Adobe Illustrator Tutorial for Beginners

In this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial, we will be going through how to use the Pen Tool. As I am creating my artwork, notice I am aligning the Tools to the Shapes and Lines within my Sketch or Drawing. Many of you will be using Shape, Pencil, and Pen Tools as your Primary Building Tools. PUG TUTORIAL: jasonsecrest.com/getting_star...
HOMEPAGE: jasonsecrest.com/
BEGINNER GUIDES: Many of our tutorials will follow an easy process for creating artwork in Adobe Illustrator. If you are new to Adobe Illustrator, start with our Beginner Guides or KZbin Playlists. Understand how to apply the Primary Building Tools and Options in Adobe Illustrator.
jasonsecrest.com/beginner-gui...
ILLUSTRATOR TUTORIALS: I have organized tutorials by core areas of your Workflow: Building, Editing, and Coloring. Pay attention to the Sequence of Events and Tool Options related to building a "Routine" or "Workflow." Understand how to apply Building, Variation, Editing, and Advanced Color Techniques.
jasonsecrest.com/tutorials/
DIGITAL DOWNLOADS: Many of you are jumping over from KZbin looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Digital Downloads will come through our friends at Teachable. Download Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, and T-Shirt Textures.
jasonsecrest.teachable.com/
RESOURCE GUIDES: Digital Downloads will come as Zipped Folders. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Resource Folders, they are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Start with our Resource Guides, Illustrator Tutorials, or KZbin Playlists.
jasonsecrest.com/resource_gui...
Copyright & Legal: All characters, artwork, and tutorial videos are copyrighted by Jason Secrest. Tutorials, characters, and artwork are for educational purposes only and should not be reproduced, sold, distributed, or made into products for commercial use without expressed written consent. This applies to any derivative work created from the tutorials and characters.
#jasonsecrest #adobeillustrator #illustratortutorials #stepbysteptutorials

[@lukeskywalkertheauror]

Love these tutorials! Clear - Modern and answer all of my questions. Thank you!

[@noraconnolly3674]

this is def more my skill level! I just got my wacom tablet and was looking for good videos. These are execellent! thx Jason!

[@rebeccabrooks69]

Incredible resource! Thank you so much for providing these classes! I illustrate childrens books and have just begun to use illustrator:)

[@suvixenjade6271]

Love this! Highly educational! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@Liberti_Deveraux]

You made my life so much easier as a beginner!! Thank you so much for this!!

[@BruceWayne-oz6cx]

Very helpful Tutorial - Thank you a lot. (i used Illustrator long ago and try to recover my knowledge with tutorials like yours)

[@thisisjaychauhan]

You have amazing resources and amazing way of explaining things. Thank you so much for doing all this. I am starting these tutorials now and really liking it.

[@summer3276]

Incredible!! Thank you so much!!!!

[@Tia29451]

Exactly what i was looking for! Thank you!

[@sebastiancabrera3763]

great video. helps out a lot

[@christinahawe7111]

Woohoo! I love this challenge. I am trying to make the switch over to illustrator for my PS drawings and just about pulled all my hair out so this is awesome. Love your clear and easy to follow instructions. Subscribed

[@toolzshed]

whoa that is so cool :o Using a tablet is awesome!

[@spectre3492]

Great channel man. Looking for tutorials on illustrator and looks like this fits the bill

[@JasonSecrest]

Have an Illustrator question or topic you would like to see a tutorial on?

[@chinesefood2222]

Jason Secrest I have literally NO experience in illustrator but I do have a tablet already. But how did you get the anchor point guides???

[@JasonSecrest]

The anchor point guides are just a screenshot after selecting with the white/black arrow. The tutorial videos are the 2nd/3rd time through. On all of my 1st round inking I am tracing my original sketch/drawing.

[@mrsetamayple]

Hi Jason, i just wanted to thank you for your selflessness, you are a remarkable human being. You are literally pouring your heart out patiently as well as your resources. I've learnt so much already. I'm excited to do more with Illustrator and my Wacom tab. God bless you brother.

[@vivienthecreator917]

Thanks homes very helpful.

[@aklodtv]

Wow i think i should watch your videos frequently.

[@djpolo5458]

You just got a subscriber my friend many thanks.

[@reviews_by_annie]

awesome, thank you

[@lephuoctongvietnam]

Thanks you for sharing! 🧡💜🌹👍

[@spectre3492]

You should do illustrator tutorials on movie posters, specifically ones from alternative movie posters

[@cyrismaez3401]

Still relevant today!

[@NegraLi34]

Hi. this may be a dumb question but once you have the pen tool path what is the difference between all this tracing and simply selecting them all and painting the 'stroke' black? (Then later adjust the the stroke lines with the width tool)

[@JasonSecrest]

Width tool is great- it will just take longer to adjust each path. I prefer width for greater control and brushes for efficency

[@TheAcousticframe]

Hey Jason Very Good video but i have a problem with my wacom and the pencil tool It all works perfectly except i dont get the little preview line like you do at 4:21 when using the pencil tool with it When im using the mouse it appears perfectly normal but when im drawing withe the tablet it just shows for the first fiew milimeters and the it stops and everything im drawing from that part on is more the less blindfolded Do you know a solution?

[@JasonSecrest]

Could be a computer issue with memory. I am not a big computer guy on memory or ram, but I have experienced some features turning on/off if too many programs are on, too big of a workspace, Are you working on a 5"x5" format?

[@byalexavila]

The link to your resources are not available :'( i can´t find the resources of this video in you web site

[@JasonSecrest]

www.jasonsecrest.com/tutorial-resources/

[@sobrevivientes]

Hi Jason, I've been using Illustrator for a while. Mostly for custom typeface work, logos, icons, etc. Haven't jumped into cartoons yet, but I like watching these tutorials. They always bring some questions worth answering for the sake of general knowledge. Wouldn't be the eyeballs work easier by selecting the 3 ellipses, the horizontal line and deleted the upper part with the shape building tool? Saves like a ton of zooming in/out and precise cutting. Thank you for sharing, you are making me consider starting this new adventure - drawing characters.

[@JasonSecrest]

Always assume there are at least 5 ways of doing something.This tutorial we just weren't using shape builder. Most of the beginner tutorials use tools that are easier for beginners to follow and that have less troubleshooting involved. So you are correct, I have a different workflow for efficiency and speed

[@sobrevivientes]

@@JasonSecrest Hey Jason, I wonder if you have a tutorial on How to Draw Cartoon Avatars. Being able to "Cartoonify" myself would be so cool. I've searched on KZbin and there are different styles, but I prefer yours.

[@micassohyde1733]

how did you upload the picture you traced

[@JasonSecrest]

If you are looking for the anchor point guide- go to www.jasonsecrest.com to get the resource folder link. Download Files & Extract. Then you will File- Place the APG file for the pug into your new document

[@alifahazera3188]

how you put dots?? when u were drawing u were going through blue dots that were already marked on the picture

[@JasonSecrest]

Anchor point guides are just a screenshot after I place down the lines (usually with the pen tool for dots). the video tutorials aren’t the first time through the design/character. The first run I get to lay down anchor points off of a rough sketch like everyone else.

[@chelseaalphonso5]

Great video, thank you so much! How did you get the pug outline that you start with?

[@JasonSecrest]

Hi Chelsea, the Anchor Point Guides are a screenshot of the completed line work stage after I ink the original sketch using the pen tool so you can see where I have placed my anchors.

[@Dan-uw5kq]

Hi Jason. I love the fact that you are passing on your knowledge to others. In trying to understand your process and to just expand on your reply above to Chelsea, in this video you ink over (trace) that line work with the pencil tool. So are you saying that after your first original sketch, you ink it using the pen tool (as you said above) and then you trace over that using the pencil tool? (as you demonstrate in the video). So would it be 1. I draw initial sketch 2. Ink over sketch with pen tool 3. Trace over step 2 with pencil tool?

[@JasonSecrest]

The video recording is my 2nd time doing the design. So the 1st time through the design I will go off my sketch and typically use the pen tool to minimize anchor points. Once I have gone all the way through to completed brushes is when I grab the anchor point guide for the tutorial recording. For the Pug tutorial there are 2 Day 1 videos pen or pencil. You wouldn’t have to do both videos unless you wanted to practice. So pen or pencil is the decision.

[@Pootatozz]

What version you adobr ilustrator?

[@JasonSecrest]

Currently I am running Adobe CC. This tutorial will work with older versions.

[@Katie-yl1nm]

7.40 - I can't work out how you're tidying up the little flicks/points so easily - can you advise please 😊

[@JasonSecrest]

Add/ Delete Anchors (keyboard shortcuts below) Tools are in the Pen Tool Menu Delete (-) Add(+)

[@libykim6259]

Jason, sometimes when I apply a cartoon brush and thickness to sharper curves (specifically the inside lines), they become weird (as in bumpy?)... If I recall correctly, you mentioned how to fix this in one of your videos, but I forgot where I saw it.

[@JasonSecrest]

Yep, the corners tend to act up with certain corners. 2 fixes 1. Use your delete anchor point tool (located in pen tool menu) ( shortcut minus (-)) to get rid of extra points. 2. Use smooth tool (located under pencil tool menu) draw over the corner to smooth out. I don't really like this tool for corners- it never gives the result you are looking for but it is worth mentioning if the corner is rounded.

[@libykim6259]

Jason Secrest Thanks so much!

[@darkari090]

i think this was asked before, buy why not just add black stroke to a pen path?

[@JasonSecrest]

I’m confused on your question- we have a black stroke on the paths we are creating in both day 1 videos. Are you referring to the anchor point guide jpeg? And why we don’t just add a black stroke to it?

[@dalecanflo]

ffff..FIGHT all the way through that word lol. Great tutorial tho bro! Keep selected wasn’t THAT bad tbh .Thank u ggggg..GREATLY! 👍🏾😂

[@praserttabud]

Please help i could not find download button the brushes i just bought

[@JasonSecrest]

I emailed you a few hours ago. Click on the Direct Download Section in the Brushes Curriculum

[@gauravshah025]

Hello Jason, very informative. 1 Question> Does illustrator has any rotate canvas option like Photoshop. I tend to draw easily when i rotate canvas in Photoshop. Thanks

[@JasonSecrest]

Gaurav, I played around with the Touch Workspace for the last day which will allow for pinching for zoom, but I didn't have any success with it rotating.

[@gauravshah025]

@@JasonSecrest Thanks jason

[@CraigLindeman]

If you were overlapping lines to create shapes and we're going to have a stroke, what's the best way to get rid of the overlapping parts?

[@JasonSecrest]

Great Question Craig, I would use the Eraser Tool or Shape Builder to get rid of the overlapping. Here is a more recent video that shows the Shape Builder Editing Process. Applying and Editing Brushes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pILMimmBbNF8eNk

[@CraigLindeman]

@@JasonSecrest Thanks Jason, keep up the great content!

[@dmitrilvov8279]

How to change shape?

[@JasonSecrest]

Turn on Show Bounding Box for transform tools. If that doesn't help let me know the time you are stuck at.

[@chrisxtillmandesignstudio9445]

Hey Jason! Love this video man. What tablet are you using, Intuos 5?

[@JasonSecrest]

I am using an Intous 3 in the video.

[@chrisxtillmandesignstudio9445]

Jason Secrest thank you man!

[@simisanoo5382]

These are great and so well organised. Really appreciated these step by step guides for total newcomers, intimidated on where and how to start. I subscribed to your mail, but I haven't recieved anything in my junk/deleted/other folders. Does it take some time? Thanks

[@JasonSecrest]

Type jason secrest or aweber into your email search- if you still can’t find it email me back on the confirmation email and I can resend it (need your email to resend/search)

[@simisanoo5382]

@@JasonSecrest Thanks I'll PM you now.

[@simisanoo5382]

@@JasonSecrest I can't seem to find anything, but when I enter my e-mail 'confirm your subscription' appears, so it looks like it's been sent but I've dug deep numerous times and nothing. Do you have a safe public email I can send to or any way to PM? Sorry for the trouble.

[@JasonSecrest]

Just click reply to the confirmation email.

[@simongraham9049]

@@JasonSecrest I wish I had the confirmation email. That's the issue.

[@heyavanes]

Any reason you use pencil tool? I've never used that. My art teacher never taught me but i dont know what's the advantage of it. I always use brush and pen tool

[@JasonSecrest]

Pencil will be for efficiency when I know I am going to add brush files. I personally like brush with pressure sensitivity for a hand painted feel. If i am going to be doing a logo or want more control over anchors I would use pen tool. Most of the time I like the editing phase after using the pen. Good question!

[@heyavanes]

oh, you use pencil tool to draft? I'm going to watch further what you did after adding pencil because i fell asleep (no, your vids are not boring, I just often watch youtube before bed)

[@JasonSecrest]

I actually snorted a little when laughing

[@heyavanes]

I hope I won't wake up in shock when I hear you laugh lol

[@heyavanes]

I am at the end of the video now. I still don't get why using pencil is efficient lol.

[@dinah1110]

I can't download the resources, it says that there's an error! help, please!

[@JasonSecrest]

Are you putting in a valid email? If you just click the button and don't put in an email it will give you an error message.

[@dinah1110]

@@JasonSecrest yes, I received the email, the error comes from dropbox actually, when I click on Direct download it says there was an error downloading your file...

[@JasonSecrest]

Does it start downloading and then pop up the error or does the error immediately pop up? The folder is getting pretty big. Have you tried downloading the folders or the APGs individually?

[@gamenrage5998]

Why or where is the first drawing of this trace he is doing. doing the start layouts needed help.

[@JasonSecrest]

If you are looking for the tutorial resources, they are found at www.jasonsecrest.com