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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.
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.
PRIMARY BUILDING TOOLS: Many of you will be bouncing from the Ellipse Tool for Shapes and the Pen or Pencil Tool for your Linework. Once you know the Primary Building Tools you can start prepping your sketches and drawings directly for Adobe Illustrator. CHECKLIST: For your own artwork, use the most obvious Primary Building Tool to lay down your initial paths and objects.
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.
