★ Fun Illustrator Tutorials for Beginners | Video Lessons & Practice Projects ★
Adobe Illustrator Lessons for the Newbie
I bought Adobe Illustrator CS5 without any previous graphic design training and I discovered that I had to teach myself A LOT. I bought 3 massive manuals but these mainly confused me more (I definitely need to be walked through things visually in order to learn) so I decided to make a page listing the most helpful step-by-steps and free video tutorials on the internet.
You will need to be computer literate so start with, but you don't need to have used any design software before to follow the easiest lessons on this page. I will provide instructions for the simplest of processes and then finish with projects and skills to aim for.
I personally use CS5 but it doesn't matter which version you have - most of the features are the same or similar. Some lessons below refer to older versions.
If you are in any way creative I'm sure you will find using Illustrator a lot of fun, and I hope this page inspires you to give it a try!
Greeting Card Design
Tutorial Diagrams
Illustrations by Jaimielee.
Beginner YouTube Lessons - Start Your Lessons Here & Work Down The Page!
2nd Set of Beginner Video Tutorials
Poster Prints
3rd Lot of Videos; Using a Variety of Techniques
Helpful Written Instructions & Fun Ideas
- Paintbrush Tool Guide
A comprehensive guide to the paintbrush tool and brush panel. - An Intro To The Color Tools
A very good overview of all of the color tools and how to use them. - VecTips Tutorials
Including texture tutorials and text treatments. - Beginner Videos 101
A video series on the basics of Illustrator, aimed at beginners. - Adding Texture
How to add texture to vector graphics to stop them looking flat. - Create Vintage Graphics
How to create retro illustrations and vintage graphics. - 70 Lettering Effects
Loads of really cool and stylish text techniques. - Vector Tuts+
Hundreds of Illustrator lessons, tips and tricks. - How to Add Texture
Add texture to illustrations to really make them pop. - Creating Script Lettering
Excellent beginner tutorial for posters, quotes and other art.
Logo Graphics
Pop Culture Caricature
T-Shirt Designs
Free Fonts, Textures & Shapes
- 40 Free Fonts
Excellent styles for professional design projects. - Font Fabric
Cool free fonts to download. - Textures & Images
A very useful range of textures to use for personal or commercial use. - Da Font
Thousands of amazing fonts to download for free.