Illustrator

[iloveboxcars]

learn as you go has always been my method when it comes to art related programs.

 

and i know im late on this, but i have an intuos4 and that shit is the shizbambizzle.

the one that has the picture on the actual tablet seems cool as fuck, but there's a lag between what you do and what shows up on the screen, and that shit is unacceptable to me. it's also a 1000 dollar tablet.

[STYLEISKING]

how did you guys learn illustrator?

youtube tuts,school,books,private lessons,mentor?

any tips on how to learn the program would be appriciated...

[Enmity]

i go to school for it .. but ive learned more from just exploring it on my own and from my friend sitting next to me in class than from the instructor .. my best advice is to just read some online tutorials from adobe or buy the "classroom in a book" and just start messing with the program. the book helps when you really just dont understand how a tool functions or forget something.

[simewon]

Corporate logo options for a program at work.......

[I45_TEXAS_I45]

where can i find a key generator for cs5.

 

help me out ....thanks

[armand hammer]

torrents demonoid i got one from there,the pirate bay just scan that shit before you run it.

[STYLEISKING]

heres some good videos:

http://vector.tutsplus.com/

[STYLEISKING]

http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/articles/20-basic-illustrator-tutorials-every-beginner-should-see

baby steps....beginner

[Pew_Pew_Pew]

Make friends with the pen tool. If you don't grasp the concept of the pen tool right away don't freak out. It takes time but definitely worth it, one of those things you don't forget after you learned it..

 

Take some basic lines, wavy lines, scan them and trace with the pen tool for practice. Convert anchor point is also related to the pen tool and critical for certain types of angles.

 

Any specific questions just PM me.

[STYLEISKING]

^^^thats what iam doing right now,pen/vectorize my outlines...

[Pew_Pew_Pew]

The pathfinder panel is another tool that can help out with certain things. Say you have two overlapping perfect squares/aligned vertically, you can merge those into one complete rectangle shape. There are other buttons within that panel. Play around with them and see what works for you.

 

Quick tip for text: Select the word you want to make bigger and press ctrl+> or ctrl+< for smaller ....easier than going up to the fonts panel and selecting a different point size

[Cro.]

i made some illustrator videos that you might find helpful.

just basic stuff in this one, what most of the buttons do:

http://www.mediafire.com/?nf4ttnvczud

 

some other random videos i've done:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mzejlgqm4te

and

http://www.mediafire.com/?65ibj9b4pt3673c

 

if you're new to illy it might be worth watching.

[__ __ __ __]

dont trust raw video files. y dont you just post on youtube.

[Cro.]

they're too long and videos of my desktop as i used illustrator.

also i didn't have a mic at the time so i typed comments i had in a text file.

 

its all legit.

[schism]

 

meh.... still learning.... self-portrait that was due on my 21st

[iloveboxcars]

the attitude of the entire piece feels melancholy aside from the color of the dude sitting down.

 

 

Maybe use a more drab color for the body, and a more off-white for the white of the hat and bottle.

 

aside from that i feel like the piece works well for what i imagine you were shooting for.

 

which is alcohol is a depressant.

[johnny ballbags]

 

meh.... still learning.... self-portrait that was due on my 21st

how did you make the wet wrinkly lookin texture over the whole piece?

[ShortFuse]

I dont use illustrator but I do do only vector work through Fireworks. Id hate to repost because most of my stuff is sprinkled in Your Art, Daily Sketch etc threads.

[schism]

how did you make the wet wrinkly lookin texture over the whole piece?

 

i just got a brush texture from google and put it on top, and turned the transparency way down. thats not really the right way to do it, though, and i'm still working on a more sophisticated way of adding textures to digital pieces

[__ __ __ __]

did you live trace the text?

 

not saying its the best way or more respected way, I just know its a whole lot easier.

[schism]

i dont know? haha i drew it on paper then scanned it and traced the drawing with the pen tool? haha im still clueless w the whole digital art thing

[Joker]

Don't fret schisism... I've been using Illustrator for over five years and all I know is the pen tool. One of these days I'll take a class, or something.

[ShortFuse]

Although knowing the pen tool is really the best way. It will keep you on the vector side of things rather than the bmp tools. Ive never known any fancy moves in Adobe Fireworks ( I learned vector in Fireworks and never took the time to change to AI). Ive always drawn out the vector line and used the reshape area to push it around where I needed it. It wasnt until like 2 years ago that I found the "Simplify" option to help cut down the curves for me. Oh and I was the happiest ever when I realized there was a "Punch" and "Union" command hahaha I had always just stacked and stacked and stacked to get what I wanted.

 

I say stay on the vector side of things because it allows you to stay limitless. Theyre just mathematical lines and no matter what size you change your canvas youll never lose quality.

[__ __ __ __]

Live Trace:

 

OBJECT > LIVE TRACE > LIVE TRACE OPTIONS > HIT PREVIEW AND PLAY WITH THE THRESHOLD.

[publicenemyno.3]

i'm new to the whole computer design thing and looking into getting a wacom tablet to make it less of a bore to do what i need to do in illustrator. i was looking at the bamboo fun because it's in my price range for right now, but i don't want to buy something that i'll outgrow quickly or that will limit me. any suggestions?