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BEGINNER: If you are a Beginner to Adobe Illustrator, I will recommend creating clean Contour Line Drawing. This can be accomplished by tracing a stock photo or simplifying your own Sketches.
INTERMEDIATE: The next phase will be to prepare your drawings for the Initial Building Phase in Adobe Illustrator. Many of you will be using Ellipse, Pen, and Curvature Tools as your Primary Building Tools.
ADVANCED: As you become more aware of the Tools and Options in Adobe Illustrator, you can save time in your workflow by using quick sketches. Use either Paper or Digital Methods.
REFERENCE IMAGES: Look for Free Stock Photos to use as Drawing References for Proportions, Details, and Values. I recommend gathering a few different options based on the subject matter you are drawing. For your own artwork, I recommend gathering and organizing resources within the same project folder (Stock Photos / Sketches / Color Swatches). LEARNING TARGET: For your own artwork, I recommend starting from a Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo. LEARNING TARGET: Use either Paper or Digital Drawing Methods.
DRAWING TEMPLATE: I have created a Drawing Template of 2160px by 1080px in Adobe Photoshop. This will allow me to Export my Drawing or Sketch from Layers at 1080px by 1080px. I have created a Frame of 1080px by 1080px. File - Place in your Photo Reference. You can add Adjustment Layers to assist your drawings and sketches. DIGITAL: Create a New Document 2160px by 1080px. PAPER: For those of you using Paper Methods, download any Free Scanning App on your phone to digitize your paper sketches and drawings.
BASIC TRACE: I will recommend to new users to Adobe Illustrator a Breakdown Process so you can see the Design Elements within the subject. This will allow you to quickly assess the Building Tools that align with the Elements (Lines + Shapes). There will be some of you who will be asking: 'Why don't we just go directly from the Stock Photo?" If you chose to go directly off of a photo, there is a breaking point with the transparency of the photo layer and being able to see your new paths. At this point the Photo Details become challenging to see and your eyeballs will explode. LEARNING TARGET: Breakdown your image into Design Elements (shapes and lines) before moving to Adobe Illustrator.
DESIGN ELEMENTS: Look for obvious shapes first ie. Circles. This will align directly with the Ellipse Tool. You can quickly create an "Anchor Point Guide" by adding markers for Center of Circles, Corners, and the Ends of Lines. This step is a "Connect the Dots" Approach for the Ellipse, Pen, and Curvature Tools to drop down your lines. LEARNING TARGET (1): Look for obvious Shapes/Circles. LEARNING TARGET (2): Look for the Start/End/Corners of each Line Segment. LEARNING TARGET: Look for elements of your design that can "repeat" or "mirror" to save time.
COUNTOUR LINE WITH VARIATION: I recommend starting from a Clean Contour Line Drawing for your artwork and designs. You will spend a little more time on the drawing, but you have taken away some of the guesswork in Adobe Illustrator. I would prep your drawings for Building, Brushes, and Values. You can trace your drawing using the Ellipse and Pen Tools. LEARNING TARGET (1): For your artwork, create a "Traceable Path" to align with the Building Tools in Adobe Illustrator.
SKETCH TO VECTOR: As you become more aware of the building tools and options in Adobe Illustrator, you can save time in your workflow by using a quick sketch. PAPER: For those of you sketching on paper, this can be quick and small. I recommend having an idea of the building tools before moving to a rough or quick sketch. DIGITAL: Use any sketching or drawing program you like. The goal is to get the initial elements down quickly to assess the building tools you will use in Adobe Illustrator.
TEMPLATE LAYER: File-Place in your Resource Image (Traced Stock Photo, Drawing, or Sketch). Scale to Fit Artboard Size. In your Layers Panel, select the Menu in the Upper-Right Hand Corner. Drop down to Template. This will create a 50% Opacity and Lockout the Layer. Create a New Layer above to start working in Adobe Illustrator. DIGITAL: Drag over your Digital Sketches to a New Layer. Click Template in the Layers Menu. PAPER: File - Place in your Scanned Sketches. Adjust the Opacity in the Transparency Window. Lock out Layer.
PREPPING FOR BUILD TOOLS: As I am creating my artwork, notice I am aligning the Tools to the Shapes and Lines within my Sketch or Drawing. Many of you will be using Shape, Pencil, and Pen Tools as your Primary Building Tools. LEARNING TARGET (1): Understand the Building Tools and Options in Adobe Illustrator. LEARNING TARGET (2): Align the Building Tools (Ellipse, Pen, and Curvature Tools) to the Design Elements (Shapes, Lines, and Curves) in your artwork. BUILDING TUTORIALS
PREPPING FOR BRUSHES: As I am inking my artwork, notice I am aligning each path to a Brush Stroke. If I handed you a marker and said to trace your drawing, you would build in this method naturally. You hand or pen would lift up after each new stroke. Match the Brushes to the Line Variation within your drawing. Pay attention to the ends and the floating ends to align with your brushes. If you planned out your variation in your own contour drawing, this step is much easier. LEARING TARGET: Plan out your variation in your own drawings. DOWNLOAD BRUSHES / BRUSHES GUIDE
PREPPING FOR VALUES: As I am coloring my artwork, notice I am adding in the values that were created in the initial sketch. This can be done quite quickly within your sketch. You will have more control over the values with the pen and curvature tools using the Divide Pathfinder Tool. LEARNING TARGET: Include a light source and value areas your drawings or sketches. ADVANCED COLORING TUTORIALS
