Hurrah! We are back with links to some amazing Vector tutorials for beginners and advanced designers.
Adobe Illustrator is one of the best applications for creating vector art and so all tutorials mentioned here focus on this great application and it awesome features and benefits. If you have any prior experience using other graphic applications you will find Illustrator very intuitive. But, there are certain aspects of the software which may seem intimidating.
The tutorials mentioned here are not entirely for intermediate and advance users. In fact the list begins with some very basic tutorials for beginners and progresses to a much advance level. So if you’re looking for advance lessons on the subject, you may want to scroll down a bit.
If you're new to Vector Graphics, you may want to see our previous post on ‘What Vector Art is‘.
So all who are new to Illustrator and also those who have an experienced hand at the application can benefit too. Please read on!
Here’s the awesome list of 20 Vector Tutorials for Beginners and Advanced Designers.
1. Illustrator Beginner’s Series
This is not a single tutoriall and in fact a comprehensive series which walks you through the Illustrator interface and its basic tools and capabilities. So if you’re starting out in Illustrator, this is just the right place to head to.
2. Illustrator Training Course
This is another awesome series for beginners where you have 30 tutorials of 20 minutes each. You also get a schedule where you can plan to cover these tutorials over a month.
Vectordiary has also planned and spread these tutorials over a month, so that you work everyday and progess steadily. You may rush if you have prior experience with other application, but you are recommended to stick to the schedule if you are a beginner.
3. klethegr8 Guides & Tutorials
So once you are done learning the basics and are pretty confident to move on, here’s the next step. Klethegr8 helps you with understand some complex ideas within Illustrator that might be really confusing for a beginner. Here you learn about the ‘pathfinder panel’, the ‘apperance panel’ and everything about masks within Illustrator. Klethegr8 also gives some great insight in to using gradients within Illustrator that might baffle in an Intermediate user. So make sure you understand these concepts thoroughly before you move on.
4. Mastering Illustrator Effects
After you are sure about the basics of Illustrator you may want to take a few more steps. The Effects Menu offers great possibilities to take your artwork to the next level. Most of these effects are simple, yet so useful that it can save you hours of work. For instance, Stylize in Effects helps you transform a simple rectangle in to a rounded corner one. Also a Pucker and Bloat tool in Distort & Transform helps you change a rectangle into diamond and flower shapes with ease.
5. Illustrator’s Type Tool: A Comprehensive Introduction
Text is one of the core parts of any artwork. A good understanding of this tool can help you make the text content more presentable and effective. This tutorial helps you learn everything about the text tool and its related panels – character and paragraph panel. Further it delves in to the text settings in the preferences dialog as well. The entire tutorial is wrapped up with some great hints and tips related to the text tool.
6. Create a cute purse icon
So once you are done with all the technical grueling learning stuff, it’s time to take a leap into creating some exciting graphics with what you’ve learnt. We shall now create a ‘cute purse’. In the process you are going to learn some great tricks which can come real handy later.
7. A Comprehensive Guide: Illustrator’s Paintbrush Tool and Brush Panel
Illustrator offers 4 kinds of brushes to work with. It’s a very powerful tool which can help you create some great masterpieces if you know it well. This comprehensive tutorial helps you get a deeper understanding of the brush tool and also teaches you to create your own brushes.
8. How to Create a Climbing Rope Pattern Brush
All that you’ve learnt in the previous exhaustive tutorial is going to payback now. This great tutorial explains how to create a climbing rope pattern using the brush tool. You are going to love this tutorial.
9. Working with Illustrator ‘Art’ Brushes: Options and Adjustments
This tutorial on bittbox gives some great tips on using the brush. You should visit this tutorial to know a bit more about the brush that you may have missed earlier. After this tutorial you can be certain to know a great deal about the brush in Illustrator.
The Funs not over yet! 10 more vector tutorials for beginners and advanced designers.
10. The Power (and ease) of Patterns in Illustrator
Bitboxx once again throws some light on a much overlooked aspect of patterns in Illustrator. Mostly, as designers we quickly rule out the possibilities in Illustrator and take the help of Plug-ins for tasks such as Pattern creation. I suggest you take this tutorial to learn more about the Pattern creating capabilities in Illustrator. You would certainly be surprised.
11. Illustrator’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide
Can’t get a grip on the pen tool in Illustrator? Here’s a great tutorial that can help you command the pen tool to do just what you want. Vectortuts gives you a thorough understanding of the pen tool, its shortcuts and some best practices that can help you save time and effort.
12. Fun with Illustrator’s Blend Tool
If you’ve been wondering how to create abstract lines in Illustrator. You’ll be amazed at how easily this can be achieved using the Blend tool in Illustrator. You understand how various abstract art can be created using this wonderful option.
13. Illustrator 3D: Bust Down the 2D Barrier
We all have learnt that Illustrator is a 2D application. That for the most part is true. But Illustrator CS versions and above come with 3D object creation capabilities through the effects panel. This tutorial is just about that.
14. Create A Briefcase Icon
This is a great tutorial which will help you to understand the detailing that goes in to creating an artwork. As you work through this tutorial you will learn some amazing tricks which can be later included in to your workflow.
15. Create An Editable Stitched Label Type Treatment
Are you tired of using text bluntly? Here’s a great tut that can help you see the great potential of Illustrator, understand the artistic possibilities within this graphic application and encourage you to think differently.
16. How to Create an Open Book with Illustrator’s 3D Extrude & Bevel Tool
Take the 3D features in Illustrator to the next level. Creating a 3D book in Illustrator will definitely boost your confidence with the 3D tools. Plus this tutorial combines various techniques to create a magnificent product in the end which can be very useful.
17. Create a Macbook Pro Illustration Left Side View
This is an extremely long tutorial but will really help you look into the detailing that goes into creating realistic illustrations. Most of it is a combination of techniques that you’ve learnt earlier. But you will come across some fabulous tricks that make this tutorial a must visit.
18. How to Create Realistic, Vector Bubbles
Yet another realistic illustration tutorial. The first glimpse of this tutorial will leave you spellbound without fail. Its magical how this amazing illustration can be achieved in 21 steps. Check it out yourself.
19. Illustrator Tutorial: Realistic Vector Orange
Another photorealistic illustration that will blow your mind. This one uses effects wonderfully to create a graphic which would otherwise seem possible in photoshop alone. This tutorial again brings out the power of Illustrator as a great software for vector illustrations.
20. How to Create a Vector Illustration and Prepare it for Micro-Stock Sale
If you’ve grown pretty confident about your Illustrator skills, you may want to monetize on it. Won’t that be a treat? This tutorial helps you create this beautiful Illustration first and then helps you with steps to get it ready for Microstock where you can put it up for download.
To make the most of these tutorials, remember to do them step by step. Perhaps if you know the concepts, you may want to have a quick read. Even if you’re an experienced Illustrator user, you will definitely come across new tricks now and then in the tutorials posted.
I hope you find these Vector Tutorials for Beginners and Advanced Designers useful, Enjoy!
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