Adobe Illustrator Tutorial for Beginners: How to Apply Cartoon Brushes

In this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial we will be going through a simple process of inking using Shapes and the Pen Tool. Are main focus will be building in Adobe Illustrator so you can be applying the Tools and Settings, and then add on our Cartoon Brushes so you can Apply and Edit them using the Shape Builder Tool. In this Tutorial we will only cover the Shape Builder method and not the Eraser Tool. Looking to Follow Along? This tutorial is a part of our Brushes 101 Series.

Vector from Rough Sketch

Rough sketch drawings are a little different since they do not include the line variation and have a little more wiggle room on where the final line will go. There is a little more editing as you add on the thickness to each line.

Getting Down Anchors

The goal is to get down your lines first. You will find that there is so much editing and moving of the initial anchors and handles that the placement of your anchor points should cause little stress.

Connect the Dots

We will be using our 2 step approach to using the pen tool. The first is using straight lines to just get down our anchor points. Look for the start and end of each line. If it breaks, curves, and changes direction put in an anchor.

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 (Download + Install). 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 so we can edit it later. This 2-Step Process allows for more control over your Line Variation compared to using your Tablet with Pressure.

Plan your Line Variation

Step #1: Plan your out your Line Variation and Brushes before you start in Adobe Illustrator. If you didn't, use the simple method of finding the floating ends of the line. This will signal the value change ended while you were drawing. This will be a tapered end of the line.

Match Taper to Brush

Step #2: Match the Brushes to the Line Variation. If you planned out your lines this step is much easier. Select the Brushes and Line Weight. There are 17 Brushes Libraries, this method will work on any of the cartoon brushes.

Expand All + Simplify

Step #3: Expand All. Object - Expand Appearance + Expand. You really only need to Expand the Strokes. Once the Brushes have been Expanded hit the selection with a Simplify Path. ( Object - Path - Simplify)

Edit Using Shape Builder

Step #4: Shape Builder Editing is your Friend. Hold down the Alt/Option to Delete. Hit all of the overlapping lines to clean up any of the extra lines. The full-version of the snail is on Teachable in our Active Learning Curriculum.

(Updated) Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes specifically designed for Cartoonists and Illustrators who are looking to speed up their workflows. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. Includes 70+ Cartoon Brushes (libraries include the Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries).

Includes Hand Painted + Comic Strip Sets 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 100+ Brushes (libraries include the Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries).

Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink 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 with heavy ink and a little more wobble. Includes 50+ Brushes (libraries include the updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries).

Free Bonus: I have included the Anchor Point and Tablet Friendly Guides (as a Free Bonus) to Follow Along with the 50 Step by Steps on the Website or the 100 Beginner Tutorials Playlist on YouTube to Learn the Basics of Building, Applying Brushes, Editing, and Coloring in Adobe Illustrator. Follow Along with the Tutorials or use the Brushes with Your Own Artwork.

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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.