
Beginner Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
In Adobe Illustrator, Building with Shapes, for Beginners, Step by Step Adobe Illustrator Tutorials by Jason Secrest
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIAL
In this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial for Beginners, we will be using shapes to practice building using the pen tool, shapes, and the pathfinder panel. Shapes are a great way of building your characters especially as you gain experience with blend, warp, shape builder, and pathfinder to create unique shapes. Shapes are an easy and effective way of building in Illustrator. Use the align panel to align to selection and the artboard to make symmetrical designs. This tutorial will focus on Building Tools, Editing Options, and Basic Coloring Techniques.






TEMPLATES: File -Place in your own Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo. Select your Resource Layer. (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 "Building".





DRAWING TEMPLATE: Use the Resource Type you intend to use for your artwork (Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo). Give yourself a "Traceable Path" by using a Clean Line Drawing or Traced Photo. LEARNING TARGET: Create a "Drawing Template" that includes Reference Image and Layer Adjustments.


Adobe Illustrator Top Tips
Zoom In
All of our initial preferences are designed to gain more control over what you are clicking on. The more you can zoom in and see your anchors and handles the better.
Smart Guides
Under VIEW make sure you have your smart guides turned on. Under your PREFERENCES (smart guides) you should definitely have your anchor/ path labels selected.
Anchor and Handle Size
In your (general) PREFERENCES there is a setting which can enlarge your anchor points and handles to make them easier for you to see before clicking.
Direct Selection Tool
The white arrow can grab and adjust the anchors, handles, and paths. All of the other settings are designed to let you know what you are selecting before you click and drag.










RESOURCE BUNDLE
RESOURCE BUNDLE






RESOURCE BUNDLE
RESOURCE BUNDLE






RESOURCE BUNDLE
RESOURCE BUNDLE
DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. (Updated) Libraries are pressure-sensitive for those of you looking for the option to use your Tablets. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Brush Libraries: Updated Cartoon, Comic Strip, and Vintage Mascot Brushes.
DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes. Once you have downloaded and extracted the folders, Brush Libraries will be ready to use in Adobe Illustrator. Start with our Resource Guides, Illustrator Tutorials, or YouTube Playlists to understand how to apply Brush Libraries in Adobe Illustrator. (Updated) Brushes include Cartoon, Comic Strip, and Vintage Mascot Libraries.
BRUSH LIBRARIES: Our Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. (Updated) Libraries are pressure-sensitive for those of you looking to use your Tablets. Apply Brushes with Pen, Pencil, Shapes, or Paintbrush Tools. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries: Updated Cartoon, Comic Strip, and Vintage Mascot Brushes.




70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Cartoon Brushes are my go-to 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. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: CARTOON BRUSHES


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. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: MASCOT BRUSHES





















DOWNLOAD BRUSHES. 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. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Folders, Brush Libraries are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Start with our Resource Guides, Illustrator Tutorials, or YouTube Playlists to understand how to apply Brush Libraries in Adobe Illustrator.
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 our Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries, T-Shirt Textures, and Comic Halftones. BRUSH LIBRARIES / COMIC HALFTONES / T-SHIRT TEXTURES





BRUSHES BUNDLE
BRUSHES BUNDLE






BRUSH LIBRARIES
BRUSH LIBRARIES


Understanding Editing Tools
Shape Builder is a tool that can be used to give an alternative to the Eraser Tool while Editing. In order to use Shape Builder, you will need to Expand the Brush Layer. Select All - Expand (or Expand Appearance + Expand). I do recommend duplicating a Brushes Layer to preserve a Live Brush Layer for future edits. Once the Brushes are Expanded, Select All + click on the Shape Builder Tool. The Alt/Option key will switch the Shape Builder Tool to delete mode. Simply Click or Drag through the stray or overlapped areas to delete. Remember to keep holding down the Alt/Option. You can also Turn On/Off the Highlighting by double-clicking on the Shape Builder Tool. The flashing gets irritating.
Expand Appearance: I do recommend Expanding your Brushes Layer (Save Live Brushes Layer) before using Shape Builder. This will prevent bouncing of the Brushes and Line Variation. It will also move toward an efficiency model to save time so you are not stopping and editing while you are still building.
Path - Simplify: Under Object, there is an easy and automatic way to remove extra anchor points which fits nicely into editing. Under Object - Select Path - Simplify. There is an auto-simplify button that does a great job. Things to keep an eye out for is this process likes to break curves. Clean up with the Smooth Button in your Control Panel.
Eraser Tool: The Eraser Tool is very straightforward. Click on the Path that you would like to erase and draw through it with the Eraser Tool. The Tool works great if you remember to Select the Object 1st. The default setting will delete everything. Use the Eraser Tool for smaller areas of overlapping or an easy alternative to Shape Builder.
Understanding Coloring
Open the Swatch Window. On the bottom left hand corner you will see the Open Swatch Libraries icon. At the bottom of the drop-down menu you will see Open Other Library. Go to our resource folder in the Color Palettes folder to Open ASE files. The ASE files have been created to make your life easier while going through the Challenge Series. Once you open the Library- click on the folder icon next to the swatches to move them from the library to the swatches.
Coloring with Fills
One of the easiest and fastest ways of filling in your color is through using Fills. The main thing to look for is enclosed shaped. We have done nothing but build with Shapes so coloring is super easy. Keep this in mind as you are going through the other tutorials where we don't have any shapes.
Gradient Panel
Select each color using the Magic Wand Tool (Adjust to Tolerance 5) each color. Add on a Radial Gradient to the frosting layers (3). Use the lightest and Darkest Color Swatch from the color set of 3. Adjust the slider to control where the values hit. Troubleshooting: Double check your fill is in front and not your stroke.
Gradient Tool
You can use the Gradient Tool to gain some control over where the gradient hits on your shapes. The tool will control the same features that are in the panel. I use the tool when I don't want to guess and check angle degrees or aspect ratio percentages.
BEGINNER GUIDES
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
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
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
*Older Content (<2018) was originally recorded for my in-class students (children). You are all adults, it has gotten weird.