Tips and Tricks for Using the Appearance Panel in Adobe Illustrator

[@gusnwosu]

Great tutorial at the right pace. Thanks a lot.

[@HelenBradley]

Glad to hear!

[@HelenBradley]

Tips and Tricks for Using the Appearance Panel in Adobe Illustrator #illustrator #tutorial

[@yatinsharma3325]

Thank you very much Helen

[@HelenBradley]

You're welcome, Thank you for supporting my channel.

[@marmeecruz6191]

Thanks, very informative!

[@HelenBradley]

Thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@HelenBradley]

Ready for some #Illustrator fun? In this intermediate level tutorial you'll learn how to add multiple fills, make shapes inside the appearance panel and even create masks in it... the Appearance panel is so powerful but most folks just don't understand how it can be used - here's your chance to learn.

[@cher6932]

For the first time I really think I understand the appearance panel. You have a real gift for teaching. Somehow I understand better when you explain tools and techniques, than I do with other tutorials.

[@HelenBradley]

That is very nice of you to say, Thank you Cher.

[@yozriner7736]

thanks Hellen i learn a lot

[@HelenBradley]

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help out. Thanks for stopping by my channel.

[@cher6932]

I loved your tutorial on this and the one on the 3 different types of transform and rotate. It solved many of my problems

[@HelenBradley]

I'm happy to hear that, glad these videos helped. Thanks for stopping by my channel.

[@rihamkaram909]

very Nice tips .. I learn alot from it

[@HelenBradley]

I am glad I could help, Thank you for stopping by my channel.

[@anigrapixravi]

Great Tut's Thanks for sharing.

[@HelenBradley]

Thank you ANIGRAPIX Ravi for your comment - glad you liked the video.

[@smurfette1509]

Thanks, Helen for guiding me to this tutorial. It's great what the appearance panel and symbols can do. Worked with symbols when testing out your Spheres tutorial yesterday on Illustrator. I'll try not to underestimate myself; thanks for compliment :)

[@HelenBradley]

Morgan Field I'm glad you are appreciating this stuff. I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[@microflm]

Hello, Helen! This tutorial is really usefull. I also was looking for tutorial how to crop all transformed fills outside the main shape, but still didn't find

[@creatiw]

Thanks Helen for this great tutorial. I'm still trying to understand the appearance panel. What's the difference between using the appearance panel to do this and just using basic shapes without the appearance panel ? Thanks.

[@HelenBradley]

+IssaWick You can a lot with the appearance panel that would be difficult, if not impossible with just shapes stacked on top of each other. Remember too that, when used with type you can add multiple fills and strokes and the type remains editable - if you did this with multiple type instances you'd have to edit them all any time you wanted to change them. Other effects require some knowledge of stacking order in the appearance panel too, so it's something you will benefit from using and understanding as you develop your Illustrator skills. It is a tool I use a lot because of its power.

[@creatiw]

+Helen Bradley - Thanks for the quick reply.

[@NeoNecrotik]

Great tut. One thing I've always preferred in the appearance panel is to use fills and offset paths instead of the strokes. Have you ever considered making the smaller ellipse with transform, copying the fill then applying the offset to the copied fill? One question about masking in the panel...how can you mask a shape in the panel? For example you have an ellipse with a white highlight that you transformed. The new fill is technically outside of the shape. If you apply a background, you would see it. I know I can create a clipping mask by duplicating the path, but I'd like to do it via the appearance panel. I've tried using knockout and clicking the clip and invert check boxes in appearance/transparency panels...really all 4 check boxes...It has me stumped.

[@HelenBradley]

Hi Marc.. I know exactly what you are talking about and you can do this by copying the basic shape then create a mask from it in the appearance panel - I have an up coming video (due for release on July 3) on drawing a strawberry in Illustrator that deals with just this problem. You may want to look at it when it launches..

[@yourunmarathons]

helen i love you

[@HelenBradley]

Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by my channel.

[@yozriner7736]

Helen please help i have been using adobe illustrator for about two years now.but before that i wanted to do animation it was expensive for me so i started with adobe illustrator should i learn drawing as well in order to become a good illustrator..

[@HelenBradley]

This is a great question. I don't think you actually have to be able to draw to be a good illustrator but it certainly helps. I found the book How to Draw in 30 days by Mark Kistler to be a really good starting point. I think learning about shadows and shapes is a basic skill but whether you decide to go beyond that or not is a personal choice. I would certainly recommend the book very highly.

[@yozriner7736]

thanks thumpss up👌👌👌

[@HelenBradley]

I think you will like that book a lot.