Illustator Homework #1

The three videos I chose to look deeper into improved my overall understanding and ability to use and navigate adobe illustrator. 

Getting Started with Adobe Illustrator for Beginners Tutorial

After watching the first video, I learned many tricks in tools regarding adobe illustrator. I have never used this software before, so it is almost like learning another language for me. This video goes into detail about the tools and skills needed to create successful designs in this software. I found that the “document setup” button is very useful for altering the width and the height of the canvas in order to set up a specific artboard before starting with illustrator. When using the rectangle tool, or M on the keyboard, I learned that pressing shift as I am dragging the mouse will create a perfect square, which is very helpful. I will use this when creating concise shapes in my projects. I think that the tools will be easier to use when I memorize all of the shortcut keys and what tool they select. This will be the hardest part, in my opinion. 

I found this video interesting and helpful when navigating through the extensive list of tools and buttons in illustrator. The video gave clear constructions on where to find the tools necessary for beginners to start creating designs. The most interesting part of this video was, as mentioned before, the shift key. For example, when using the ellipse tool, holding shift will make a perfect circle. 

Illustrator Paintbrush Tool

        This video highlights the information regarding the paintbrush tool. This tool will be used in almost all of my work, so I think it is very important to thoroughly learn how to use it. I learned how to change the size and the color of the brush, as well as the different textures. There are many buttons that select different types of brushes; I think it is going to be difficult to choose the correct brush that will make my design the most successful, however, after some practice and experience, my judgment will get a lot better. 

I found this video interesting because of how common this tool will be used, and using it correctly will be vital for the outcome of whatever design I am creating. The most interesting aspect of this video is the opacity feature. It will definitely be difficult to chose the correct opacity, but very useful when I want the line to be more transparent. 

Learn Illustrator in 5 MINUTES! Beginner Tutorial

        This video is an overall tutorial of learning adobe illustrator in 5 minutes. As I stated before in my analysis of the first video I watched, the different shortcuts on the keyboard will be very useful. For example, when creating a design with smaller lines, I would use ctrl + to zoom in to be more concise. After this is done, hitting ctrl minus will allow me to zoom back out. The layers tool is very common when creating a dense design, however, it is complex and will be difficult for me to understand. Learning all of the different buttons, like locking layers, hiding layers, duplicating layers, etc. will take some time to get used to. It is also going to be difficult to get used to the toolbar changing at the top after selecting different tools and sub tools. I will use this when putting designs on top of or below other designs.

I found this video interesting, like the other videos, for many reasons. I assumed that the star sub tool, under the rectangle tool, will create a generic star. I learned that clicking up or down arrow keys on the keyboard will increase or decrease the amount of points that the shape has. This was very interesting to learn from because of how simple he made everything seem.