mask gradients or highlights inside of shapes and text.

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