Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
My Progression Portfolio Laura Yearley
Designing a basic logo page 13
Creating a swatch and patterned background
Questions - Using Illustrator page 17
page 1
Questions
Designing a coffee flat icon Designing a cartoon character
Using various type tools
page 5
page 7
page 11
Using the shape tool
Creating a monkey
page 3
page 9
Designing a ‘Visit London’ logo page 15
C O N T E N T S
Designing my own swatch to make a patterned background
The background image is a swatch and patterned background I put together using Illustator. I found the flat icons on a free website and downloaded them to use. In Illustrator, I set up a 500px by 500px document and set up the smart guides and grid. Both of these would help me align the icons and ensure the measurements between the icons was accurate. This would also make it easier for me when I have to align the swatch later. In the square grid, I put the different icons next to each other, looking at the purple smart lines for guidence and accurate measurements.
When the grid was full of these icons, I selected them and made a pattern (pattern > make). There would be a blue square and this was the swatch I would be creating. Here I had to line up the icons by adjusting the the width and length. When this was all matched up, my swatch was created. I finally exported it to a high quality so the background wouldn’t look blurry and would fit any page. Below are the only icons I used in my pattern. To push myself, I could’ve created these icons myself. Evaluation: I am really happy with the patterned background I designed and I love how fun, colourful and bright it is, as well as the quirkiness of using the food faces. In my opinion this makes the background look more interesting to use and will add a lot of colour This was my first time using Illustrator. There was trouble during the process because not all of the icons were lining up when I was creating the swatch, so I took time to align the icons properly. This background is also very busy and could be too much to look at.
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Using The Shape Tool
Star Tool
Press Down Arrow
Delete anchor points
Press Up Arrow
Using the shape tool in Illustrator means you can do so much more compared to what you can do in Photoshop. In Illustrator, you can delete anchor points to cut shapes in half, or delete a section from their paths. You do a lot more with ‘free transform’, as in Photoshop you can’t stretch the shapes in the
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Press, hold cmd, drag in or out
Free Transform
Ungrouped Vectors
Rotate a square
Polygon Tool
Press Up Arrow to add points
Delete anchor points
Rotate
Grouped Vectors
Compound Vectors
Gradient Fill
Free Transform
same way you can with Illustrator, as shown above wih the star and semi-circle. Another interesting aspect about using the shape tool as well, is that you can adjust the shapes in another way by adding corners and sides, for example the star shape and with the polygon shape you can turn into a triangle. In the tutorial, I also learned how you can change the colours, (such as fill and stroke colours and using gradients too) when your shapes are grouped or ungrouped and how you can use the shape builder to split a shape into other various little shape pieces.
Shape Builder
Vector shape with overlapping shape vectors
Cut out overlapping vector shapes
New vector shape with gradient stroke
Evaluation: I found it really intriguing how you can use the shape tool and some keyboard shortcuts to create a range of shapes with different properties and customise the shapes the way you’d want them, for example cutting out overlapping vector shapes to create a different centre. It was easy to use the shape tool and even easier to adjust the basic shape into a more complex shape but adding corners and different sectors. The shape builder was also really interesting to use because you can cut any compound shape into smaller pieces.
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Creating my own cartoon character using the shape tool 5
I really enjoyed this tutorial. The character on the next page is the cartoon I made only using the shape tool, and changing a few other settings and specifically using the pathfinder window and options to combine and cut shapes. I started with the face, using the rounded rectangle tool. Anchor points allowed me to adjust the curves and edges. I moved onto the nose and eyes using the eclipse tool and copied and pasted in front specifically so nothing would be pasted behind. The mouth was a little tricky because this was the first time using the pathfinder options. Here I united the blue rectangle and grey and pink eclipses, and afterwards minused the front and divided the shapes so they fit together to make the mouth shape.
This was the process for most of the cartoon creating - using the pathfinder and shape options.
Evaluation: I loved making this tutorial as well, although maybe next time I should use a different tutorial as the speaker was very fast at talking and making the character. I found this also quite challenging because you could only use shapes. With the exception of the black outline on the eyes, it was hard to only use shapes when creating the hair. To improve I could add in the joint movements which I left out because I found this too complicated, and try different styles of clothing and shapes.
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. U r o s t in ar
Illust
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ype Tool in
tg he T
Playing around with only the text tools in Illustrator was very intriguing. It was interesting to see how you can format the type and where exactly you would like to type, for example on a path (line or shape) or filling an area with text. Evaluation:
Vertical type Type in an area
Using the tutorial means I have learnt how to use the various text techniques there are and how to format the type. I will now hope to use various aspect to it.
Another tutorial I completed was creating a monkey. This was a lot of fun and also made me realise how easy it is to create a cartoon character by using shapes, anchor points, pathfinder tools and effects such as warp and arc. The brown face and ears are made simply from circles and the tuffs are made from a circle that had been cut. Here I adjusted the stroke for the correct thickness and I made the ends and corners rounded for a natural look. The main face, eyes and nose were made from circles (I held down shift to ensure they were the same size) and an oval. The eyebrows were also made from ovals but to make the shape they are, I adjusted anchor points and made an arc by going to effect > warp > arc. This applies for the ears and mouth too, but these parts were made from other shapes and using pathfinder tools. Evaluation: I am really happy with the outcome of my monkey and found it easier than I expected. I particularly like the face shadow, the mouth and colours because it looks quite realistic and funny. On the other hand there were a few difficulties such as using pathfinder tools and using anchor points to make the shape for the shadow.
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KEEP CALM
For my independent learning, I found a YouTube tutorial which made a coffee cup, again using only the shape tool, layering and arranging, and adjusting a few anchor points and transparency for the shadow. I find it fascinating how complicated these flat icons look but when I was creating it, it was actually quite simple. This particular icon I have made into a simple ‘KEEP CALM’ poster and into a swatch/background. Evaluation:
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DRINK COFFEE
It was quite easy to make this coffee cup and it would have been easier if I had more Illustrator skills beforehand so I knew where the tools were, and also any keyboard shortcuts. I like the coffee cup as a flat icon by itself and also find it quite effective as a feature in a poster and looks quite realistic with the wooden background. On the other hand I do not find the background I made as effective because it looks too much - it’s a very busy background and the wooden background looks quite jumpy so to improve I could have placed the wooden background in first, then the individual icons on top of the grid afterwards. I also believe that my coffee cup flat icon can be used in a website as either a picture or button.
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Designing a Logo
This tutorial was to design a logo using the line tool and simple shapes. I started with the sea. I drew one line and copied and pasted them underneath ensuring there was an equal measurement between them all. Next, I selected them to distort them and make the lines wavey. After I made the base, mountains and trees from lines and curved lines, and the clouds were made from semi-circles which, using the pathfinder tools, united the shapes and I used the scissor tool to delete the other lines. Then I copied the other clouds and reflected some so they were facing the other direction. Because they’re half-clouds, they are placed nicely behind the mountains. Last of all I added the sunset and the text. Evaluation: The logo was really easy to make using the line, shape and text tool but I had a few difficulties with the sunset lines. My finished outcome as a PNG file has made the logo look quite distorted, but the illustrator file is clearer, so to improve, I need to make the logo look clearer and less distorted by perhaps saing it as another file.
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Designing a Logo with a theme of ‘Visit London’ 15
Evaluation: This logo was designed for a theme - Visit London. Based on the tutorial I completed above, I made this logo completely from shapes and lines as well and I took inspiration from the ‘Wanderlust’ logo. In my logo features three of London’s most famous landmarks and features. You can see the London eye made from a rectangle, circles and lines and Big Ben which also quite easy to make using lines and circles.
I am really pleased with the outcome of my ‘Visit London’ logo. I like the easy line design of both the London Eye and Big Ben, which was made from circles and lines. I find that it’s a very effective logo as it shows 3 of London’s famous features, but to improve I could have added more landmarks such as the Shard, Houses of Parliament or St. Pauls cathedral. However, these could be more complex to make as they have bigger and more detailed structures. I limited the amount of colour in my logo to 3, (black, light blue and dark blue) which is ideal for any other logo, and included the title ‘Visit LONDON’, which tells you where these famous landmarks are. Another famous sight are the boats which travel along the thames, so I found a design on Google to use when making my own boats, and copied and reflected another to make it look as though the boat was travelling in another direction. Overall I find my logo effective and truly reflects the scene of London.
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Questions
Using Adobe Illustrator 1. Can you recall each of the tools you have used in Adobe Illustrator and what they are for? I have used the grid (which shows you where to line up your elements), ‘shift’ (so my elements were an equal size) cmd+A (to select everything on my document instead of individual selection) and object>pattern>make (to use what I had selected and make it into a pattern). Then I used the shapes tool (for my cartoon and monkey to draw my own shapes) and arrows on the keyboard (to adjust the size and shape, for example more points on a star). I have also used the pathfinder tools (also used for my cartoon and monkey, where you can unite and delete parts of shapes), and I have also used the text tool (where you can type wherever and however you like, whether you use a path or change the outlines and colours). Last of all I have added effects to some lines, such as making them wavey by using the warp and arc tools.
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2. Compare Adobe Illustrator graphics to photographs - in which contexts might you use one over the other? Illustrator graphics do not look as near as realistic compared to photographs, therefore it is important which one you choose to use in your context. Illustrator graphics can be higher quality compared to some photographs, but as the creation has been made in Illustrator it won’t look real, it will look like a cartoon/illustration and not a real photograph. If you are producing something factual, photographs would be the best option to use because they appear the most real and accurate. If you are making something fun and not so serious, then Illustrator graphics could be the better option. 3. How would you apply what you have learned to develop a website for tourist information for London? To develop a London tourist website, I could apply what I have learned when creating my own repeated background and my own line drawing logo, and redesign the website using these. I haven’t made a London-based background, but I have made a Londonthemed logo. As I now know how to make both, I can design backgrounds and logos for any theme. I have also made cartoon characters, flat icons and used different text formats, which I could also apply when I design a website.
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4. Explain when Adobe Illustrator might be a better option than Photoshop - what can Illustrator do that Photoshop can’t? You use Illustrator to create vector-based logos and line drawn work. In Illustrator, the text quality, layout and quality of the creation is also much better. Therefore if you want to be more freestyle and create your own, high quality work, Illustrator would be the better option. Photoshop, on the other hand, looses its quality as the programme is pixel-based. It is used more for editing, especially photographs and images, but it is better when you want to work and organise with layers. You would use Photoshop for user interface designs - web pages, banner adverts and graphic editing. 5. How might you use Adobe Illustrator to construct a background for a tourist information website for London? What kind of imagery would you use/create? I could create a repeating background and include imagery of London’s famous landmarks, either line illustrations or my own photography or online images that are copyright-free. I would use the grid so I know that when I place the images they are equal and have equal measurements, otherwise it wouldn’t look neat and professional. You could also incorporate images with your text, for example when you create a logo or have a very bold piece of text you could format the type to input an image as shown in my example on page 6.
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6. Can you assess the importance and value of Adobe Illustrator as a tool for professionals in the design industry?
It is vitally important for professionals to use Adobe, specifically Illustrator because this programme has and maintains its high quality when it is saved and placed anywhere. In the design industry, it is about your own creations and using Illustrator means you can create anything from scratch and be freestyle.