Pen Tool
As discussed previously on our blog, the importance of pen tool, sure pen tool can be intimidating.
One of the tools designers should familiarize themselves with coherently is pen tool as it is one of the most used tools which help in build custom vector graphics and logos.
It can be frustrating to master the pen tool as it requires a lot of patience to work with it. Once a person is familiar with its in and out working it’s as easy as piece of cake.
Clipping Masks
Masks limit a pattern, group of shapes, paths or whatever you wish to a specific area, and have a multitude of uses. I found them an incredible time saver and for this reason, I think every beginner should learn to use them.
Pathfinder
One of the most useful panels in illustrator as it comes in handy while creating new shapes, it contains several option such as Add, Subtract, Intersect etc. Once a designer is familiar with the pathfinder, they should move on to shape builder as it gets the job done quicker.
Brushes
Learn to create custom brushes, when you know how to create custom brushes you can sell them online as well as get an intricate job finished in a very short time, eg; creating a sky. You can create a sky with the brush tool if your brush has been created in the shape of a cloud.
Layer Panel
Previously published in the blog is an article explaining the importance and use of layer panel. Although the article explains the working of the layer panel in Photoshop, the layer panel in illustrator isn’t very different. It’s almost the same as Photoshop. Layer panel helps in the organization of the vector graphics.
Swatch Libraries
Even though there are a lot of aspects of illustrator which makes it one of the best software for graphic design. One of its such features is swatches library which has a pre-installed swatches ranging from skin tones to corporate colors, patterns etc.
Save your vector art
If you're saving your vector as a gif, jpg or png. Learn how to Save for Web. It's really pretty easy but often overlooked. The first step is to make sure that your Artboard is correctly exposing all the artwork you want saved. You can use the Artboard Tool (Shift-O) to do this. Secondly, go to File > Save for Web. Select your file type and you’re good to go!
Don’t give up!
Last but not the least, sure learning something new can be intimidating don’t give up on pursuing something that you’re passionate about. There are a lot of resources beyond Adobe to learn about vector graphics, nobody became a pro overnight! Believe in yourself.
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