ACTIVE LEARNING
TABLET QUICK GUIDE
TABLET + ILLUSTRATOR
STEP #1: TABLET INSTALLATION. Make sure you have installed your Tablet as well as the driver based on the manufacturer's instructions. The 2 things people miss are either the driver hasn't been installed or you haven't restarted your computer after installing the driver. The Quick Start Guide will be going through my preferred method of teaching and using Adobe Illustrator with a Tablet.
BRUSHES + PRESSURE
STEP #2: BREAKDOWN YOUR WORKFLOW. Many of you are new to your Tablet and potentially new to Adobe Illustrator. I am going to recommend breaking down your workflow into multiple steps so you can understand the program before forcing in your tablet. I do see a lot of mistakes when people try to combine too many steps all at once with their tablets, so keep it simple.
FOLLOW ALONG TUTORIALS
STEP #3: FOLLOW ALONG. The first thing to note is that everything is in a Follow Along or Step by Step Format in our Adobe Illustrator Active Learning Curriculum the Website, YouTube and Teachable. I would plan 30 Minutes to an Hour per Individual Full-Length Module. We go in order to prevent Beginner Mistakes and do a lot of the troubleshooting within the Tutorials.
Wacom Tablet Properties
Grip Pen Settings
Default settings are a great place to start. As you practice more you can tweak a few, but you will see mine haven’t changed. Play around with the tip feel by using the customize feature. You will be looking for control of thick to thin when using pressure.
Marker Test
We will be using the Pencil Tool and Paint Brush Tools in Adobe Illustrator to use along with our Cartoon Brushes. The Market Test is to think about how you normally ink on a piece of paper and mimic the same process in Adobe Illustrator. Each Path is will align with a Brush Stroke.
External Tools
I have access to my keyboard and a mouse for using the Keyboard Shortcuts and my non-tablet based workflows in Adobe Illustrator. I do recommend an external or USB Keyboard if you can no longer reach your keyboard due to your tablet or workstation setup.
Wacom Tablet Properties
Express Keys + Touch Strips
I have mine Disabled. I am a big believer in the Adobe Keyboard Shortcuts over the tablet Express Keys. Troubleshooting: Look for your screen moving at random. Some Express Keys or Touch strips will accidentally be hit with your wrist or your non-drawing hand.
Troubleshooting
If you are getting accidental Isolation Mode we can fix it in two ways. The first is above you will see I have the Double Click Distance set to OFF. (I use my mouse) If you don't have a mouse you can turn off Double Click to Isolate in your Illustrator General Preferences.
Tablet Quick Set Up
These are my personal settings for my tablet. So if you want a fast way of getting started these are great starting points. You will notice that we go through all of the Main and Support Tools for your Tablet, including how to customize your Keyboard Shortcuts which can be plugged in to your Express Keys.
Preferences + Smart Guides
General Preferences
Most of the General Settings are Default. You can double check your preferences against the image. A common question I get is about the Precise Cursors, you can see on my screen that the box is checked which will change the brush from seeing the icon.
Smart Guides
You will notice that my Smart Guides only have the Object Highlighting turned on. When using your Tablet most of the General or Default Preferences will work for your Tablet. I do recommend turning off Snap to Pixel while drawing.
Freeform Line with Pencil
The asterisk is the icon that will be the most friendly to you as a beginner. As long as you see the asterisk it is creating a freeform new line.
Pencil Holding Shift
Hold down shift to maintain constraints for horizontal and vertical lines. This also works for 45 degree angles.
Connecting 2 Paths
If in you pencil preferences you have keep lines selected you will see the slash when paths are looking to join. This is great for sharper corners.
Keep Selected
This will be the icon that you will look to avoid. This will bounce and erase lines and they merge close together. Turn off keep selected if this is happening frequently.
Adding on Line Variation using our Custom 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 under Pressure. Download our BRUSHES + RESOURCES.
Tapered Line
Check where each line segment in the design ends. If you notice that one or more of the ends are floating out in space, this is a good indication that this should be tapered.
Line Thickness
While you are checking the ends of each segment and notice that the line ends connected to another line, this is an indication that the line should get fatter.
Control over Brushes
Our anchor point guides have already been designed with the final line (which includes the brushes) in mind. If you are drawing your own design, pay attention to the length of each line segment for more control over thickness.
(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).
DOWNLOAD + INSTALL
BRUSHES + RESOURCES
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