Learning Adobe Illustrator: A Look Back
Illustrator Essentials was the first course I learned with Dan Scott at bringyourownlaptop.com in the winter of 2019. Since it was my first experience with Adobe suite, I remember being overwhelmed with the software and unsure how to begin.
Thanks to Dan's lessons, I quickly learned how to use the tools and had a blast doing it! All of my projects for this course are originals from 2019. The only changes I made were to the perspectives (landscape to portrait) to fit the cards, and I had to create the package wrapper from the website course title card.
Why did I make them into a card game? I don't know. I was looking through the projects and thought they looked like images we would see in a child's card game. And then I thought about how cool it would be for kids to have a BYOL game to help them learn Illustrator! And thus, the mockup was born. (Mockup template downloaded from Envato.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. 😁
The shape-builder was the first lesson I practiced, and I started to feel more confident using Illustrator. The tool is still one of my favorite and most used tools today.
I messed this illustration up the first time I tried it. I scrapped the whole project and started over. It seems so simple, but I remember thinking this project was impossible. I have yet to attempt another Impossible Triangle since then. LOL!
I love the curvature tool! It is so easy to use and helped build my confidence in Illustrator. If I had to pick only three instruments to use in Illustrator, the curvature tool would be one of them!
Not going to lie: I was not too fond of the pen tool at first. It's good that Dan didn't start the course with this tool because I probably would have quit. But, soon after I completed the course, I went back to practice more with it because it was obviously in the program for a reason. It must be a good tool. I typed out the entire alphabet (upper and lowercase) and locked the layer. On a new layer, I traced every letter with the pen tool. This exercise helped me learn the instrument and realize its power. Now, it's one of the first tools I reach for when using Illustrator.
I loved this project and found the width tool easy to use. After I had traced out these letters, I thought it looked like a flower on its side. So, I rotated it, colored it, and here we are. 😁 I like this one best from my Illustrator essentials projects.
Type on a path project was easy and fun. The badge I made is nothing special because I focused on learning the tools/techniques AND putting into place good practices like naming layers. Thankfully, I started doing this early on, and it's beneficial when going back to design layers to alter or replace them. That's why I made the Name Your Layers playing card to accompany my badge project.
I'm not a fan of these tools for use with text. They are tough to control, and you can quickly make the text unreadable. Adjusting the settings to 5 or 10% and clicking once can transform it. I completed the project with outlined text, but I usually reserve these tools for anything other than text. I hope you like my Twisted Tastes! 😊
I could experiment with this technique all day! Something is soothing about watching your shape spin around and create these fantastic designs. It reminded me of the Spirograph set I had as a kid. There's also a great lesson here to learn shortcuts. It's another "best practice" teaching moment Dan shared that I took to heart. Learning shortcuts is one of the quickest ways to understand 80% of the other software in Adobe's suite. I remember starting Photoshop and trying shortcuts I learned here in Illustrator to see if they worked across platforms. And a lot of them do! It's advantageous because even if you don't know where a tool is in the menu or one of the panels, you can use the shortcut and select that tool or perform that operation without first locating it. It saves so much time and creates quicker workflows. That is why I have included a Learn Your Shortcuts playing card here.
Well, that's my story about the first Adobe software I learned. Illustrator is still one of my favorite programs. I use it for creating icons for UI UX designs, laying out illustrations to use in After Effects, and everything in between. It's an excellent program to learn for starting your journey in design.
If you'd like to see some other projects I have created, head over to my website https://grafixt.com. There, you will see Illustrator's vital role in helping bring actual designs to life.
Peace, friends ✌️😊
