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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.
STOCK PHOTOS: Download Stock Photos (Unsplash / Pixabay / Pexels) to use as Drawing, Design, or Color References. BEGINNER: For your own artwork, I recommend starting from a Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo. ADVANCED: Gather and organize resources within the same project folder (Stock Photos / Sketches / Thumbnails / Color Swatches).
REFERENCE IMAGES: Test out different sites to see if more photos, images, and references are available. 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. 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.
DOWNLOAD FREE: Download as many reference images as needed. Double check to see if all of the images are free. You can sort photos on Unsplash to only show Free License Images (ignore iStock Ads). You can also use Ai (Google Gemini or Chat GPT) to create character sheets for more assistance with your own drawings and sketches.
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.
REMOVE BACKGROUND: Use Adobe Firefly Quick Actions or Adobe Photoshop to remove the background. LEARNING TARGET: For your own artwork, I recommend starting from a Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Stock Photo. LEARNING TARGET: Download as many reference images as needed. Think of how many variations or positions you will need for your design.
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.
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.