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Adobe Illustrator Tutorials

By Smashing Editorial, February 3rd, 2007 in Tutorials | 128 Comments | Forum

As a vector-based drawing program Adobe Illustrator has nowadays become the standard for illustration design. This tendency can be noticed in the Web as well as in Print Design. Few weeks ago we’ve selected some of the best Adobe Photoshop tutorials we’ve found on the Web so far; now it’s time for Adobe Illustrator. Below you’ll find a list of hand-picked Illustrator tutorials you can use to achieve some special visual effects in your designs. There is also a newer Part II covering more Adobe Illustrator Tutorials. Links checked: July/07 2008

Adobe Illustrator Tutorials

Various Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
Computer Display Windows Vista Icon, Web 2.0 Badge, iPod Earbuds, Help Icon, Folder Icon, Shiny Text, Credit Card
The Gradient Mesh
A Tutorial on using the Gradient Mesh tool in Adobe Illustrator 10
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
An Introduction to Illustrator, Gradient Meshes Introduction, 3D Pill, Abstract Shapes, Illustrator Brush Basics, Glassy Orbs …
Adobe Illustrator Gradient Mesh Portrait Tutorial
Below is a mini tutorial on how I did my gradient mesh based “Vector Portrait” in Adobe Illustrator. The thumbnails are screen shots of my workstation.
Illustration, from sketch to finish - Part One
Tutorial by Veerle Pieters
Illustration, from sketch to finish Part Two
Tutorial by Veerle Pieters
Illustration, from sketch to finish Part Three
Tutorial by Veerle Pieters
Swirly curls in Adobe Illustrator
Tutorial by Veerle Pieters
Some Illustrator tips
by Veerle Pieters
Creating a ribbon in Adobe Illustrator
Tutorial by Veerle Pieters
Illustrator Tutorial
Amazing Hidden Tricks in Illustrator! (and other cool tricks)
Design Spice Illustrator Tutorial
Mocaic image effect in Illustrator
Creating a Logo in Illustrator
Tutorial by Jessie Schueler
Bitmap into Vector
In just a few minutes you can create a vector file from a bitmap image in Illustrator.
ErgoDraw
Novice Tutorials, Intermediate Tutorials, Advanced Tutorials
Creating organic desktops
The following tutorial shows how to create organic desktops using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Adobe Illustrator Scan / Trace / Vector
This week’s tutorials look at Adobe Illustrator 10 working with the pen tool drawing and tracing Scans… maps, mapmaking, Logo Design, Drawing Curves, Pencil Tool Basics, Text Warping Tools, Vector Graphics, Turn Bitmap Images into Vector Art, and importing illustrator files, and desktop publishing.
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials for Basics and Tools
Learn the basics and tools of Adobe Illustrator with these free online tutorials.
Drawing in Illustrator
Learn how to use the full power of Illustrator’s tools to draw vector artwork - 19 Tutorials
Design Business Cards in Adobe Illustrator
This tutorial will guide you through the process of designing business cards and postcards in Illustrator as well as providing press-ready templates to get you started quickly.
Free Tutorials - Illustrator Techniques
Imitating A Scanner Darkly, Making Distressed Type with Live Trace, 3D Text Effect, Creating a Quick and Easy Glass Bowl
Illustrator tutorials
Type on a path, Making of a Logo, The mesh tool, Creating a cd-rom
Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop Tutorials & Lessons - Kevin Hulsey
Computer Graphics Illustration Tutorials, Tips, & Tricks for Students. This page is designed to provide helpful information related to computer graphics. Listed below are numerous illustration tutorials and drawing lessons for all skill levels. Additionally, there many pages of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop tutorials, tips & tricks for technical illustration students, professional technical illustrators and digital artists…
Layers Magazine: Illustrator Tutorials
17 Illustrator Tutorials - Layers Magazine
Reconfiguring brushes in Adobe Illustrator
Changing a brush’s scale, dynamics and other characteristics
Adobe Illustrator tips & tricks
Here are a collection of tips and tricks for Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator Tutorials
Step-by-step Adobe Illustrator tutorials with original source file download.
Oman3D Illustrator Tutorials
Learn New Skills and Techniques at Oman3D
Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
In this tutorial we will introduce you to Illustrator by explaining the tools you need to create basic artwork and page design.
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
96 Illustrator Tutorials
Illustrator Drawing Basics Tutorials
Illustrator tutorials and free Adobe Illustrator tips and techniques. Learn how to use Illustrator and other drawing basics.
Illustrator Tutorials
Illustrator Tutorials at Tutorial Outpost
Adobe Illustrator Tutorials
Online directory of the best free Adobe Illustrator Tutorials from around the web. Hundreds of great techniques and tips listed.
Illustrator Tutorials
Illustrator and other vector and raster graphic designing tutorials
Illustrator Tutorials
Realistic Digital Watch, Image Inlay Text, Professional Text, Drawing a Fish, Doll, Flower, Air Balloon, Water Melon, Vase, Swan Logo, Cartoon Birds, Fun Cow.
Free Illustrator video tutorials
Learn Illustrator CS 2 for free. Follow along as we take you through the Illustrator learning curve with our custom designed free video tutorials.

Published in Tutorials, February 3rd, 2007
Tags: adobe, Graphics, illustrator, techniques, Tutorials

1.

Rob Hawkes (February 3rd, 2007, 6:20 am)

Great list, will keep me busy for the weekend!
2.

Uzbek (February 3rd, 2007, 12:40 pm)

Great collection,

I was thinking/planning to learn Adobe Illustrator for several months, just had no time and enough motivation to actually start it.

This is one of the last triggers.

Thanks for the great stuff.

Uzbek
3.

Shareware Software (February 3rd, 2007, 1:39 pm)

very interesting …
4.

sken (February 3rd, 2007, 4:37 pm)

nice list here .. thanks a lot ..
5.

David G. Paul (February 3rd, 2007, 9:32 pm)

Cool, I’ve been planning on trying out Illustrator, and seeing those tutorials makes me think it’s worth trying sooner rather than later!
6.

Agito (February 5th, 2007, 10:04 am)

This list will come in really handy. ^^
Illustrator is a program I’ve always tried to create things with, but failed.

Even with my knowledge of Photoshop, I still manage to struggle sometimes with Illustrator.

Thank you very much SM! ^^
7.

ituloy angsulong (February 5th, 2007, 10:18 pm)

Another stuff that makes this site rocks..
Keep up the good work smashingmagzzz….
8.

Rafael (February 6th, 2007, 4:16 am)

awesome collection of links!!!
9.

mark (March 23rd, 2007, 12:32 am)

hey great site was waiting for this a long time thanxx
10.

Wiked (March 31st, 2007, 12:31 am)

Did anybody get the Part 1 & 2 movie zips from Verlee’s Sketch To Finish Series? I’ve been trying for weeks and the bandwidth is always used up by the time I try to download them. Anyone care to share them? Could pay a little via paypal to anyone who takes the time to up them and hit me with a link to grab the two zips..
11.

modifiyeli arabalar (June 26th, 2007, 8:40 pm)

Excelent articles…. thanks.
12.

rzrsej (July 22nd, 2007, 8:53 pm)

It’s always important to keep in mind that an eye-popping website can’t accomplish much if its content is shabby. That said, those eye-popping graphics sure are attractive. This is a fantastic collection of tutorials. I’ve been playing with them all afternoon. I think learning the mesh gradient is perhaps the most important element here, since it’s such an important aspect of other innovative graphics. And nothing really sets the average amateur site apart from the professional-looking sites like the mesh gradient. However, the ones that got me most excited were the illustrator techniques – who doesn’t want to be able to imitate the iconic look of A Scanner Darkly (or its predecessor A Waking Life) – and the one on layers. I can’t wait to find some excuses to actually add these to some of my pages. I mean, I want to be judicious and not overdo it, but the temptations are very strong.
13.

Fred Campbell (August 28th, 2007, 6:22 pm)

Just got illustrator as part of CS3 - was completely lost, but these tutorials have really helped. Clean, simple and easy to follow. Thanks a lot.
14.

Jals (August 30th, 2007, 5:47 pm)

good collections for illustrator tutorial….. now i can be more professional designer… thanks!
15.

Steve (September 11th, 2007, 12:17 am)

yeah a good collections for illustrator tutorial… :-)
16.

juragan (September 24th, 2007, 10:38 am)

Nice tutorial collection
17.

Abdul Nazer (September 29th, 2007, 11:59 pm)

really Interesting Software like some others.
18.

Himalaka (November 1st, 2007, 9:28 pm)

An excellent list,among what I found from the search. Thanks…..
19.

Dejan Mincic (November 18th, 2007, 8:28 pm)

Great Tutorials. Very nice. Thanks! :)
20.

Designer (November 26th, 2007, 5:00 am)

Nice Templates for Designer.
21.

James (January 8th, 2008, 8:46 am)

i like it,thanks
22.

salavadhi pradeepkumar (January 20th, 2008, 8:21 am)

very good
23.

shital jethva (February 18th, 2008, 2:20 am)

superb…..

mind blowing

thankssss
24.

Andy Fitzsimon (February 20th, 2008, 10:39 pm)

Referring to the first paragraph:
I Think you’ll notice there is a shift happening from Adobe software to the free open source program Inkscape.

All of the above illustrations are possible and often easier to produce with Inkscape.
25.

Ambrosiality (February 26th, 2008, 5:08 pm)

I’m excited to use this!!
26.

Mosh (March 25th, 2008, 5:44 am)

“As a vector-based drawing program Adobe Illustrator has nowadays become the standard for illustration design. This tendency can be noticed in the Web as well as in Print Design”.

I wonder how can anyone look at a web or printed image and detect that it was done with Illustrator and not with CorelDraw or Freehand.
27.

Cesar Gomez (April 29th, 2008, 1:38 pm)

Wow!! what a great tutorials!!!
the Kevin Hulsey illustrator tutorial is amazing, that guy is great!
Illustrator is a powerful tool to learn.
Thanks for this info.
28.

Ian Marsden (May 8th, 2008, 4:19 am)

Help,

I am trying to get hold of a legitimate copy of Illustrator 12 or older.

Any suggestions?

Regards

Ian Marsden
29.

MS (June 29th, 2008, 4:14 am)

Thanks for the IIlustrator Tutorial! Plz Add For The New Tutorial?
30.

smita paranjpe (August 23rd, 2008, 4:43 am)

I am traing a creating oraganic destop to draw. but the mesh tool point on the emage or rectangle the colour was chage. the trangle was black. What can I do? please tell me.
31.

johan ilmugrafis (August 30th, 2008, 11:12 pm)

wah asyik tenan
32.

Jhonny Satria Sinukaban (September 8th, 2008, 11:49 pm)

Terima kasih banget, dengan adanya situs ini sangat membantu saya untuk mencoba trik-trik baru………

Sekali lagi Terima kasih banyak
33.

sohail (September 26th, 2008, 11:36 pm)

i want know about mesh tool in allustrator and how to create new pic to pic pls tell me in details about this.
34.

salvador.herrera (October 14th, 2008, 6:11 am)

pretty cool
35.

eddie (November 10th, 2008, 8:28 am)

I have 3000 3″x3″ stickers to be numbered from 0001 - 3000. How do I do that in illustrator without actually typing in all the numbers??

thanx .. email me if n e thing Link []
36.

Stuart Davison (November 25th, 2008, 5:10 am)

Awesome stuff - this is the type of classy stuff that really makes this site rock!!!!..
Keep up the totally awesome work smashingmagzzz….
37.

arief (December 3rd, 2008, 12:02 am)

amaaaaaaazzzinggggg!!!!
38.

Bailey Laster (December 4th, 2008, 8:21 am)

Your information was very useful to what I need.
39.

Piet (December 4th, 2008, 6:37 pm)

Nice Templates for Designer. Thanks
40.

Scotty (January 1st, 2009, 2:42 am)

Great List for me to get a few extra skills before I start in my new position :D

Absolutely trolled youtube for tuts but some in spanish >< or some without sound (wtf?)

So very helpful
41.

boomibalan (January 10th, 2009, 2:03 am)

i learn lot of things by using this tutorials………thank u thanks a lot……
42.

Shamla (January 28th, 2009, 7:42 pm)

Fantabulous! Colllection
43.

UNKNOWN (February 5th, 2009, 12:23 am)

anyhow only!!
44.

brad (February 12th, 2009, 9:46 pm)

Thank you for helpful information.
45.

Subhas (February 13th, 2009, 1:12 am)

Really very nice list of adobe Illustrator tutorials for
learners like me. now I am learning a lot by this tutorial list.
Thank you,
46.

Chao (April 29th, 2009, 3:30 pm)

Thanks for submitting all of those! They are quite helpful!

Also, may I also suggest you check out these simple tutorials:

Link [www.logobee.com]

These are simple tutorials to learn how to create a particle effect in a logo or a shiny sphere. I can’t check all of the present tutorials, if there are already similar ones, disregard my post.
47.

rmshazeen (May 26th, 2009, 10:03 pm)

Really very nice Thank you for helpful information.
48.

SUMON (June 4th, 2009, 10:26 pm)

very nice but I need some idea of colour seperation, background change, layer seetings.