Hello folks, this is Priyal, a student at ADMEC Multimedia Institute. Today, I’m here to share my Adobe Illustrator training experience with you all. Recently, I completed my Adobe Illustrator classes and also created a practice project using Illustrator. So, I thought I would share a few insights from my journey to help you understand how an Illustrator training period normally goes from a student’s perspective.
Table of contents:
- ADMEC Multimedia Institute and its Graphic Design Diploma Course
- My learning experience with Adobe Illustrator
- A glance at the history of Adobe Illustrator
- 2 Months long Adobe Illustrator Training at ADMEC Multimedia
- My Practice Project in Adobe Illustrator
- What options did I find very useful in Adobe Illustrator?
Before we move forward, let me tell you about my course and institution, where I learned Illustrator.
ADMEC Multimedia Institute and its Graphic Design Diploma Course
ADMEC is a multimedia training institute located in New Delhi. It offers more than 100 courses in web, media, animation, marketing, etc. The course which I joined here is Graphic Master Plus. My course is 12 months long and it lies under the diploma category.
Some of the main components of my course are:
- Commercial and visual foundation classes are my favorite as these sessions improve my design sense and visualization skills.
- Practical computer classes where I learn software applications and the implementation of visual grammar concepts practically.
- Special workshops are held twice a month and cover the most trending topics like top graphic artists of India or most popular advertising agencies in the world. These sessions improved my knowledge of the design industry a lot. I also made sketchbooks on the same topics as assignments given by the workshop mentors.
- Industry visits are mind blowing and give exposure to the industry. I remember our Print & Media Expo visit to Pragati Madan.
- Quiz competitions are also a part of my course and they are just amazing. I participated in the Multimedia quiz competition 2024 as a member of Team A. I learned a lot, especially teamwork.
- Canvas painting sessions also make this course, an ideal one for creativity lovers. As a future designer, my art mentor Promila Mam taught me the techniques of canvas painting and I enjoyed creating my own.
- Practice projects that I worked on so far are up to the mark. They are real skill builders. From time management to full project planning and presentation, everything is there. This means, that there isn’t any need to worry about building a portfolio separately, these projects are enough to polish your skills. I worked on a brand campaign and created a blend of designs using Adobe Illustrator.
Many more points to add but let’s move forward with today’s blog topic.
My Adobe Illustrator Training Experience at ADMEC
After joining the ADMEC Multimedia Institute, I learned Adobe Illustrator, the first software I have used. I belonged to a completely different stream and never experienced any other designing software, so it was difficult for me to grasp the vast nature of this software but thanks to Nishu sir, he explained every concept in detail, worked on my skills and now I am well versed with the basic as well as complex features of this software.
A glance at the history of Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator comes under the umbrella of Adobe Creative Cloud (ACC). It is an old application released in the year of 1987 but now it has become a synonym for vector art and illustrations.
Do you know that Statista’s February 2024 report reveals that Adobe Illustrator has a 12% share of the global graphics software market?
It is no doubt a popular tool and there are many graphic designers, visual artists, and illustrators who love to use it worldwide.
2 Months long Adobe Illustrator Training at ADMEC Multimedia
During the past two months, I attended approximately 15-16 sessions of Illustrator. I learned the usage of its various tools and how they can help me as a designer. I found the very useful to enhance the quality of my artwork.
Along with this I also explored how an actual design is made. How the measurements are taken for designing a product packaging, and how typography should be in a design. I believe that with more practice and dedication I can master this software shortly. I will use it in the real world outside the four walls of the classroom in the next few months of my Adobe Illustrator course.
My Practice Project in Adobe Illustrator
After completing my classes, I got a practice project to complete in 15 days. This project was a big chance for me to excel in my Adobe Illustrator skills. My project was based on an imaginative shopping brand and I had to prepare a complete brand campaign for it. So, I decided on the brand name “GLAM SHOP”.
I prepared a complete stationery design set for this hypothetical brand called GLAM SHOP.
It includes the logo, poster, visiting cards, envelope, calendar, mock-ups, and many more. Same as you can see in the image added above.
What options did I find very useful in Adobe Illustrator?
See, there are many useful options and tools in the software. But if I talk about the ones which I used very frequently then they are Expand options. Let’s know more about them.
1. EXPAND
The Expand option helps in transforming the patterns, brush strokes, and text into vector shapes. Once the objects are expanded, they can be edited as a path using the Direct Selection tool in Illustrator.
Let’s understand it practically step by step:
Step 1: First we will create a basic shape in this example by using the rectangle tool. Add the color and increase the shapes’s outline using stroke options from the property bar on the top.
Step 2: Select the rectangle shape you made, click on the object menu on the top, and then select the Expand option.
Now, select what properties you want to expand from both Fill & Stroke and click Ok.
Step 3: Next, double-click on the expanded shapes, and now you can edit its fill and stroke separately. Use the Direct Selection tool to pick the individual points and change them in the way you want.
I made a change to the stroke to create a frame style as shown below.
While working on the Expand option, I also found another way to expand the object. It was through Expand Appearance. Let me make their difference clear.
2. EXPAND APPEARANCE
Both Expand and Expand Appearance did the same thing but the way we use them is different. We generally use Expand to change the object’s fill and stroke styles. On the other hand, Expand Appearance is active when we have applied any multiple blending modes or effects from the appearance panel.
Ending words
There are many more features but I used to expand options a lot while working on my projects. I would suggest every new learner focus on making the basics stronger and that is only possible when we select the right Adobe Illustrator Training method, like I did.
AUTHOR INTRODUCTION
Hi, my name is Priyal Agarwal and I’m post graduate with a master’s in art from GD College. Now I started training under one of the diploma courses in graphic design from ADMEC Multimedia. I will be learning to design and editing of graphics and enhance my skills for a brighter career. I would recommend every design lover to be a part of this course. My mentor in the Illustrator batch is Nishu sir and he guided me throughout my learning journey. Thank you, sir.
