DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Digital Downloads will come through our friends at Teachable. Download Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and BMP Textures to save on our Resource Bundle.
RESOURCE GUIDES. Digital Downloads will come as a Zipped Folder. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Resource Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Follow along with our Resource Guides to learn how to Apply Brushes + Halftones + Textures to your own artwork.
TUTORIALS + PLAYLISTS. If you are looking to follow along on YouTube, I recommend starting with our 100 Adobe Illustrator Tutorials Playlist. This playlist will focus on the Building Tools, Applying Brushes, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques in Adobe Illustrator.
GETTING STARTED GUIDE
CREATING ARTBOARDS: Many of you will be looking to export your own artwork to Instagram. Use a size or ratio that you can use for all of your own artwork. I recommend a 1080px by 1080px artboard for websites and social postings. Remember that you can modify the size of the artwork or artboard with the Artboard Tool or Properties Panel.
RESOURCE PROGRESSIONS: I would like you to mirror the resource you intend on using for your own artwork: photo, trace, or sketch. The easiest method that I will recommend for New or Advanced Users is to create a Basic Line Drawing. Building Tools will use a "Path" so you can literally trace with the Pen, Pencil, Blob Brush, or Paintbrush.
TEMPLATE LAYERS: I would like you to establish a "Routine" while following along with our 100 Tutorials Playlist or 50 Step by Steps. Most of you will be using either a line drawing, sketch, or photo reference. File - Place in the Tutorial Resource or use your own Drawing, Sketch, or Photo and click on Template in the Layers Menu.
BEGINNER GUIDES
BEGINNER GUIDE (PEN TOOL): If you are frustrated with the Pen Tool, a simple tip is to break down the process into 2 Steps. The first step is to just apply Achor Points to the start-curve-end of a line or path. The second step is to adjust the Curves with the Anchor Point Tool or Smooth Curve Button in the Control Panel.
BEGINNER GUIDE (SHAPE TOOL): A good place to start if you are new to Adobe Illustrator is our Beginner Guide (Shapes). We will be going through Building with Shapes, Align Panel, Pathfinder, and Basic Color Fills. There are Beginner Guides for the Pen Tool and Tablet if you are new to the website or Adobe Illustrator.
BEGINNER GUIDE (PENCIL TOOL): Many of you are looking to use your Tablet with Adobe Illustrator. I am going to recommend breaking down your current tablet workflow into multiple steps. I do see a lot of mistakes when people try to combine too many steps all at once with their new tablets.
ILLUSTRATOR RESOURCES
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES. Our (Updated) 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. I have recently added more brushes and updated the Brush Libraries to allow for Pressure Sensitivity. Follow Along with the Tutorials or Use them with Your Own Artwork. Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR HALFTONES. Our Halftones and Patterns Fills are designed for easy application even if you are new to Adobe Illustrator. Halftone Fills behave the same as a Color Swatch so you can apply them quickly using the Blob Brush, Live Paint, or Basic Fills. Simply Paint in Halftones into your own Illustrations and Comics. Halftones include our Comic Strip Halftone Fills, Pattern Fills, and Halftone Value Scales.
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BMP TEXTURES. Our BMP Textures are extremely easy to use even if you are a beginner to Adobe Illustrator. Simply File-Place the Textures over your finished artwork to use with the Transparency Panel for soft overlays. Use BMP Textures along with Opacity Masks for T-Shirt Distressing. BMP Textures include our 145 Cracks, 120 Grunge Distressing, 75 Paper, and 77 Paint Splatter Textures.
RESOURCE GUIDES
BRUSHES GUIDE: After downloading and extracting the Brushes Folder, I will recommend saving Brush Libraries to your 'User Defined." This will be for Quick Access to the Brush Libraries in New Documents. VIEW BRUSHES GUIDE
BRUSHES GUIDE: Opening your Brushes in Adobe Illustrator will be through the Brushes Panel. Click on "Open Brush Library." Select "Other Library" or "User Defined." VIEW BRUSHES GUIDE
BRUSHES GUIDE: There are some different options for editing your Brushes in Adobe Illustrator. I will recommend using the Shape Builder Tool for Quick Editing of Expanded Brushes and Objects. VIEW BRUSHES GUIDE
HALFTONES GUIDE: Opening Halftones in Adobe Illustrator is as easy as Copying + Pasting them into your Working Artboard. Halftones will automatically populate into the Swatches Panel. VIEW HALFTONES GUIDE
HALFTONES GUIDE: Depending on your artboard size, you might need to Resize Pattern Fills the Halftones in Adobe Illustrator. Simply use the Scale Tool to "Transform Patterns." VIEW HALFTONES GUIDE
HALFTONES GUIDE: Halftones will behave just like any Color Swatch in Adobe Illustrator. If you are new to Adobe Illustrator, use the Blob Brush to paint in Comic Halftone Patterns. VIEW HALFTONES GUIDE
TEXTURES GUIDE: To use BMP in Adobe Illustrator, go to File- Place. Select any of the BMP Textures to bring in to your working artboard. Most adjustments will be in the Transparency Panel. VIEW TEXTURES GUIDE
TEXTURES GUIDE: Using the "Draw Inside" feature is an easy way to use Clipping Masks in Adobe Illustrator. Simply File - Place in the BMP Texture into the selected "Draw Inside" Shape. VIEW TEXTURES GUIDE
TEXTURES GUIDE: Using Opacity Masks in Adobe Illustrator is extremely fun. Click on "Make Mask" in the Transparency Panel. This will be for your own original artwork for T-shirt Distressing. VIEW TEXTURES GUIDE
ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIALS
"Tutorial Resources" ended on December 1, 2022 due to Copyright Infringement.
I appreciate your videos. I have been an illustrator user for years and have my own ways of doing things. It's great to see other ways of using tools and learning tricks I didn't know were available! It's also good to see you doing the same thing as me in other instances, confirming I'm on the right track!Andy Zenz
Awesome tutorial! I don't think I've picked up something so easily from someone who knows what they are doing. I managed to draw my first vector art and it was a joy! Great work keep it up!blitz145
Thank you loads! Compared to other tutorials, yours are just really well-explained and easy-to-follow. Can totally see that you've got a passion for what you're doing and that's just wonderful! 🙂 Keep it up, you're doing an amazing job. Yulia Kachurova
Love your video thanks so much. you blow Lynda.com out of the water!!!!Steve Yensel
Brilliant video. So much great info packed in here. I'm just getting started drawing cartoons with my Wacom tablet, and this was a huge help. Thumbs up and thanks!Dorian Staten
Wow Thanks Jason...was really struggling with making images with basic shapes. Your tutorial is helping me out!!Kishor Rajani
thanks a lot you are really one of my favorites, I like the steps you give us, and I'm so thankful for that effort you do for helping us :)Wessam Lotfi
Keep up the good work Jason. I’ve been doing Lynda.com tutorials for a few months now and I got more out of your videos than what I’ve received at Lynda. Keep it up and Thank You!!bobby jacobs • 1 year ago
These tutorials are amazing. Just started using illustrator and really glad I found your channel. The only videos that explain everything step by stepAida Stan
You are definitely one of the best teachers I've found dealing with start to finish creative process. Great work!!!Jasen Fisher
Thank you so much man, I loved the way you explain this, I spent days looking for a good tutorial vid, thanks a lot, gonna keep watching your videos!!!Karel Marccenaro