Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Character Tutorial for Beginners

In this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial for Beginners, we are going through some different options for the Pen Tool. The few things to remember is to focus on getting down the anchors first. We have a lot of our tutorials that focus just on straight lines and placing anchors. The easy parts of the line are the start and end points which means you just have to look for changes in direction in the middle. This tutorial will focus on Building Tools, Applying Brushes, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques.

adobe illustrator tutorial using pen tool pig

DOWNLOAD RESOURCES. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Download our Brushes or add on Halftones + Textures to save on our Adobe Illustrator Resource Bundle. You can download Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and BMP Textures to follow along or use with Your Own Artwork.

RESOURCE GUIDES. The first step will be to download and extract the Resource Folders. The Folders will come as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Follow Along with our Resource Guides, Tutorials, and Challenges to apply and edit Brushes + Halftones + Textures.

FOLLOW ALONG. Tutorials are designed to build up time within the program to apply the Tools and Settings. Follow along on YouTube, with our 100 Adobe Illustrator Tutorials Playlist or on the Website with our 50 Step by Steps. Tutorials and Playlists will focus on Building Tools, Applying Brushes, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques.

beginner adobe illustrator tutorial whale

STEP #1: DOWNLOAD BRUSHES. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries. You can download our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes to follow along or use with your own artwork. Updated Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

STEP #2: RESOURCE GUIDES. The first step is to download the Brushes Folder. They will come to you as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, the Brush Libraries are Ready to Use in Adobe Illustrator. Follow along with our Brushes Resource Guide to Save Brush Libraries for fast access in your "User Defined."

beginner adobe illustrator tutorial coyote

STEP #3: FOLLOW ALONG. Tutorials and Playlists are designed to build up time within the program to apply the Tools and Settings. Follow along with our 100 Tutorials Playlist on YouTube and 50 Step by Steps on the Website. Tutorials will focus on Building Tools, Applying Brushes, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques.

New Artboards: I recommend establishing a "Building Artboard" that you can use for your own artwork. A habit that I would like you to break is treating Adobe Illustrator like Photoshop. The initial Artboard Size can be changed at any point without ruining your own artwork. Pick the size you will use most frequently to establish a routine while learning. Example: 1080px by 1080px - RGB - 300 PPI. LEARNING TARGET: Establish a "Standardized Approach" that includes Artboard Size, Resource Type, and Template Layers that will relate to your own artwork.

Template Layer: Have your Resource Layer Selected. (It will usually be your only layer). In your Layers Panel, select the Menu in the Upper-Right Hand Corner. Drop down to Template. This will create a 50% Opacity and Lockout the Layer. Create a New Layer above to start working in Adobe Illustrator. It will give you an error message (no sign) if you try to draw on the Template Layer. LEARNING TARGET: Establish a Template Layer Setting so that you can see the Reference Image while not becoming too distracting when building in Adobe Illustrator.

Adding on Line Variation using Cartoon Brushes

You will have more control over the placement and width of each of your lines using the Cartoon Brushes. The process will be a combination of using the Brushes to get down the initial thickness and stroke width. The second step will be modifying the placement of the variation using the so we can edit later. This 2-Step Process allows for more control over your Line Variation compared to using your Tablet with Pressure.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. If you are new or jumping over from YouTube, download Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and BMP Textures to save on our Adobe Illustrator Resource Bundle. Digital Downloads will come as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Follow along with our Tutorials and Playlists or use with your own artwork in Adobe Illustrator.

DOWNLOAD RESOURCES. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Download Brushes or add on Halftones and Textures to save on our Adobe Illustrator Resource Bundle. Download Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and BMP Textures to follow along or use with Your Own Artwork.

RESOURCE GUIDES. The first step will be to download and extract the Resource Folders. The Folders will come as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Follow Along with our Resource Guides, Tutorials, and Challenges to apply and edit Brushes + Halftones + Textures.

FOLLOW ALONG. Tutorials are designed to build up time within the program to apply the Tools and Settings. Follow along with our 100 Adobe Illustrator Tutorials Playlist on YouTube or the 50 Step by Steps on the Website. Tutorials and Playlists will focus on Building Tools, Applying Brushes, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques in Adobe Illustrator.

DOWNLOAD BRUSH LIBRARIES. Our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. Download Brushes to follow along with our Tutorials or use them with your own artwork in Adobe Illustrator. Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

SAVE BRUSH LIBRARIES. The Brushes Folder will come as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Folder, the Brushes are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. I do recommend Saving "Updated" Brush Libraries to your "User Defined" by clicking on Save Brush Library in the Brushes Menu.

OPEN BRUSH LIBRARIES. Our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes have been organized into Brush Libraries for easy application and to maintain consistency with your Line Variation. In the Brushes Panel Menu, select “Open Brush Library.” You can Open Brush Libraries through the “User Defined” or “Other Library” Options in the Brushes Panel.

70 Cartoon Brushes: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries).

100 Comic Strip Brushes: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. (includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries).

50 Mascot Brushes: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. (includes updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries).

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

BRUSH LIBRARIES

DOWNLOAD 200 BRUSHES

20% OFF (SAVE $12)

70 Cartoon Brushes: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries).

100 Comic Strip Brushes: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. (includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries).

50 Mascot Brushes: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. (includes updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries).

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

BRUSH LIBRARIES

DOWNLOAD 200 BRUSHES

20% OFF (SAVE $12)

SAVING BRUSHES: Open All of the Brushes Libraries in Adobe Illustrator. (File - Open). Have your Brushes Panel Open. Under Window - Brushes. Click on Each Illustrator Document and Open the Brushes Menu in the Brushes Panel. Scroll down to Click on Save Brush Library. Default Location = User Defined. Repeat for each (updated) Brush Library.

OPENING BRUSHES: Under Window - Select Brushes. In the Brushes Menu, drop-down to Open Brush Library. Hover over it and select "Other Library." A Normal Open Dialogue Box will appear to select any Brush Library to use in Illustrator. Almost all of our step-by-step tutorials on YouTube use this method.

How to Color in Adobe Illustrator

One of the easiest and fastest ways of filling in your color is through Live Paint. Live Paint Bucket is a part of the Shape Builder Tools which builds the shapes in the exact shape you need it. Select All. Go up to Object - Live Paint - Make. If you have a grayed out Make it simply means you didn't have anything selected. I do recommend Deselecting by clicking on your artboard before clicking on a Color Swatch. *Remember Everything is still Selected so it will Color the Full Selection if you click on a Color Swatch with everything selected. Click on the Live Paint Bucket (K) and Click to Dump Color. It will feel like the Paint Bucket in Adobe Photoshop.