Adobe Illustrator Masterclass 2026 — From Beginner to Pro

Open the new document window, browse presets across tabs for mobile, web, print, film and video, art and illustration, then select a preset and adjust its settings in Illustrator.

Choose a title or name for your project in your new Illustrator document, knowing you can change it later.

Explore document sizing in Illustrator, adjusting width and height and selecting units such as pixels, points, picas, inches, feet, yards, millimeters, centimeters, and meters; see how changing size affects orientation.

Configure artboards in Illustrator by specifying the number you need for your project and manage them easily. Start with one and adjust to more as your workflow evolves.

Choose the appropriate color mode for your project, RGB for digital screens or CMYK for print, and convert between them as needed.

Explore how raster effects in Illustrator use pixel-based resolution for shadows and other effects, while mastering 72 ppi for screens and 300 ppi for printing.

Adjust your Illustrator workspace by setting Window > Workspace to essentials classic to access the top bar and full tools, better suited for learning and getting started.

Explore the Illustrator interface by navigating the toolbar, settings bar, tools, and panels, and learn how the settings bar reflects the selected object rather than the active tool.

Begin creating in the Illustrator environment using the rectangle tool to draw shapes. Then use the selection tool to pick up and move them, exploring the available shapes.

Explore customizing shape settings in Adobe Illustrator by selecting a rectangle and adjusting fill and stroke colors, stroke size, and stroke style, including opacity and patterns, with undo support.

Explore alignment tools in Illustrator by opening the align panel to access essential settings and more for aligning objects within your project.

Learn to align objects to the artboard or to a selection in Illustrator, using left/center/right and top/center/bottom options, with the align tab and its show options.

Use the selection tool to choose two shapes, then align them to the selection to match left edges, centers, or vertical positions for precise alignment.

Explore the two selection tools in Adobe Illustrator: the selection tool for selecting, resizing, and moving whole objects, and the direct selection tool for moving individual anchor points.

Learn to use Illustrator's selection and direct selection tools, plus the magic wand, to quickly select all objects of the same color for efficient edits.

Learn to navigate Adobe Illustrator with the navigation tools, zooming in and out, and using available tools to move through your entire project.

Learn to navigate zoom levels in Adobe Illustrator using the hand tool and the temporary hand, activated by holding the spacebar to pan and then return to your tool.

Use Ctrl+0 to zoom to fit and reveal the entire project, mirroring Photoshop's behavior and providing a quick reset to view all artwork.

Explore advanced shape tools in Adobe Illustrator to create unique designs using rounded rectangles with corner radii, ellipse tool, polygon tool with sides, and star tool with adjustable points.

Learn to use the pen tool for precise, flexible shape creation in Illustrator, placing anchors, dragging curves, and editing with add and delete anchor point tools via direct selection.

Use the brush tool to draw strokes with controllable size and color, applying brush styles and creating each stroke on a new layer for flexible layering and visibility.

Learn how the blob brush creates filled shapes rather than strokes, with fill controlling color and no stroke weight adjustments.

Discover how to convert strokes to shapes in Illustrator by cloning a stroke and using object expand appearance to turn it into a shape, then adjust its fill and stroke.

Discover how to use the artboard tool to create, name, move, and resize multiple artboards in Adobe Illustrator, and set their width and height for your document.

Learn how to merge shapes in Illustrator to create new designs and illustrations, and practice adding another artboard to start combining forms.

Master the shape builder tool to merge multiple shapes into a single form and subtract specific parts by holding alt, enabling precise illustration creation.

Learn to use the Pathfinder window to unite, minus front from back, intersect, exclude, and divide shapes, and manage groups, including grouping and ungrouping, in Illustrator.