Adobe Illustrator for Beginners

Create your first document by choosing dimensions, units, orientation, and colour mode (RGB for web, CMYK for print). Set raster effects to 300 PPI for high-quality output. Walk through the interface: menu bar, controls panel, primary tools panel on the left, secondary tools panel on the right. Understand fills versus strokes and practice zooming and panning around the canvas.

Turn on rulers from the View menu or Properties panel to see measurements along your artboard edges. Drag guides from the rulers and position them precisely - we set up a 30-point margin on all sides. Enable smart guides to see alignment hints as you move objects. Use grids for consistent spacing when laying out multiple elements.

Illustrator ships with preset workspaces for Layout, Painting, Typography, and more - each with different panels visible. Customise your own by dragging panels out, merging them together, and closing ones you don't need (like Comments or Asset Export). Save your layout so it loads automatically next session. Reset to Essentials Classic anytime to start fresh.

Artboards let you have multiple canvases in one document - useful for variations, sizes, or multi-page projects. Create, delete, rename, and reorder them from the Artboards panel. Rearrange their positions on screen using the panel menu. Change individual artboard dimensions or switch to standard presets like A4 at any time.

The Layers panel shows every object in your file organised hierarchically. Toggle the eye icon to hide layers while working on others; click the lock icon to prevent accidental edits. Each layer has a colour - when you select an object, its bounding box matches that colour so you know which layer it belongs to. Rename layers and use the target circle to select everything on a layer at once.

The Selection tool (V) moves and transforms whole objects - drag corners to scale, hover near edges to rotate. The Direct Selection tool (A) selects individual anchor points, letting you reshape paths by dragging handles. Use these two tools constantly as you work. Hold Shift while scaling to maintain proportions.

The dedicated Rotate, Scale, and Reflect tools give you more control than the Selection tool alone. Click once to set a reference point, then drag to transform around that point. Double-click the tool to enter exact values. Create symmetrical designs by reflecting objects across vertical or horizontal axes.

Draw rectangles, ellipses, rounded rectangles, and polygons using the shape tools. Click and drag to draw freehand, or click once to enter exact dimensions. Adjust corner radius on rounded rectangles after drawing. Hold Shift to constrain shapes to perfect squares or circles.

The Pen tool creates precise paths by clicking to place anchor points - click and drag to create curves. The Pencil tool draws freehand paths that you can smooth afterwards. The Curvature tool offers a middle ground: click to add points, and Illustrator automatically creates smooth curves. Add or delete anchor points to refine your paths.

Copy with Ctrl+C and paste with Ctrl+V, or hold Alt while dragging to duplicate in place. Paste in Place (Ctrl+Shift+V) puts objects at the exact same coordinates. Group objects (Ctrl+G) so they move together; use the Lasso tool to select multiple anchor points across grouped objects. Arrange > Bring to Front/Send to Back controls stacking order.

The Eraser removes parts of paths as you drag across them. The Scissors tool cuts paths at specific anchor points - click on a point to split the path there. The Knife tool slices through shapes freehand, dividing them into separate objects. Use these tools to break apart shapes and create custom forms from existing geometry.

Select overlapping shapes and use Pathfinder to unite, minus front, intersect, or exclude. Shape Builder does similar operations by dragging across the areas you want to merge or delete. The Alignment panel distributes objects evenly and aligns edges or centres. These tools turn basic shapes into complex artwork.

Apply fill and stroke colours using the Swatches panel or colour picker. The Eyedropper samples colours from existing objects with one click. Create linear or radial gradients in the Gradient panel, adjusting stops, colours, and angle. Save frequently used colours as swatches for consistency across your project.

Click with the Type tool to create point text; click and drag to create an area text box that wraps. Type on a Path lets text follow curves and circles. Format text using the Character panel (font, size, leading) and Paragraph panel (alignment, indents). Convert text to outlines when you need to manipulate letterforms as shapes.

Build a cartoon face using the tools from earlier lessons. Create the head with a rounded rectangle (300×400 points, 150 corner radius), add ellipse ears, a rounded rectangle nose, and circular eyes. Cut an ellipse in half with the Scissors tool to make a moustache. Apply colours from a provided swatch palette to complete the illustration.

Start a swimming pool illustration by placing a reference image as a locked template layer at reduced opacity. Draw the pool outline and inner edge using the Rectangle tool. Use the Pencil tool to sketch distorted tile lines freehand - perfection isn't needed since they create a water distortion effect. Group the vertical lines, then draw the horizontal ones.

Continue building the pool scene by adding deck chairs, umbrellas, plants, and human figures. Apply fills to all elements using the colour swatches from the reference. Create clipping masks for complex shapes and add shadows to give depth. Finish with final adjustments to line weights and colours.

Export your artwork using File > Export > Export As. Choose JPEG or PNG for web graphics, PDF for print or sharing, and EPS or AI for editing in other software. Tick "Use Artboards" to export each artboard as a separate file, or select a range. Adjust quality settings for the right balance between file size and image clarity.