Are you ready to make digital items you can sell online or give away as collateral to readers,  subscribers and followers? Are you ready to learn Illustrator in a practical way - actually making things?

Great! Welcome! This course is for you. It's a fun and a practical way to learn Illustrator and start building collections of assets you can monetize. These can be sold online to digital scrapbookers (digiscrapping), to designers for use in their design projects, for social media use and printables.

In this course, you "learn by doing" as you make a range of creative assets suitable for scrapbooking, digital projects and social media marketing purposes.  You will learn to make scrapbook papers, seamless repeating patterns, type elements, graphic photo overlays for social media, digital art, and much more. These designs can be sold on Etsy or other online market places, they can be uploaded to Spoonflower to make fabric and wallpaper, they can be used at print on demand sites as book covers and mugs, and can be sold as vector or bitmap stock images. There are so many ways to monetize the designs you'll make in this course.

Who is your trainer?

I'm Helen Bradley and I've taught thousands of students to use Illustrator and Photoshop. I don't fluff about and I'm focused on helping you learn to use Illustrator in a practical and smart way. My workflows are carefully structured for maximum success and I explain everything so you know the 'why' as well as the 'how' of any process.

I have a huge commitment to my students' learning - I answer all student questions and I often add extra videos to a course to help students with questions that others might also benefit from learning from.

What will you learn?

When you complete this course, you'll:   

• be able to create scrapbook papers, type elements and ancillary graphics in Illustrator

• be able to color coordinate a collection of items

• know how to package a product line for sale

• have extended your knowledge of Illustrator tools

• have learned new tips and techniques that you can use every day

• be able to confidently create graphic assets for a range of design and commercial uses

• have developed new graphic design skills and workflows

Do I hear you say "...but I don't know how to use Illustrator (and frankly, I'm scared of it)"?

I understand!    

I've been there.

Illustrator can be really scary to use when you first start out.   

… but I've created a better way to learn Illustrator. One that makes it a lot less scary and a lot more fun.   

You see, you'll learn to make items you can sell, give away on your blog, and use yourself. So you'll be making designs that you can do something with at the same time that you are learning Illustrator. There's no waiting! There's no hours of learning before you can get started doing something. In fact you can start today. Complete the first few lessons and you'll have your first scrapbook paper made!    

Do I hear you say "... but I hate the Pen tool!"?

I understand! Most people hate the pen tool. You are not alone!

… I believe that Illustrator is so much more than its (dreaded) Pen tool – so we'll use the pen tool only when we have to (which is practically never) and you'll see just how much you can achieve without it.    

Do I hear you say "... but I can't draw"?

No problem! If you can use a mouse you can complete this course.

Quite simply, you don't need to be able to draw. In fact many designers can't draw and yet they make fantastic designs and great products. 

If you can draw – great! If you can't draw – don't worry, you'll be able to do succeed in this course even if drawing isn't a skill you have mastered.  In those sections of the course where you learn to digitize hand drawn sketches I will give you some of my sketches you can work with so you can master the skills even if you don't  yet have drawings you can use.

Are you ready to extend your Illustrator skills?

If you already know the basics of using Illustrator, taking this class will elevate your skills to a new level. You'll learn to use tools and techniques in a practical situation. No laboriously making shapes just to learn what the pathfinder tool does. No! In this class you'll learn the pathfinder because you need it, you'll draw shapes intrinsic to the design you are making - you'll be putting your skills to practical use from the first lecture. You'll reinforce your existing knowledge as you apply it to real world designs. And if we use tools you've never used before - great! You'll learn to use them fast and easily so you understand how you can put them to work in your daily workflow.    

Do I hear you say "Please don't waste my time"?

If there is one thing I hate it’s wasting time and you probably do too. 

So, I don't say "um", I don't fluff about, I don't make mistakes, I know my stuff and I show you how to do things efficiently and effectively. I speed up the videos where appropriate so you don't get bored or distracted. 

I'm 100% focused on helping you learn.   

In short, I'll get straight to the point and I’ll maximize what you learn in every class.   

Do I hear you say "... but I can't afford the latest Illustrator version"?

Again, I understand. I teach thousands of students who can't afford the monthly Creative Cloud payment. If you're using practically any version of Illustrator you should be able to complete most of this course.  That said, a small number of the designs we'll make require the use of the Pattern Make tool which was introduced in Illustrator CS6 (and which is in Illustrator CC). So, if you are using Illustrator CS5, or earlier you may want to skip those sections.

Will I just learn to make things?

Well Yes, and No! 

Yes, you'll learn to make all sorts of creative assets, but you'll also learn to use tools such as the Transform tools and Type tools and you'll learn techniques and tips for working everyday in Illustrator.

You'll get plenty of practice using Illustrator and you'll grow in confidence with every lecture.

How will I learn?

This course is made up 100% of video content. You'll watch my screen as I show you how each design is made. I'll explain what I am doing and why so you can learn as you watch. At the end of each section is an optional assignment you can do to test and reinforce your learning.

Join me... 

I hope you will join me in this Illustrator class. I look forward to meeting you and I invite you to contact me if you have any questions as you work through the lectures.  

cheers!

Helen