STOCK PHOTOS: I recommend using (Unsplash / Pixabay / Pexels) for your Sketch, Drawing, and Color References. Bookmark websites for Photo References to use with your artwork and designs.
COLOR SWATCHES: I highly recommend using (Adobe Color) for your Color Themes. Bookmark websites for Color Themes to use with your own artwork and designs.
FONT FAMILIES: I recommend using (Adobe Fonts / Google Fonts / Font Squirrel / Dafont) for Fonts. Bookmark websites for Fonts to use with your own artwork and designs.
DRAWING GUIDE: 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.
DRAWING GUIDE: 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 Pencil Tools as your Primary Building Tools.
DRAWING GUIDE: 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.
BUILDING ARTBOARD: I recommend establishing an Artboard that you can use for all of your artwork. The initial Artboard Size can be changed at any point without ruining your own artwork. Create a "Building Template" that includes Artboards, Resource Images, and Template Layers.
RESOURCE IMAGE: The easiest method that I will recommend for New or Advanced Users is to create a Basic Line Drawing. Building Tools will use a "Path" so you can literally trace with the Pen, Pencil, Blob Brush, or Paintbrush. For your own artwork, use a traced stock photo, drawing, or sketch.
TEMPLATE LAYER: Have your Drawing, Sketch, or Traced Photo Selected. In your Layers Panel, select the Menu in the Upper-Right Hand Corner. Drop down to Template. This will create 50% Opacity and Lock the Layer. Create a Template Layer so you can see the Resource Image and new Paths.
PEN TOOL WORKFLOW: If you are frustrated with the Pen Tool, a simple tip is to break down the process into 2 Steps. The first step is to just apply Anchor Points to the start-curve-end of a line or path. The second step is to adjust the Curves with the Anchor Point Tool or Smooth Curve Button in the Control Panel.
ELLIPSE TOOL WORKFLOW: A good place to start if you are new to Adobe Illustrator is our Beginner Guide (Shapes). We will be going through Building with Shapes, Align Panel, Pathfinder, and Basic Color Fills. There are Beginner Guides for the Pen Tool and Tablet if you are new to the website or Adobe Illustrator.
PENCIL TOOL WORKFLOW: Many of you are looking to use your Tablet with Adobe Illustrator. I am going to recommend breaking down your current tablet workflow into multiple steps. I do see a lot of mistakes when people try to combine too many steps all at once with their new tablets.
CARTOON BRUSHES: Cartoon Brushes are my go-to for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil, or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. Includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries.
COMIC BRUSHES: Hand-painted and Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. Includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries.
MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist, and Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more distressed look or ink bleed back in your Vector Artwork. Includes Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries.
CRACK BMP TEXTURES: Cracks and Distressing BMP Textures to Apply Opacity Masks to your Own Original Artwork and T-shirt Designs. Use BMP Textures to apply Cracks and Distressing Effects to your Artwork and Designs by Applying Opacity or Transparency Masks for Adobe Illustrator. Created for T-Shirt distressing using your own Original Artwork and Opacity Masks to show through to the garment color.
PAPER BMP TEXTURES: Paper BMP Textures to use along with the Transparency Panel to create soft texture overlays for your own original artwork. This is great for those of you who are using Textures for Web, Print, and Social Media Sites. Use Textures with Color Swatches, Transparency, Blending Modes, and Clipping Masks to create a subtle texture overlay on your print or web exports.
GRUNGE BMP TEXTURES: Grunge Distressing BMP Textures to Apply Opacity Masks to your Own Original Artwork and T-shirt Designs. Use BMP Textures to apply Grunge and Distressing Effects to your Artwork and Designs to use with the Transparency Panel and Opacity Masks for Adobe Illustrator. Great for t-shirt distressing using BMP Textures and Opacity Masks to show the garment color on your Own Original Artwork.
BRUSH LIBRARIES: Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. Brushes Libraries allow for Pressure Sensitivity if you are using a Tablet for Inking your Line Variation. Apply with Pen, Pencil, Shapes, or Paintbrush Tools. Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.
COMIC HALFTONES: Halftones and Patterns Fills are designed for easy application even if you are new to Adobe Illustrator. Halftone Fills behave the same as a Color Swatch so you can apply them quickly using the Blob Brush, Live Paint, or Basic Fills. Download Halftone Fills and Pattern Fills.
T-SHIRT TEXTURES: BMP Textures are straightforward to use even if you are a beginner to Adobe Illustrator. Simply File-Place the Textures over your finished artwork to use with the Transparency Panel for soft overlays. Use BMP Textures along with Opacity Masks for T-Shirt Distressing. BMP Textures include our 145 Cracks, 120 Grunge Distressing, 75 Paper, and 77 Paint Splatter Textures.
BRUSHES GUIDE: Refer to our Brushes Resource Guide for saving brush libraries, applying brushes, and using the Shape Builder tool in Adobe Illustrator.
HALFTONES GUIDE: Refer to our Halftones Resource Guide for assistance with importing halftones, applying halftones, resizing pattern fills, and coloring halftones in Adobe Illustrator.
TEXTURES GUIDE: Refer to our Textures Resource Guide for assistance in placing textures, coloring BMP textures, using clipping masks, and applying textures with opacity masks in Adobe Illustrator.