Learn how to draw and edit vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator. This course covers the basics and advanced features, including the Pen tool, effects, layers, masks, and more. Perfect for creating logos, icons, and packaging.
Begin your journey as a professional graphic designer by learning the essential skills and tools used by industry experts. Gain hands-on experience in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator, and create a stunning portfolio to showcase your talent to potential employers or clients.
Learn how to draw and edit vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator. This course covers the basics and advanced features, including the Pen tool, effects, layers, masks, and more. Perfect for creating logos, icons, and packaging.
Illustrator is a graphic editing software by Adobe. Users can rely on Illustrator to create and edit vector images, allowing infinite scalability. Common graphics created with Illustrator include logos, illustrations, website and mobile designs, and typography.
Adobe released Illustrator in 1987. At the time, very few programs used vector graphics. Over the next several decades, Illustrator would become an industry-standard design tool. With each new release of Illustrator, Adobe improves the software and provides users with greater functionality. In 2013, Adobe launched Creative Cloud, the company’s suite of applications and services available via subscription. With a monthly or annual Creative Cloud subscription, users gain access to Illustrator and other Adobe products, enabling them to work on their projects both online and offline.
You can use Illustrator training for professional and personal use. Experienced designers, marketers, and content creators use Illustrator in their day-to-day tasks. Marketing teams use Illustrator to create a variety of content, including social media posts, billboard advertisements, and logos. The scalability of designs is especially useful. Designers can create vector graphics in Illustrator for various advertising channels and scale them up or down as needed without worrying about negatively affecting the design’s quality. Small business owners who are proficient in Illustrator can leverage their skills to enhance their branding and marketing efforts.
If you’re creative and like working on art projects, Illustrator is an excellent tool to learn. You can use Illustrator to create custom artwork, graphics for t-shirts, logos for your blog, and even greeting cards. Working on personal projects in Illustrator can help you practice your design skills while also creating something for fun or function.
Beginner-level Illustrator classes cover the essentials of Illustrator. Most classes first cover the interface of Illustrator to help students become familiar with the variety of windows, tools, and panels. Students will also learn the basics of setting up documents at the beginning of class. After learning how to comfortably navigate Illustrator, students will learn how to create vector graphics with the tools and features available. Lessons typically cover creating shapes, using the Pen tool, applying colors, and working with text. Advanced tools that you may learn in an Illustrator bootcamp or certificate course include the blend tool and perspective grid tool. Over the course of an Illustrator class, students will also learn the basics of color theory, design principles, and how to initiate and complete a creative project.
Some learners find the complexity of Illustrator overwhelming. The software includes many tools and features that may be unfamiliar or difficult to compare with similar programs. Before you try your hand at making graphics in Illustrator, familiarize yourself with the program’s interface. Learn the purpose of commonly used tools and how to use them. Setting yourself up with basic knowledge of the Illustrator workspace will make learning Illustrator less challenging.
Another difficulty some new users face is understanding the difference between vector and raster graphics. You may have prior experience with popular raster graphics programs such as Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, or Corel Painter. Both vector and raster graphics are fundamental types of digital images, with vector graphics relying on paths defined by mathematical equations and raster graphics composed of a grid of pixels. Understanding the difference between the two will help you better grasp how vector paths work and create visually appealing, professional graphics.
It takes roughly one to two weeks to learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator. Basic knowledge includes navigating the workspace, creating shapes, and using simple tools like the selection tool and type tool. You can learn intermediate-level Illustrator skills in around one to three months. Within that time frame, you should learn how to effectively manipulate paths using tools in Illustrator, organize projects with multiple layers, and work with symbols to save time. After approximately three to six months of training and practice, you should be able to develop advanced Illustrator skills. Advanced users can use Illustrator to create intricate graphics and work with complex typography. No matter how much prior experience you have with graphic design, you can quickly learn Illustrator with the right training and enough practice.
If you want to learn Illustrator quickly and efficiently, enroll in an Illustrator class or bootcamp. Illustrator programs come in-person and online formats. Students who prefer learning face-to-face in a traditional classroom setting should enroll in an in-person class. This method of learning requires you to sign up for a class schedule on weekdays, in the evenings, or on weekends. You’ll commute to a classroom or computer lab where an expert instructor will guide you and your classmates through lessons and troubleshooting. In-person classes follow a structure most students find familiar, which makes them a good choice for students who prefer traditional learning styles.
Commuting to an in-person Illustrator class may not always be possible due to factors such as lack of transportation, scheduling conflicts, or the unavailability of local classes. Thankfully, many schools and training centers offer live online classes. Live online classes provide a similar experience to face-to-face classes. In a live online class, you’ll meet on Zoom or another web conferencing platform, where a live instructor will guide you through the curriculum. The live online classroom gives you the chance to ask questions, receive feedback, and even share your screen.
Students who cannot attend a scheduled class can sign up for an asynchronous class. Asynchronous classes, also known as on-demand classes, provide students access to course materials that they then work through on their own. This might mean watching video lectures or working on projects step-by-step. Asynchronous classes allow students to learn Illustrator without interrupting their busy schedules. It’s recommended that only motivated self-teachers enroll in on-demand classes because students won’t have an instructor available to them to ask questions or receive real-time feedback.
You can learn the basics of Illustrator online for free. Sign up for a free on-demand Illustrator class with Udemy, Coursera, or another online learning platform. Short-form on-demand classes will teach you the basics of Illustrator to help you get started with creating vector-based graphics. You can also find program walkthroughs uploaded to YouTube and other video hosting platforms. Seek out online forums where beginners and experts meet to answer questions and help each other out if you find yourself struggling to learn Illustrator online. After learning the basics of the program, sign up for formal training with Noble Desktop or another provider to explore more advanced Illustrator skills.
When learning Illustrator, it helps to also learn design principles. Fundamental design principles include color theory, balance, contrast, alignment, and hierarchy. Applying design principles to your graphics will help you create visually appealing projects. Understanding basic design principles can also help you work on projects that intend to communicate a message to your audience—whether it’s to sell a product, motivate action, or inform viewers about something. Color theory, for example, can help you create emotional impact and create a visual hierarchy for viewers who indicates the importance of certain elements, while movement builds rhythm and conveys a sense of change.
Consider also learning how to work with Photoshop and incorporate your Illustrator graphics into the photo editing software. With Photoshop, you can manipulate or retouch images, create logos, and design graphics for print projects. If you’ve created a design in Illustrator, you can import it into Photoshop for editing or compositing.
Ready to find a career where your Illustrator skills will come in handy? Check out these industries in the Bay Area looking for professionals who can use Illustrator and related design software.
The tech industry is at the heart of the Bay Area. San Francisco has established itself as a tech center, with a progressive pursuit of tech startups beginning around the late 2000s and early 2010s. Nearby Silicon Valley is the biggest high-tech manufacturing center in the US. Tech giants like Google, Apple, and Meta along with top talents from universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley, have shaped the future of tech in the region and globally. Within the tech industry, professionals use Illustrator to work on UI design, create prototypes, and design engaging infographics that communicate information and data about new and existing products.
The Bay Area’s tech industry has directly impacted its marketing industry. Marketing agencies often specialize in providing service to tech companies and integrating technology into their marketing strategies through data analytics, SEO, and social media, among other approaches. Marketing professionals use Illustrator for a variety of creative tasks, like logo design, the creation of social media graphics, and packaging design. Illustrator is one of several powerful design tools that have become the industry-standard for marketing professionals.
Tourism plays a significant role in the Bay Area’s economy. Iconic landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, several museums, theatres, and music venues, as well as nearby vineyards, draw in a wealth of tourists each year. San Francisco alone attracted over 23 million tourists in 2023. You can take your Illustrator skills and create brochures, infographics, maps, or even social media graphics for popular tourist attractions in the Bay Area.
Want to take your Illustrator experience to the next level and apply your skills in your professional life? Explore the jobs below to see how you can use Illustrator professionally.
Do you have leadership experience? You may qualify for a Product Manager role if you can lead and manage a team, identify and solve problems, analyze data, organize projects, and make budgeting decisions. Product Managers oversee product development, from the inception of a product idea to the introduction of the product to the market. In the Bay Area, Product Managers earn an average annual salary of $160,000.
If you have the skills to create graphics, animations, and other digital content, you may want to consider a career as a Digital Designer. Digital Designers design content for companies, including logos, social media content, and websites. Some Digital Designers focus on UX/UI content and ensuring that a company’s products incorporate intuitive interfaces for users. This role requires someone who can collaborate and communicate well with others and use digital design tools like Illustrator. Digital Designers in the Bay Area earn an average annual salary of $106,000.
Digital Marketers use their knowledge of digital marketing strategies and their skills using analytic and design programs to promote products and services to consumers through online channels such as social media, email, and digital ads. Digital Marketers may work by themselves or on a marketing team to improve a company’s online presence and attract new and existing audiences. Digital Marketers in the Bay Area earn an average annual salary of $111,000.
You can sign up for Illustrator classes in the Bay Area and live online today. Consider the type of Illustrator class you want to enroll in before reviewing the classes below to see how they align with your learning goals.
Noble Desktop’s ||CPN574|| class will teach you the fundamentals of Illustrator so you can begin creating vector graphics. The accelerated live online class covers tools and features in Illustrator, like the Pen tool, how to draw lines and curves, use colors and layers, and trace images. In 6 hours, you’ll learn the foundations of Illustrator through hands-on training, preparing you for more advanced classes.
For a more intensive training experience, enroll in Noble Desktop’s ||CPN82||. You’ll learn the basics of Illustrator in this class along with intermediate and advanced-level skills. An expert instructor will guide you through lessons on creating a variety of graphic types, like graphics for packaging and patterns used in fashion design. After completing the live online class, you’ll receive a digital certificate of completion, plus a free retake within one year.
Sonic Training’s Illustrator Introduction/Intermediate class is a small group live online class that teaches students how to use Illustrator to create logos, advertisements, and other illustrations. Students will first learn how to create simple shapes before demonstrating that skill when creating logos using simple shapes. Lessons build off each other to help students first establish basic skills that they can then apply to the creation of a variety of graphic types. By the end of the second and final day of class, students will have covered up through intermediate-level Illustrator.
Ledet Training’s live online Illustrator 101 course is a two-day class that teaches students the basic functions and tools of Illustrator. An instructor will provide in-depth lessons and guide them through hands-on practice using tools in Illustrator, including the Pen tool, and Live Paint. After completing this novice class, students can enroll in Illustrator 201, Ledet’s advanced-level class. Students who would prefer to learn beginner to advanced Illustrator skills in one program can enroll in Ledet’s Illustrator 501—Illustrator Bootcamp.
Does your team need Illustrator training? Noble Desktop can provide your organization with training that meets your employees’ learning objectives and scheduling needs. When enrolling in corporate training, you have the option of selecting live online or onsite training options. Teams interested in corporate training can purchase group vouchers in bulk at a discount from Noble Desktop. When purchasing group vouchers, you can select the courses available to your team to choose from. They can then schedule their training at a time that fits their schedules.
Contact corporate@nobledesktop.com to learn more about Noble Desktop’s corporate training services and receive assistance in determining which options best fit your team’s needs and goals.