Easy Beginner Adobe Illustrator CC Tutorial
Beginner Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
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.
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.
Beginner 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.
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.
Live Paint
One of the easiest and fastest ways of filling in your color is by using Live Paint. You will need to select your edited brushes layer and click on Object - Live Paint - Make. It will allow you to use the Live Paint Bucket Tool to dump in color like Adobe Photoshop.
Live Paint Bucket
Once you have made a Live Paint Group, select the Live Paint Bucket Tool (K). Select the Color Swatch for your flat color and dump it in. The Live Paint Bucket will look for Enclosed Spaces. You can control the Gap Detection under Object - Live Paint - Gap Detection.
Expand + Ungroup
Before you finish your Coloring Step, remember to color in White Spaces. When you have completed using the Live Paint Bucket. Expand and Ungroup the Flat Color Layer. This will allow you to duplicate and cut shapes for Values and apply Halftone Pattern Fills.
STEP #1: Download the Adobe Illustrator Halftone Folder. Downloading our textures is a straightforward process. All you have to do is Download and Extract All before using in Adobe Illustrator. Our Halftone Patterns are Adobe Illustrator Documents, so there is not any fancy way of opening up the file. Just double-click directly from the Folder or Open from Adobe Illustrator.
STEP #2 Copy-Paste Halftones into a Working Artboard: The goal of this step is to get the Halftones into your design so they populate into your Swatches. All you have to do is Copy and Paste them over into the Artboard you are currently working on. The Halftones will automatically populate into the Swatches Panel for use.
STEP #3: Apply Halftone using Basic Fills, Blob Brush, or the Knife Tool. The Halftones will act just like any other Color Swatch. You can simply Select a Shape to apply a basic Fill. If you are new to Adobe Illustrator, I will recommend using the Live Paint Bucket to apply your Flat Color Layer first. The next step will be to duplicate the color layer to apply Halftones.
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