Adobe Illustrator Tutorial using Pen Tool
This Adobe Illustrator Tutorial will be a part of our Resource and Beginner Guides to help assist you in creating a workflow for your own artwork. LEARNING TARGET (1): Select a Primary Building Tool that best matches your own artwork or is the easiest to use (Pen, Pencil, or Shape Tools). LEARNING TARGET (2): If you are new, pay attention to the order and sequence of events that I apply to my artwork. I will be adding Brushes to my Line Work before doing Expanded Editing.
BUILDING: 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 Anchor 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.
VARIATION: Many of you will be applying our Brush Libraries. To Open Brushes, open the Brushes Panel. Click on Open Brush Library. Scroll down to “Other Library.” Select one of the Brush Libraries to apply. If you saved Brushes, you can Open from “User Defined.”
COLORING: Coloring will be extremely easy using Live Paint Bucket. The goal of Live Paint is to create Shapes that we can color using Fills. Once you have completed the Live Paint Group, it is important to Expand and Upgroup. We will leverage these shapes for our Values and Gradients.
STOCK PHOTOS: As I create my artwork, pay attention to the resources used throughout the workflow. Download Free Stock Photos (Unsplash) to use as Drawing, Design, or Color References. BEGINNER: For your own artwork, I recommend starting from a Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo. ADVANCED: Gather and organize resources within the same project folder (Stock Photos / Sketches / Thumbnails / Color Swatches).
DRAWING OR TRACED PHOTO: If you are new to Adobe Illustrator, it's best to avoid starting from a blank artboard, a full-color photo, or a super sketchy drawing. BEGINNER: For your own artwork, create a "Traceable Path" to align with the Building Tools in Adobe Illustrator. ADVANCED: Prepare your drawings for Specific Tools (ex. Ellipse, Pen, or Pencil) or Steps in your Workflow (ex. Building, Brushes, or Values).
PRIMARY BUILDING: As I create my artwork, notice I am aligning the Building Tools to the Shapes and Lines within my Sketch or Drawing. Many of you will be using Shape, Pencil, and Pen Tools as your Primary Building Tools. BEGINNER: Understand the Building Tools and Options in Adobe Illustrator. ADVANCED: Align the Building Tools (Ellipse, Pen, and Curvature Tools) to the Design Elements (Shapes, Lines, and Curves) in your own drawing or sketch.
APPLY: Many of you will be adding our Brush Libraries for Line Variation. Notice that I am finding the ends to see if it will be floating or hitting another line. If it hits another line that signals a darker value to the end should reflect the change in value. (Thicker End).
EXPAND: For your own artwork, duplicate your Live Brushes Layer before Expanding. Expand All. Object - Expand Appearance + Expand. Path Simplify Option: Once the Brushes have been Expanded hit the selection with a Simplify Path (Object - Path - Simplify) to clean up extra Anchor Points.
EDIT: Select All. Select your Shape Builder Tool. Hold down Alt/Option to Delete. Hit all of the overlapping lines to clean up any of the extra lines. You can Turn Off the Highlighting feature in Shape Builder. I recommend zooming in to delete smaller areas.
CARTOON BRUSHES: 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. (Updated) Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries.
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. (Updated) Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries.
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. (Updated) Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries.
SAVE BRUSHES: Open All of the Brushes Libraries in Adobe Illustrator. (File - Open). Have your Brushes Panel Open. Under Window - Brushes. In the Brushes Menu, select "Save Brush Library." The Default Save Location is "User Defined." Repeat this step for each Brush Library.
OPEN 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 Tutorials use this method.
RESOURCE GUIDES: Digital Downloads will come as Zipped Folders. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Resource Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Start with our Resource Guides and Illustrator Tutorials to learn how to apply Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and T-Shirt Textures. BRUSHES GUIDE / HALFTONES GUIDE / TEXTURES GUIDE
COPY + PASTE: Pattern Fills and Halftones are Adobe Illustrator Files. You can simply open them or Double Click from the Folder. The goal is to Open + Copy + Paste the Swatches into the Working Artboard. The Pattern Fills (Swatches) will automatically populate into your Swatches once you Copy - Paste. Resize Patterns using the Scale Tool.
BLOB BRUSH: We will be using the Pattern Fills with the Blob Brush and your Tablet or Mouse. Double Click on the Blob Brush to Open the Options. Select Keep Selected and Merge with Selection. Both ON or Both OFF will be OK. Paint in Pattern Fills just like a coloring book with the Blob Brush. You can switch Halftones by clicking on a new Pattern Fill.
BEGINNER GUIDES
BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Basic Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Advanced Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
BEGINNER: Understand Building, Variation, Editing, and Basic Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Advanced Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE