Tag Archive - quick guide to adobe illustrator

Illustrator for beginners: Overview of the tools & functions [Part 3]

January 5, 2011 in Design Tips & Tutorials, Illustrator, Tutorials with 0 Comments

In promised in Part 2, we’ve covered the rectangle tool, the line segment tool, paintbrush and pencil tools as well as the blob and scissors tools. Today, I’ll go into the rotate, reflect, scale, shear and reshape tools.

If you haven’t already done so, first download the sample vector file we’ve provided, to use as your practice file.

1. The Rotate Tool

2. The Reflect Tool

3. The Scale Tool

4.The Shear Tool

5. The Reshape Tool

The Reshape tool adjusts selected anchor points while keeping the overall detail of the path intact. Frankly, this tool is rather redundant, as there are so many other simpler ways of reshaping an object. I’ve yet to come across a designer who has ever had the need for using this tool. Still, here’s the tute on using this tool, just in case you’d like to experiment with it ;)

Learn about the warp, free transform, symbol and graph tools in the following part of this tutorial.

Illustrator for beginners: Overview of the tools & functions [Part 2]

January 2, 2011 in Design Tips & Tutorials, Illustrator, Tutorials with 0 Comments

As promised in Part 1, I will now move on to the rectangle tool, the line segment tool, paintbrush and pencil tools as well as the blob and scissors tools. I’ve not covered the ‘Text’ tool as that’s pretty straightforward. Just click on the ‘T’ tool, click on a point on your artboard and start typing. That’s as complicated as it gets ;)

Download a vector bunny here and use this as your practice file.

1. Line Segment Tool

2. The Rectangle Tool

3. Paintbrush Tool

4. Pencil Tool

After drawing an image with the pencil tool, you can smooth out, or round out sections of your lines. Press the middle button which is called the smooth tool. Click and then circle an area you want to adjust. Release your mouse button and the line will become smooth.


If you made a mistake, or want to remove a portion of your line drawing, press on the third button on the pencil tool palate to activate the line eraser tool. Click and hold your mouse, then circle the area you want to erase.

5. The Blob Brush Tool

The Blob Brush is a convenient new tool in CS4. So if you’re not using CS4 and above, skip this part of the tutorial. Of course, it’s advisable to get the latest version of Illustrator, as this will keep you updated with Adobe’s newest additions to Illustrator – with more tools added to heighten productivity and convenience.

This brush allows you to draw merged paths, and is particularly useful with the addition of a graphics tablet. View the video below on the blob tool.

6. The Scissors Tool

Part 2 ends here. In Part 3, we shall go into the rotate, reflect, scale, shear and reshape tools.

Illustrator for beginners: Overview of the tools & functions [Part 1]

December 30, 2010 in Design Tips & Tutorials, Illustrator, Tutorials with 0 Comments

If you’re new to Adobe Illustrator, the first thing you would need to familiarize yourself with are the tools. They may seem very alien to you right now, but this quick guide will help give you a clearer view of what each tool is and what they’re used for.

As there are so many tools, I’m splitting up the tutorial into 6 parts so that it gives you time to digest and practice ;)

1. The first most basic tool is the Selection Tool.

2. The Direct Selection Tool

3. The Magic Wand Tool

If you’ve been using Photoshop, taking one look at this tool tells you that this is the magic wand tool. But don’t be mistaken. In Illustrator, its functions and uses are not at all the same as how you’d use it in Photoshop.

4. Lasso Tool

A helpful tool that lets you select areas of a complicated object quickly.

5. Pen Tool

The pen tool is probably the most intimidating tool for beginners, but it’s also one of the most valuable tools.
Since I want to make it as simple as possible for beginners, I’ll just provide the very basics of using the Pen tool for the time being. I will do another more detailed post on the Pen tool in the near future ;)

6. Add Anchor Point Tool

7. Delete Anchor Point Tool

8. Convert Anchor Point Tool

Well, that’s it for the time being. In Part 2, we will cover the rectangle tool, the line segment tool, paintbrush and pencil tools as well as the blob and scissors tool. I’m also giving you the free vector bee for practice purposes. Download vector bee here.