adobe illustrator tutorial using shapes ninja

Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Tutorial

In Adobe Illustrator, Step by Step Adobe Illustrator Tutorials by Jason Secrest

Adobe Illustrator Tutorial using Pen Tool

In this easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorial, I will using the pen tool and shapes to build my cartoon character. This should be an easy Tutorial if you are new to Illustrator. *Some of our older content was originally recorded for my in-class students. 

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Anchor Point Guides

Anchor point guides are designed to make life easier as you are learning where to place anchors and how to adjust handles.

Using Pen Tool

We will be using our 2 step approach to the pen tool. The first is using straight lines to just get down our anchor points. We will then be using the convert anchor tool to create curves and handles.

Live Paint

Using live paint is fast way of getting down flat color and shadows without having to use pathfinder to create shapes.

Using Resource Folder

1. Place the anchor point guide into NEW illustrator document and scale to fit the 5"x 5" artboard. In your layers menu select Template Layer. Create a New layer ABOVE IT for inking.

Using the Pen Tool

2. Trace the image using the shape and pen tool. There should be no fill when using the pen tool. Use straight line and the convert anchor point tool to create your curves.

Custom Brushes

3. Add OUR custom brushes library to create variation in your lines. Expand the lines and use the eraser tool to erase overlapping or unwanted lines. Unite brushes in pathfinder panel.

Using Live Paint

4. Select All - Object- Live Paint. Fill in flat colors wIth our color palette or find others on https://color.adobe.com/ Object - Expand live paint. Ungroup (3X) or until you can select individual shapes.

DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes. Digital Downloads will come to you through our friends at Teachable. Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.
SAVE LIBRARIES: Once you have downloaded and extracted the Brushes Folders, I recommend Saving Brush Libraries to your "User Defined" by clicking Save Brush Library in the Brushes Menu. Follow along with our Resource Guides to save, apply, and edit Brushes in Adobe Illustrator.
OPEN BRUSHES: Our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes have been organized into Brush Libraries for easy application and to maintain consistency with your Line Variation. You can Open Brush Libraries through the “User Defined” or “Other Library” Options in the Brushes Panel in Adobe Illustrator.
LIVE EDITING: While you are building in Adobe Illustrator, you can use the “Live” Editing Tools to Cut and Edit Paths. Some of the basic tools will be the Scissor Tool, Path Eraser, or Shape Builder. I do recommend going long with your initial Paths using Pencil and Pen Tools.
APPLYING BRUSHES: Many of you will be applying our Brush Libraries. To Open Brushes, open the Brushes Panel. Click on Open Brush Library. Scroll down to “Other Library.” Select one of the Brush Libraries to apply. If you saved Brushes, you can Open from “User Defined.”
EXPANDED EDITING: After completing the Line Variation, I will recommend keeping the “Live” Layer from future Editing. Duplicate and Lock Out. We will be Expanding this New Layer to use with Shape Builder for Fast Editing. Hold down Alt/Option while Editing.
APPLY: Match the Brushes to the Line Variation. If you planned out your lines in your own drawing, this step is much easier. Select the Brushes and Line Weight. The easiest method is to find the ends and visually find the other end to see if it will be floating or hitting another line. If it hits another line that signals a darker value to the end should reflect the change in value. (Thicker End).
EXPAND: Moving towards Editing your Brushes. Duplicate Live Brush Layer before Expanding. Expand All. Object - Expand Appearance + Expand. You really only need to Expand the Strokes. Path Simplify Option: Once the Brushes have been Expanded hit the selection with a Simplify Path ( Object - Path - Simplify) to clean up extra Anchor Points.
EDIT: Editing using Shape Builder. Select All. Select your Shape Builder Tool. Hold down Alt/Option on your Keyboard to Delete. Hit all of the overlapping lines to clean up any of the extra lines. You can Turn Off the Highlighting feature in Shape Builder. If you have busy or detailed areas, I will recommend zooming in to delete smaller areas. 

DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Our (Updated) Adobe Illustrator Brushes will come to you as Zipped Folders. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Folders, the Brushes are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator.  Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes. DOWNLOAD BRUSHES / DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Digital Downloads will come through our friends at Teachable. Download our Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries, T-Shirt Textures, and Comic Halftones. BRUSH LIBRARIES / RESOURCE BUNDLE

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SAVE BRUSHES: Once you have downloaded and extracted the Brush Folders, I recommend Saving Brush Libraries to your "User Defined" by clicking Save Brush Library in the Brushes Menu. Follow along with our Resource Guides to save, apply, and edit Brushes in Adobe Illustrator.
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OPEN BRUSHES: Our Adobe Illustrator Brushes have been organized into Brush Libraries for easy application and to maintain consistency with your Line Variation. You can Open Brush Libraries through the “User Defined” or “Other Library” Options in the Brushes Panel in Adobe Illustrator.

DOWNLOAD BRUSHES

DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Our (Updated) Adobe Illustrator Brushes will come to you as Zipped Folders on Teachable. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Folders, the Brush Libraries are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Download Individual Libraries or save on our Brushes Bundle. Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. Many of you are jumping over from YouTube looking to download our Adobe Illustrator Brushes and Resource Folders. Digital Downloads will come through our friends at Teachable. Download our Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries, Comic Halftones, T-Shirt Textures, or Resource Bundle.

200 ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES: Our Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. (Updated) Libraries are pressure-sensitive for those of you looking to use your Tablets. Apply Brushes with Pen, Pencil, Shapes, or Paintbrush Tools. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

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200 ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES. Our (Updated) Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes. DOWNLOAD BRUSHES / BRUSHES GUIDE
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70 ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR HALFTONES. Our Halftones and Patterns Fills are designed for easy application even if you are new to Adobe Illustrator. Halftone Fills behave the same as a Color Swatch so you can apply them quickly using the Blob Brush, Live Paint, or Basic Fills. Halftones: 70 Comic Strip Halftone Fills and Pattern Fills. DOWNLOAD HALFTONES / HALFTONES GUIDE
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400 ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BMP TEXTURES. Our BMP Textures are extremely easy to use even if you are a beginner to Adobe Illustrator. Use BMP Textures along with Opacity Masks in the Transparency Panel for T-Shirt Distressing. BMP Textures: 145 Cracks, 120 Grunge Distressing, 75 Paper, and 77 Paint Splatter Textures. DOWNLOAD TEXTURES / TEXTURES GUIDE
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ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES. Our (Updated) Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes. DOWNLOAD BRUSHES / BRUSHES GUIDE
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ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR HALFTONES. Our Halftones and Patterns Fills are designed for easy application even if you are new to Adobe Illustrator. Halftone Fills behave the same as a Color Swatch so you can apply them quickly using the Blob Brush, Live Paint, or Basic Fills. Halftones: 70 Comic Strip Halftone Fills and Pattern Fills. DOWNLOAD HALFTONES / HALFTONES GUIDE
Image
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BMP TEXTURES. Our BMP Textures are extremely easy to use even if you are a beginner to Adobe Illustrator. Use BMP Textures along with Opacity Masks in the Transparency Panel for T-Shirt Distressing. BMP Textures: 145 Cracks, 120 Grunge Distressing, 75 Paper, and 77 Paint Splatter Textures. DOWNLOAD TEXTURES / TEXTURES GUIDE

DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Our (Updated) Adobe Illustrator Brushes will come to you as Zipped Folders. Once you have downloaded and extracted the Folders, the Brushes are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Download Individual Libraries or save on our Brushes Bundle. Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

200 ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES: Our Brushes are specifically designed for Illustrators and Cartoonists to speed up their workflow. (Updated) Libraries are pressure-sensitive for those of you looking to use your Tablets. Apply Brushes with Pen, Pencil, Shapes, or Paintbrush Tools. Brush Libraries are compatible with Adobe Illustrator CC through CS. Mac or PC. Adobe Illustrator Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.

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70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries.) 
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100 COMIC STRIP BRUSHES: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. (includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries.)
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50 MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more distressed look or ink bleed back in your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries.)
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70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. 70 Cartoon Brushes include Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: CARTOON BRUSHES
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial pug
100 COMIC STRIP BRUSHES: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. 100 Comic Strip Brushes include Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: COMIC BRUSHES
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50 MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. 50 Mascot Brushes include Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: MASCOT BRUSHES
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70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. 70 Cartoon Brushes include Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: CARTOON BRUSHES
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial pug
100 COMIC STRIP BRUSHES: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. 100 Comic Strip Brushes include Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: COMIC BRUSHES
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50 MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. 50 Mascot Brushes include Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: MASCOT BRUSHES
DOWNLOAD

ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES

DOWNLOAD 200 BRUSHES
20% OFF (SAVE $15)
DOWNLOAD

ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES

DOWNLOAD 200 BRUSHES
20% OFF (SAVE $12)
DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Our Adobe Illustrator Brushes will come to you as Zipped Folders. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, the Brush Libraries are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. I recommend Saving Brush Libraries to your "User Defined" by clicking Save Brush Library in the Brushes Menu.  Brush Libraries: 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial whale
70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries).
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial pug
100 COMIC STRIP BRUSHES: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. (includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries).
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial coyote
50 MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries).
DOWNLOAD BRUSHES: Our 200 Adobe Illustrator Brushes will come to you as a Zipped Folder on Teachable. Once you have Downloaded and Extracted the Folders, the Brush Libraries are ready to be used in Adobe Illustrator. I do recommend Saving "Updated" Brush Libraries to your "User Defined" by clicking Save Brush Library in the Brushes Menu.  Brush Libraries include our 70 Cartoon, 100 Comic Strip, and 50 Vintage Mascot Brushes.
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial whale
70 CARTOON BRUSHES: Adobe Illustrator Cartoon Brushes are my go-to brushes for Professional Logos, Cartoons, Mascots, and Branding. Use Cartoon Illustrator Brushes with the Pen, Pencil or Paint Brush Tools to Apply different Line Variation to your Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Cartoon, Cartoon 2, and Original Cartoon Brush Libraries).
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial pug
100 COMIC STRIP BRUSHES: Hand Painted + Comic Strip Brushes to get a lived-in feel back into your Vector Art. Comic Strips and Hand Painted are painted based on some of my favorite artists and cartoonists. These brushes are designed to look ready for the Sunday Paper. (includes Updated Comic Strip, Hand-Painted, Paintbrush, and Fine Liner Brush Libraries).
beginner adobe illustrator tutorial coyote
50 MASCOT BRUSHES: Jittery Hand, Caffeinated Cartoonist + Rough Ink Brushes to Mimic Paper Bleed and Caffeine. Designed to be a little less stiff with your vector art. Use these Brush Libraries to get more of a distressed look or ink bleed back in your own Vector Artwork. (includes Updated Caffeinated Cartoonist, Rough Ink, and Jittery Hand Brush Libraries).
DOWNLOAD

ILLUSTRATOR BRUSHES

DOWNLOAD 200 BRUSHES
20% OFF (SAVE $12)
Image
SAVING BRUSHES: Open All of the Brushes Libraries in Adobe Illustrator. (File - Open). Have your Brushes Panel Open. Under Window - Brushes. Click on Each Illustrator Document and Open the Brushes Menu in the Brushes Panel. Scroll down to Click on Save Brush Library. Default Location = User Defined. Repeat for each (updated) Brush Library.
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OPENING BRUSHES: Under Window - Select Brushes. In the Brushes Menu, drop-down to Open Brush Library. Hover over it and select "Other Library." A Normal Open Dialogue Box will appear to select any Brush Library to use in Illustrator. Almost all of our step-by-step tutorials on YouTube use this method.

How to Color in Adobe Illustrator

One of the easiest and fastest ways of filling in your color is through Live Paint. Live Paint Bucket is a part of the Shape Builder Tools which builds the shapes in the exact shape you need it. Select All. Go up to Object - Live Paint - Make. If you have a grayed out Make it simply means you didn't have anything selected. I do recommend Deselecting by clicking on your artboard before clicking on a Color Swatch. *Remember Everything is still Selected so it will Color the Full Selection if you click on a Color Swatch with everything selected. Click on the Live Paint Bucket (K) and Click to Dump Color. It will feel like the Paint Bucket in Adobe Photoshop. 

BEGINNER GUIDES

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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Advanced Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Advanced Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Coloring Methods VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE 
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building and Coloring Methods using Shapes. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Coloring Methods using Shapes. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building and Coloring Methods using Shapes. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand Building, Variation, Editing, and Basic Coloring Methods. VIEW BEGINNER GUIDE
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BEGINNER: Understand Building, Variation, Editing, and Basic Coloring Methods. VIEW DUCK TUTORIAL
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BEGINNER: Understand Building, Variation, and Expanded Editing Methods. VIEW SNAIL TUTORIAL
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BEGINNER: Understand the Building, Variation, and Advanced Coloring Methods. VIEW CAT TUTORIAL

*Older Content (<2018) was originally recorded for my in-class students (children). You are all adults, it has gotten weird.