From Drawing to Vector Art in Adobe Illustrator

Do you draw and are you looking to do more with your drawings? Do you want to create marketable digital assets? Are you ready to increase your Illustrator knowledge? Do you want to combine your drawings and your Illustrator skills in new ways?

Great!    Welcome! 

This course is for you. It's a fun and a practical way to learn Illustrator by taking your drawings and turning them into vector art. 

Here you'll "learn by doing" as you convert a basic line drawing into an image suitable to sell as stock. You will see how to take a digitized image into Illustrator as a template and how to vectorize it by drawing the lines using the image as a guide and then colouring it. (NOTE: this class doesn't cover the use of the Image Trace feature - I have another completely different class covering that tool).

You can use the concepts taught in this class to make saleable stock images and clip art from your line drawings in Illustrator.

Who is your trainer?

Helen Bradley has taught thousands of students to use Illustrator and Photoshop. She doesn't fluff about and is focused on helping you learn to use Illustrator in a practical and smart way. Her workflows are carefully structured for maximum success and she explains everything so you know the 'why' as well as the 'how' of any process.

Helen has a huge commitment to her students' learning - she answers all student questions and often adds extra videos to a course to help students with questions that others might also benefit from learning from.

What will you learn?

When you complete this course, you'll:   

-       be able to digitize and vectorize your drawings

-       create multiple color ways for your designs

-       save your designs in formats appropriate for various uses  

-       have learned new Illustrator tips and techniques that you can use every day 

-       be able to confidently create designs from your art that are suitable for a range of design and commercial uses

Do I hear you say "...but I don't know how to use Illustrator (and frankly, I'm scared of it)"?

I understand!    

I've been there.

Illustrator can be really scary to use when you first start out.   

… but I've created a better way to learn Illustrator. One that makes it a lot less scary and a lot more fun.   

You see, you'll learn to draw vector shapes using a sketch as a guide so, immediately, you'll be creating art to give away on your blog, and use yourself. So you'll be making designs that you can do something with at the same time that you are learning Illustrator. There's no waiting! There's no hours of learning before you can get started doing something. In fact you can start today. Simply draw a few simple sketches using strong lines (or use mine - as I've given you mine to practice with) then complete the first few lessons and you'll have your first vector design made!    

Do I hear you say "... but I hate the Pen tool!"?

I understand! Most people hate the pen tool. You are not alone!

… I believe that Illustrator is so much more than its (dreaded) Pen tool – so we'll use the pen tool only when we have to and we'll use other tools  whenever we can. That said, this class does use the Pen tool a bit - just enough to get you started using it. And honestly, I think you'll be surprised how easy it is to use here.     

Are you ready to extend your Illustrator skills?

If you already know the basics of using Illustrator, taking this class will elevate your skills to a new level. You'll learn to vectorize your drawings and use tools and techniques in a practical situation. You'll reinforce your existing knowledge as you apply it to real world designs. And if we use tools you've never used before - great! You'll learn to use them fast and easily so you understand how you can put them to work in your daily workflow.   

Do I hear you say "Please don't waste my time"?

If there is one thing I hate it’s wasting time and you probably do too. 

So, I don't say "um", I don't fluff about, I don't make mistakes, I know my stuff and I show you how to do things efficiently and effectively. I speed up the videos where appropriate so you don't get bored or distracted. 

I'm 100% focused on helping you learn.   

In short, I'll get straight to the point and I’ll maximize what you learn in every class.   

So, what version of Illustrator do I need?

For this course I am using Illustrator CC so you will find it easiest to follow along if you are using this version (but it should also be fine if you are using Illustrator CS6 too).

Will I just learn to draw lines?

Well Yes, and No! 

Yes, you'll learn to plan your approach to a drawing to make the job of vectorizintg it quick and easy.

And you'll also learn to use tools, like the Align panel, Repeat Transform, and the Live Paint Tool.

And you'll learn techniques and tips for working everyday in Illustrator.

And you'll learn to recolor your artwork. In fact, I'm willing to bet you're going to fall in love with the Recolor Artwork tool as you use it to explore wonderful color schemes for your art.

You'll get plenty of practice using Illustrator and you'll grow in confidence with every lecture.

How will I learn?

This course is made up 100% of video content. You'll watch my screen as I show you how each sketch is vectorized. I'll explain what I am doing and why so you can learn as you watch. 

Now you can, of course, use your own art as you work through this class - but you don't have to do so. I understand that lots of people just want to follow along exactly (I'm like that myself when I'm learning something new), so I'm giving you my drawings to work with so you can follow along with me.

Join me... 

I hope you will join me in this Illustrator class. I look forward to meeting you and I invite you to contact me if you have any questions as you work through the lectures.  

cheers!

Helen