I show you the basics of the Image Trace function and the many ways you can accomplish different vectorized looks from a typical photo. Image Trace is powerful feature of Illustrator and it is one of those features that Photoshop just can't do.

I show you the basics of making shapes (squares, circles, stars, etc) in Illustrator. Shapes are the major building blocks of Illustrator. You can build complex designs with only basic shapes as well as accent any typical t-shirt design.

I show you how the Eyedropper tool can save you time and headaches, with color matching. I also draw all the squares needed to create the background of the Warhol design that this course progresses through.

I created 9 colored squares that need to be aligned and spaced evenly to look good. I show you the basics of the alignment tools and the rulers with helpful guide lines.

I show you how to manipulate shapes/object in a stacking order. This is like learning Layers in Photoshop but Illustrator is a bit different in how it works. I explain how to move object up and down the layer stack with the Layer menu. I then show you how important the keyboard shortcuts are for this function and why you don't always need the Layer pallet when you work in Illustrator.

Now that all the objects are created, I use what we have learned to bring it all together. I do some more colorization as well as opacity adjustments in Isolation Mode. I preview the design on a T-shirt template to get an idea of size and placement. I then go on to discuss saving an editable copy of your design and then exporting a PNG in Merch by Amazon template dimensions.

I give you an overview of some of the typography designs you can expect in this series.

I pick a font, Image Trace (vectorize) a photo of a heart I downloaded off the internet and put it all together in a circle to create a button/pin mock-up. Simple, everyday text with simple graphic, inside Adobe Illustrator.

I use the Pathfinder pallet to create a crescent moon and then I manipulate text in all kinds of ways in order to fit the text in the crescent shape. I then show you how to use the Touch Type Tool to manipulate some more text, where you can manipulate every letter individually. Lean letters forward or back, thin or thicken a letter, or make it taller or shorter, or out of alignment from the rest of the word... that is the fun you'll have with the Touch Type Tool.