Powerful reasons to learn Illustrator for Business or Personal use

Why learn Adobe Illustrator? Adobe Illustrator is a very versatile design software that can be used both for personal and business. You don’t have to be a professional or have a vast knowledge of Illustrator to do a lot of things in Illustrator. You can learn the basics and as you do designs you will learn and discover more.

Should I learn Photoshop or Illustrator first?

It is better to start with Adobe illustrator first as it has a smooth learning curve. Once you have mastered it, you can move to Adobe Photoshop to learn all that it has to offer.

Why learn Adobe Illustrator?

The more you can do for yourself, the more you can use the cash you save for something else. You may also use the skills as another stream of income. Below is a list of things that you can do with Illustrator for Business or Personal. Let me show you 35 reasons to learn Adobe Illustrator. You can use this powerful software to create:

Logos Business Cards Social Media Graphics Blog Post Templates Poster or Flyer Social Media Banners Infographics Branded Icons Buttons Thank-you Notes Invitations Printable Items Custom Products Newsletter Banners Email Signatures Facebook Ads Brochures Handouts or Coupons Gift Cards Print Ads T-Shirts Postcards and Mailers Signage Video Thumbnails Stickers Media Kit Worksheets Shelf Organizers Welcome Packets Digitizing Hand-Lettered Text Digital Illustrations Children’s Book Illustrations Package Designs Die Cut Guides Book and Magazine covers

1] Logos

Logos are the face and signature of a business. There are so many things that customers, potential customers, investors, and potential investors get from looking at a logo. It is therefore very important to plan and execute a proper logo. However, getting professional help with a logo can be quite costly, so knowing how to make one can save you some money. Another advantage of knowing how to design logos is the fact that you can evaluate logos built by others to know if the logo makes sense.

2] Business Cards

Business cards are little summaries of your business that you hand out to potential clients. Business cards are important as they can be easily given to potential clients who have the business information for later use. Getting your business card to the right person at the right time can mean getting lifelong clients. If your business is good people will continue to advertise for you. One business card to the right person can go a long way. Learning to do your business card or making business cards for some extra income can be very helpful.

3] Social Media Graphics

Illustrator is not only great for printed items, but it is also great for designs that will be used online. Illustrator can be used to make social media graphics for your business or personal use. Illustrator can make the same design in multiple sizes so that it can fit any of your social media sites. Creating catchy social media graphics will be more attractive than plain text and you will soon have more likes and followers.

4] Blog Post Templates

Templates are great for business and personal use. They make life so much easier because they save lots of time. For each blog, you just change the picture and words and post. Templates are also good to use because it keeps texts and designs uniform and consistent across all platforms.

5] Poster or Flyer

Posters or flyers are great ways to advertise your business or for personal use. They can be either distributed by print or distributed digitally. They can be used to advertise events, promotions, or any other information that you want persons to know. They can be designed in Illustrator and printed at a print shop or on your own printer.

6] Social Media Banners

You can use Illustrator to create professional-looking banners. Illustrator can be used to create banners that are uniform and cohesive so that your social media accounts have one consistent look.

7] Infographics

Here is something that may or may not surprise you, if you put your information or blog as a graphic of your social media account, it will get more reads and shares. Infographics are more interesting and grab attention quicker than regular text blogs. For example. Graphics are easier to read and process in the brain than text. Infographics would use graphics to represent words, so it is easier for a person scrolling through to get the message. Another point is that we all secretly love to read books and information that has pictures. A blog or content that is straight text will be less attractive than one that is a mixture of text and graphics. With all that being said, it would be easier and cheaper to be able to make your own infographics for your blog sites.

8] Branded Icons

Branded icons are a great way to add life to your website or blog site. Branded icons are little pictures that represent words. They can be used to represent categories on your website or blog site. For example, a hardware website may use branded icons that look like hardware items to be linked to different categories of items. This visual representation can add some interest to the website and people will easily find what they are looking for. Branded icons can also leave a lasting image in a person’s mind, and they will always remember your blog or website.

9] Buttons

You can spice up your website or blog site by creating little buttons. You just need to use Illustrator to create custom buttons, place them on the website and add a URL so that when clicked they will take the user to another section of your website.

10] Thank You Notes

You will have persons who have been a help to you in some way or some great clients that you just want to thank. Using Illustrator to create a great thank you note is a nice way to reach out and show appreciation. Persons will appreciate it more when they see the care you took in creating the thank you note.

11] Invitations

At some point, everyone will have an event and will want invitations. You may also have family members and friends who need invitations to a wedding, or some other event and you can contribute by using Illustrator to make the invitations.

12] Printable Items

Printable items are great ways to show appreciation and to get some advertising out. Printable calendars, bookmarkers, and other items can be used to show appreciation and advertise your business.

13] Custom Products

Custom products are great way to add some personality to your items. Some companies that will allow you to send in your design and they add it to items like mouse pads, bags, and other products, these can set your business apart or make your gaming station at home look good. Illustrator can be used to design the graphics and you can have the company print them. There are also home small home print and transfer machines that can be used at home to customize your products.

14] Newsletter Banners

You may have a newsletter that you send out digitally or in print. You can use illustrator to create a nice banner for your newsletter.

15] Email Signatures

An email signature is a great way to add some personality to your email. It can also be a great way to add advertisements to your email. You can use Illustrator to create a nice custom email signature. The email signature can be made to have a link so that when it is clicked it takes the user to a web page of your choice.

16] Facebook Ads

You can use illustrator to make the ads that you want to put on Facebook. You can create multiple variations of the same design so that you have multiple options to choose from. When someone else designs them for you, it can be a pain to have them create multiple designs for you to choose from, and it may be expensive too.

17] Brochures

Brochures are great ways to get information out. They are small and can be designed in so many ways. They can be designed in different colors and different folds to fit your taste.

18] Handouts or Coupons

Your business may have a physical location or even online. You can use Illustrator to design handouts or coupons to attract customers. The handouts may be advertising a grand opening or sale or a way to sensitize persons about your business. Coupons may be offering discounts and free items if the coupon is shown at the store or if the code is used online. The handouts and coupons are great ways to get to persons who may not be so tech-savvy and persons who may prefer the physical store and paper.

19] Gift Cards

Gift cards are a great way to attract clients and treat family members. You can get clients or family members to choose their own gifts for birthdays. Weddings, anniversaries, and other occasions. Businesses can use gift cards to reward loyal customers or as a means of saying sorry for a bad experience. It is an advantage to be able to use Illustrator to design the look of your gift cards.

20] Print Ads

Lots of people are moving to digital advertising. However, there are still customers to be had with print advertisements. Lots of people still enjoy the feel of paper and they will not mind printed ads. The local newspaper can be a great place to use printed ads as inserts to reach readers. Illustrator can be used to design these printed ads to reach these customers.

21] T-shirts

There is a trend going around where people can design t-shirts and sell them online. They just need to design, and the website will print and send out when the customer buys. Being able to do great designs for the t-shorts will attract more people to buy. You can also print your own t-shirts at home with your own designs. You just need a computer, Illustrator, an inkjet printer, a heat press, or your iron and transfer or sublimation paper. You would be surprised how well you can design and print some great t-shirts that could eventually be a business. T-shirts are a great way to advertise your business and get people to advertise your business. You can use illustrator to design and print your t-shirts at home for the next family reunion. T-shirt mockups with the picture or logo can be outlined in Illustrator so that you can have an idea of what the finished product would look like.

22] Postcards and Mailers

Postcards and mailers are great ways to get the word out there about an event or product you want people to know about. You can use Illustrator to design these and send them out to people. You can share your next vacation with friends and family members by taking interesting photos and using Illustrator to make postcards to share.

23] Signage

Signs need to be big and stand out so that people can see them. Illustrator is great for signage because Illustrator creates vector images and vector images can be made very large without getting pixelated. This makes Illustrator great for signage.

24] Video Thumbnail

Video Thumbnails are more important than you might think. Video thumbnails are what people see when they look at a video before playing it. The video thumbnail gives the viewer an idea of what the video is about. A good video thumbnail will attract more viewers. Go to YouTube and you will see that you view the thumbnail before you watch the video.

25] Stickers

Stickers are great to make and to have. They can advertise your business or personalize your water bottle, laptop, bags, books, or almost anything. Learn to use Illustrator and you can make your own stickers for business or personal.

26] Media Kit

Illustrator is a great program to use when you want to make your media kit. A media kit is a collection of important information that a media that is advertising your brand would need. The media kit would include your logo, pictures of products, and anything else that the media would need. The media kit will need graphics to go with the information it contains, and Illustrator is just the right tool to use to create impressive graphics.

27] Worksheets

Whatever is your field of work, you can create worksheets using illustrator. Whether you are a teacher, blogger, or service-based business, Illustrator can help you put together your worksheet.

28] Shelf Organizers

From a large warehouse to your kitchen cupboard, who doesn’t hate to see clutter or things where they are not supposed to be or can’t find them at all. Illustrator can be used to create cards that can be used to organize shelves. These shelf organizers will help workers or your family members out things where they belong and know where to find them. They save the hassle of wasting time looking for things all over the place.

29] Welcome Packets

Every organization at one point or another will have to welcome new members. Making the new members feel welcome is a good start to making them feel at home. Illustrator is a great program for making attractive welcome packages to make your new members feel welcome.

30] Digitizing Hand-Lettered Text

Those who are artists and write beautiful hand lettered texts with or without a stencil can now use illustrator to digitize them. Just draw on any surface, take a picture or scan if possible then use Illustrator to draw over the text and turn it into a vector that can be easily reproduced for digital or print media.

31] Digital Illustrations

Children’s books are great places for illustrations, and with the rise of digital books, there is a need for digital illustrations. Illustrator is the perfect program to use to create digital illustrations. Digital illustrations are good for those who may not be able to draw on paper but have an interest in art. Illustrator is a great way to make art.

32] Children’s Book Illustration

Illustrator is a great way to create illustrations for children’s books. Children are visual readers as well and their books must have interesting pictures to keep them interested.

33] Package Design

Designing packages for products is a great way to use Illustrator. Packaging is very important and no matter how good the product is, if the packaging is not well done, customers will not be attracted. You may have some great ideas for your product packaging and being able to make your own is very good.

34] Die Cut Guides

We go to the stores, and we pick up a carton of ice cream or a box of biscuits, but we never actually know how the package was made. To make large amounts of packages uniformly, manufacturers use die. Dies are metal blades that are made in the shapes of the item to be made. The die is then placed on the paper or cardboard and pressed down, and it cut the paper or cardboard out. The die is made to cut out all the sections including the parts that are glued, that we don’t usually see. Illustrator can be used to make the die-cut guides for making the die that will cut the package. Here are a few things that are made using dies– envelopes, pizza boxes, paper bags, wedding invitations, and many other everyday items.

This is the Die Cut Guide for a container that is used for ice cream or other products. The wider outer edges with the red lines are used to show the package manufacturer where to apply glue, perforate, or fold.

35] Book and Magazine Covers

Whether for business or personal, Illustrator can be used to create great books and magazine covers. Even if you are not the one printing the covers, you can be the one to design them. There is a satisfaction that comes with seeing your handiwork on display.

Read: How to make a Flat Image look 3D in Illustrator

What is a die?

A die is a shaped metal with a sharp edge that is used to cut out items in a certain shape. It is like a template of what the item is supposed to look like. Dies are used for cutting many things that need to be in a certain shape. For example, if you have pizza boxes to cut you could make a die in the shape of the pizza box when it is folded out flat, then use the die to cut cardboard in that shape and then fold it to form the box.

How can I learn to use Illustrator?

You can learn to use illustrator by acquiring the software and enrolling in a school that does graphics. You can also learn illustrator by visiting where I will be posting how-to articles and other Illustrator articles. There are also sites that do paid, or free courses and Illustrator is one of the courses offered. You can also learn more about using and making things with Illustrator on Youtube.

How long does it take to learn Illustrator?

Learning the basics of Adobe Illustrator takes less than a month. To master the software and become a pro, would take you around 6 months.

How Can I Draw my art in Illustrator?

The cheapest way that you can draw your art in illustrator is by first drawing it by hand, then you can take a pic with a digital camera or phone and upload it to your computer. You may also scan the art onto your computer with a regular scanner. You then open the art in Illustrator, and you can trace over it with the Pen Tool. You would put the art on one layer, double click on that layer in the layers window then click a template, Illustrator will dim the image to about 50% automatically. You can dim the image even more if you like. The dimming of the image makes it easier for you to trace over it. You would then use the pen tool or any other tools or shapes to trace over the image. When you are done tracing over the image you can remove the original and add colors to the traced image.

You may also use a graphic tablet or drawing tablets to draw straight into Illustrator. This is more expensive since these tablets may be quite expensive. However, these tablets make it easier to draw and color directly into Illustrator.

What jobs can I get after learning Illustrator?

There are a lot of Jobs that could use the skills learned in Illustrator. Persons with Illustrator skills could be an illustrator for story books. Illustrator would also be a plus in a marketing position as it would allow the person to be able to design and critique advertisements and marketing campaigns. Illustrator would be quite handy in package designing for products. Illustrator would be a plus in books and magazine design. Illustrator is usually one of the skills that a good graphic artist would learn. Persons with Illustrator skills could design advertisements for social media and print campaigns.

What jobs can I get after learning Photoshop?

After learning Photoshop, you could get a job as a graphic designer for an organization or use this skill to be self-employed. Photo studios usually need persons who are good at Photoshop to do re-touches on photos before they are printed. They also need persons to design portraits and add decorations or backgrounds to pictures for clients. Photoshop skills would be quite handy to design business stationery, business cards, logos, printables and so much more. Usually, skills in photoshop would make it easy to be a freelance graphic artist or a great skill to have as a marketing consultant. Did you know that even interior decorators use photoshop to do mockups of projects that they need to design? This helps them to get a look at their ideas before they start the actual work.

Now read: Reasons why you should learn Photoshop.

10 Essential Tips & Tools All Adobe Illustrator Beginners Should Learn – 110Designs Blog

Things aren’t how they used to be. In the past, programs with limited functions made it easier to pinpoint which tools you should be learning as a beginner. These days, however, given how many tools, tips and tricks there are to learn, you can often feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.

I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator for well over 10 years now and I’m obsessed with vector. I’m here to share with you my 10 essential tips and tools all Adobe Illustrator beginners should learn. These items were all tools and tips which have become part of my regular vector process and without them, I think I’d wither and die. Or just not create as well as I’d hope. It’s the same thing, really—let’s be honest.

So enough, let’s get stuck into this list.

1. Don’t Be Afraid of the Pen Tool

The Pen Tool can be a scary tool for beginners. It took me a while to be able to “tame” it, but don’t let this put you off. Once you’ve mastered this tool, you can take on anything in Adobe Illustrator.

2. Master Clipping Masks

Clipping Masks were a game changer for me. So much so that I wish I had discovered them a lot sooner in my Adobe Illustrator journey.

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.

3. Become One with the Pathfinder Panel

I love the Pathfinder panel. It’s true. When it comes to creating shapes made out of other shapes, the Pathfinder panel has a selection of options to help you create the perfect shape. It’s especially useful given trends of flat design and illustrations made from basic shapes.

I’m not finished though. Once you’ve learnt the many ways of the Pathfinder panel, kick it up a notch and learn how to use the Shape Builder Tool. It’s like Shape Modes, but a lot quicker!

4. Embrace the Appearance Panel

Do you find yourself duplicating the same shape over and over again to add different fills at different opacities over the top of each other? Well you’re doing it wrong. You could be doing the same thing but with just one shape, by using the Appearance panel.

The Appearance panel and Graphic Styles seemed like something only advanced users knew when I first started out. I was intimidated by it. But once you learn how to use the Appearance panel, it will rock your world. Here’s something to blow your mind: guess how many anchor points and shapes make up the following single sliced kiwi fruit?

If you answered anything other than four anchor points/one shape, you’re so wrong and you should learn how to use the Appearance panel! Just one shape was used to create this, and it demonstrates exactly how powerful the Appearance panel is.

5. Learn How to Make Brushes

If there’s one function of Adobe Illustrator which I geek out on, it has to be the ability to make and use my own custom brushes. Finding new uses for brushes and creative ways to apply them is my vector drug.

I find I use art brushes more than any other type, especially these Width Profile inspired brushes.

There are many different types of brushes you can create, and once you learn them inside and out, you’ll find many practical and experimental ways to use them.

6. Practice Layers Panel Zen

Now this doesn’t really benefit the end result of your vector work (unless you’re selling your work as a vector file), but I strongly recommend that beginners learn how to organize their vector files. That means everything from organizing and naming your Layers panel to getting rid of colors and resources in your file which are not being used.

We all know that being organized makes things easier in the long run, as there’s less confusion. So to take one thing away from the learning process to make it easier for you, practice Layers panel Zen.

7. Fall in Love with Color

There are many aspects of Adobe Illustrator which are there to make life that little bit easier. One of those for me are the Swatch libraries, which come with every version of Illustrator. These range from funky gradients to palettes of skin tones to default patterns and textures.

These can be found by going into your Swatches panel and going into the drill-down menu. From there select Open Swatch Library and then marvel at the selection you’re presented with.

I’m a big fan of the skin tone palettes and the basic pattern textures. Check them out and have a play with them.

In addition, there is the awesomeness of Recolor Artwork and Adobe Color (previously called Adobe Kuler).

8. Have Fun with Pattern Options

It wasn’t until Illustrator CS6 that patterns were made easy with Pattern Options, and I tell you, it’s like the heavens have opened and blessed every vector artist. Pattern Options, even if you don’t actively create patterns, is one of the most fun functions you can come across. I may be overselling it a bit but I remember when it was released, all I wanted to do was create patterns.

But you can create so much more with Pattern Options. Think of the endless possibilities of creating your own seamless textures! That’s what grabbed me and helped me kick my artwork up a notch.

9. Save Your Vector Art Correctly

I have this great annoyance with some vector artists. As talented as they can be with coming up with fantastic artwork, they fall at the last hurdle. And I don’t want you to make the same mistake. It’s a fundamental function which even if you ignore everything I’ve written here today, I want you to take on board… learn how to save your vector art correctly.

If you’re saving your vector as a gif, jpg or png, I want you, for the love of all that’s scalable—please, I’m begging here—to 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 BAM!

10. Accept It Doesn’t Happen Overnight

The last tip isn’t specific to Adobe Illustrator but to most new skills you begin learning, but I feel it’s very true for those getting into vector art. It’s to understand that you’re not going to be a pro overnight. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get it right first, second, tenth time when you’re starting out. Vector art is hard for anyone new.

Over the past couple of years, more than most, I’ve seen vector art grow from strength to strength. The need for it in design and illustration has made it such a sought-after skill, and it’s worth adding to your toolkit.

Have fun with it, take part in the many vector communities out there, and challenge yourself. Just don’t be afraid to fail. Pick yourself up and keep at it, as it’s a rewarding medium to work with.

Keep Pushing Yourself, You’ll Get There!

You don’t know how easy you’ve got it. As a vector beginner, keep researching and keep pushing yourself. Put your head up high and embrace this scalable path you’re venturing on. It’s a good one. It’s an amazing one.

Learn Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts

Hello, my name is Christian and I am a graphic designer based in Massachusetts. In this tutorial we will be going over how to learn Adobe Illustrator keyboard shortcuts. This tutorial will be organized in 4 steps. First we will go over where to find the shortcuts, which shortcuts I recommend learning, how to make flashcards within the app Anki, and lastly my custom Flashcard decks which you can purchase.

Where to Find Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts

The first place to look for help with Adobe products is the Adobe Help Center. Adobe has created a great page for Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts. On said page you can find downloadable jpgs of the keyboard shortcuts for both mac or windows, list of the keyboard shortcuts, and instructions on how to download a text document that contains all default keyboard shortcuts and all programmable actions that can be assigned a keyboard shortcut.

To download the text document, open Adobe Illustrator go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. In the pop up menu called Keyboard Shortcuts click on the Export Text button and save the file.

A more natural way to learn Adobe Illustrator is through the program. You can hover over any icon in the tools panel such as the pen tool and it will show you the keyboard shortcut. Also, within the menus the keyboard shortcuts are called out. This is great way to find and learn shortcuts that are relevant to you.

Which Shortcuts Should I Learn?

The first shortcuts you should learn are the ones that are most important to your workflow. Things that you are doing repeatedly such as copying and pasting items or navigating the workspace. I will share my top 20 shortcuts for beginners.

Shortcuts Windows MacOS Active Hand Tool Spacebar Spacebar Active Hand Tool (working Type) Alt Alt Zoom In Ctrl + Cmd + Zoom Out Ctrl - Cmd - Copy Ctrl C Cmd C Paste Ctrl V Cmd V Cut Ctrl X Cmd X Paste in Front Ctrl F Cmd F Paste in Back Ctrl B Cmd B Group Ctrl G Cmd G Ungroup Shift Ctrl G Shift Cmd G Lock Selection Ctrl 2 Cmd 2 Unlock All Ctrl Alt 2 Cmd Opt 2 Hide Selection Ctrl 3 Cmd 3 Show All Ctrl Alt 3 Cmd Opt 3 Select All Ctrl A Cmd A Save Ctrl S Cmd S Print Ctrl P Cmd P Undo Ctrl Z Cmd Z Redo Shift Ctrl Z Shift Cmd Z

Top 20 Illustrator Shortcuts for Beginners Video

How to Make Flashcards with Anki

So you've found the shortcuts you want to learn but how do you memorize them? For me I found that using a flashcard app was the best way. I recommend the app Anki but there are other options such as Cram or Quizlet. The following instructions will go over how to install and create cards with Anki.

Download the Anki App

Visit the Anki Website to download and install the app. First select your platform and follow the instructions on the download page. Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android versions are free. For iOs there is a paid version of Anki or you can try the free iOs app Cram.

Now that you have the app it is time to create a deck of flashcards.

Create a Deck

Click on the CREATE DECK button

Name the deck

Create a Card

Click the ADD button

Enter data into the FRONT and BACK fields. Click the ADD button

Begin Studying

Click on the DECK NAME

Click on the STUDY NOW button

I have created a deck with 30 Keyboard Shortcuts for Beginners which you can use. Directions on how to install custom decks and links to my Intermediate and Expert decks follow in the next section.

Beginner Ai Keyboard Shortcuts Deck

MAC | WINDOWS

Intermediate Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts Flashcard Decks

If you don't have the time to create multiple Flashcard Decks and want a guided study course for learning Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts then I have a product for you. With my Adobe Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts - Anki Flashcards you will get three tiers of Flashcards with shortcuts for both Mac and Windows. The three tiers are Beginner (30 cards), Intermediate (83 cards), and Expert (243 cards). You will also receive a pdf cheat sheet of the Keyboard Shortcuts. All this for only $3.00. Learning the keyboard shortcuts will speed up your design process which will allow you to spend more time being creative and less time looking for ways to complete your project.

That's it for this tutorial. Hope it has been helpful. Let me know if you enjoyed it. Take care and have a good day.