Getting Started in Pattern Design: Tip #1 Learn Adobe Illustrator
Hello everyone! I’m so excited to have you in my growing community of enthusiastic surface pattern designers. I don’t ever want to forget to thank you and tell you how grateful I am to have you in my community.
Many of you may have found me by downloading my free guide called: Top 5 Tips for Getting Started in Pattern Design. If you don’t have the guide, you can get it here.
Over the next five weeks, these blog posts will cover each tip in more detail to help you understand more about them and why I think they’re so important.
Before we dive into Tip #1, let me give you a quick overview of the essential supplies you’ll need as you begin your journey as a surface pattern designer. You’ll see that you don’t need a lot of equipment to get started. Here is my list with several links attached for your convenience. As an amazon affiliate, I’ll receive a small payment if you purchase an item through my links.
A Mac or PC computer
Adobe Illustrator (access a free trial HERE)
Sketchbooks. I use Canson mix media paper pads 9 inches by 12 inches
Drawing tools: I use a set of Uni pin fine liners
#2 pencils
Erasers: I use both a Staedtler and a Prismacolor kneaded
A smartphone. I have an iPhone X
That’s all you need to get started!
Now let’s jump into Tip #1 – Learning Adobe Illustrator. Let me start by saying that I was really intimidated by Illustrator when I first opened the program. I was in my mid-50s when I decided to pursue a career in surface pattern design and hadn’t learned a new computer program in quite some time. If I can do it, so can YOU!
The most important piece of advice I can share is Be Patient! It may seem very foreign at the beginning, but with practice and the support inside our private Facebook group, Anne’s Art Club, you’ll make steady progress and start to become comfortable with it.
To make the learning process easier to you, I’ve created an Adobe Illustrator Masterclass. It’s a 5-Part Video Series that I’m providing FREE for a limited time.
Sign up HERE for my FREE Adobe Illustrator Masterclass and in Lesson One I’ll show you how to:
Open the program on your computer
Create a new document
Change the look of your work area or canvas
Set the “auto save” feature so you won’t lose your work
Familiarize yourself with the layout of the menu and tool bars
If you have any questions, join my email list where you’ll be invited to join Anne’s Art Club, our private Facebook group. I’m adding a LIVE component to the Masterclass to answer questions and provide on-going support for you as you progress through each lesson. These live sessions will be held inside Anne’s Art Club on Wednesdays at 1pm PST for the next several weeks. I can’t wait to see you there.
Sign up to get free access to the Adobe Illustrator Masterclass. I’m only offering this masterclass FREE for the next few days. Free access to the Masterclass ends at midnight PST on November 15, 2018.
One final note is that I’m using a Mac and while most of the commands inside Illustrator are the same for the Mac and a PC, there are three major differences.
1. A PC user will use the Control key whenever I say to use the Command key.
2. A PC user will use the Alt key whenever I say to use the Option or Alt key.
3. A PC user will use the backspace key whenever I say to use the delete key.
I’ll do my best to remember to point out these differences but please forgive me if I sometimes forget. If you are on a PC, just think:
“control key” when I say “command key”
“alt key” when I say “option or alt” key
“backspace” whenever I say “delete”
Don’t forget to SIGN UP TODAY for the FREE Adobe Illustrator Masterclass. You’ll learn all the essential tools and techniques you need to make progress faster in your pattern design journey. Free access expires at midnight PST on November 15th, 2018.
And remember,
It’s Never Too Late to Create
If you enjoyed this blog please share it with your friends and family. Click your favorite social platform below. And join my email list for weekly creative inspiration and an invitation to our private Facebook group, Anne’s Art Club.
MEET ANNE
Hi…I’m Anne!
My creative inspiration comes from a lifetime of observation living in, and traveling to, beautiful environments in the United States and abroad.
