Enjoy the best in Adobe Illustrator: Level 1 Training

Getting to Know the Work Area

Introducing Adobe Illustrator

Starting Illustrator and opening a file

Exploring the workspace

Getting to know the Tools panel

Working with the Properties panel

Working with panels

Docking panels

Switching workspaces

Saving a workspace

Using panel and context menus

Changing the view of artwork

Using view commands

Using the Zoom tool

Scrolling through a document

Viewing artwork

Navigating artboards

Using the Artboards panel

Arranging multiple documents

Finding resources for using Illustrator

Techniques for Selecting Artwork

Starting the lesson

Selecting objects

Using the Selection tool

Using the Direct Selection tool

Creating selections with a marquee

Hiding and locking objects

Selecting similar objects

Selecting in Outline mode

Aligning objects

Aligning objects to each other

Aligning to a key object

Aligning anchor points

Distributing objects

Aligning to the artboard

Working with groups

Grouping items

Editing a group in Isolation mode

Creating a nested group

Exploring object arrangement

Arranging objects

Selecting objects behind

Using Shapes to Create Artwork for a Postcard

Starting the lesson

Creating a new document

Working with basic shapes

Creating and editing rectangles

Rounding corners

Working with the Rounded Rectangle tool

Creating and editing ellipses

Changing stroke width and alignment

Creating and editing a circle

Creating polygons

Editing the polygons

Creating a star

Drawing lines

Working with drawing modes

Using the Draw Inside mode

Working with Draw Behind mode

Finishing up

Editing and Combining Shapes and Paths

Starting the lesson

Editing paths and shapes

Cutting with the Scissors tool

Joining paths

Cutting with the Knife tool

Outlining strokes

Using the Eraser tool

Transforming Artwork

Starting the lesson

Working with artboards

Adding artboards to a document

Editing artboards

Aligning artboards

Renaming artboards

Reordering artboards

Working with rulers and guides

Creating guides

Editing the ruler origin

Transforming content

Working with the Bounding Box

Positioning artwork using the Properties panel

Scaling objects

Reflecting objects

Rotating objects

Distorting objects with effects

Transforming with the Free Transform tool

Shearing objects

Creating an Illustration with the Drawing Tools

Starting the lesson

An intro to drawing with the Pen tool

Selecting paths

Drawing straight lines with the Pen tool

Introducing curved paths

Drawing a curve with the Pen tool

Drawing a series of curves with the Pen tool

Converting smooth points to corner points

Rounding corner points

Editing paths and points

Deleting and adding anchor points

Converting between smooth points and corner points

Working with the Anchor Point tool

Creating a dashed line

Adding arrowheads to a path

Working with the Pencil tool

Drawing freeform paths with the Pencil tool

Drawing straight segments with the Pencil tool

Joining with the Join tool

Using Color to Enhance Signage

Starting the lesson

Exploring color modes

Working with color

Applying an existing color

Creating a custom color

Saving a color as a swatch

Creating a copy of a swatch

Editing a global swatch

Editing a non-global swatch

Using the Color Picker to create color

Using Illustrator swatch libraries

Adding a spot color

Adding Type to a Poster

Starting the lesson

Adding type to the poster

Adding text at a point

Adding area type

Working with Auto Sizing

Converting between area type and point type

Importing a plain-text file

Threading text

Formatting type

Changing font family and font style

Fixing missing fonts

Changing font size

Changing font color

Changing additional character formatting

Changing paragraph formatting

Working with Glyphs

Modifying text with the Touch Type tool

Resizing and reshaping type objects

Sampling text formatting

Wrapping text

Working with type on a path

Creating type on a path

Creating type on a closed path

Creating text outlines

Finishing up

Organizing Your Artwork with Layers

Starting the lesson

Understanding layers

Creating layers and sublayers

Creating new layers

Creating sublayers

Editing layers and objects

Locating layers

Moving content between layers

Viewing layers

Reordering layers

Changing layer order

Exporting Assets

Exporting artboards and assets

Exporting artboards

This course is appropriate for beginners and for anyone who is self taught on the basics of Illustrator. Quite often even experienced users find they benefit from a Core Skills: Level 1 class to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. However, if you feel that you are already familiar with the content covered in the Level 1 course, you can view the Level 2 course outline here:

Basic computer and file management skills are required for Core Skills level Adobe courses. Students should know how to – locate, copy and open files; create folders; arrange, re-size, minimize and maximize application windows; start and exit programs; manage use of multiple programs simultaneously; and switch between open programs.