Zero to Illustrator Hero in just 5 days and gain the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA)

Get recognised for the new skills you’ve just gained: Get Certified!

This fast track Illustrator course is for designers and budding developers new to the Illustrator environment, or those that have not had formal training.

You’ll produce an exciting graphic project using both the classic features and the new and improved tools in Illustrator and will leave this class with the ability to create and incorporate vector graphics for different projects. Get recognised for the new skills you’ve just gained: Get Certified! Don’t just learn Illustrator– get recognised for the knowledge you’ve learned.

Whatever your career path, proven Adobe software expertise will keep you ahead of the curve and help you develop a solid competitive advantage in today’s complex marketplace. Adobe certifications are a reliable validation of your skills and knowledge, and can lead to accelerated professional development, improved productivity, and enhanced credibility in your field.

You will be prepared for and take the Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) exam at the end of this course.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

Graphic designers or people transitioning into a design job or taking on design responsibilities who need to use Adobe Illustrator to create illustrations, logos, advertisements or other graphic documents. They may have little or no experience with Illustrator, although they may already use Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop.

ASSUMED KNOWLEDGE

Basic computer skills are necessary to complete this Illustrator course. These skills include; a basic understanding of a computer’s operating system, launching an application, creating and saving files, and copying files from CDs and other media.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Draw and understand Bezier curves
The root of drawing in Illustrator
Create a logo using simple shapes
Accurately place and measure objects in the Illustration window
Trace and colour your hand drawn artwork with Live Trace
Live Paint and Live Colour
Save illustrations for both print and web purposes
Further adjust Bezier curves by creating Compound paths
Create Custom Brushes and various Graphic Styles
Work with Transparency and other raster effects like drop shadows
Accurately adjust type in an artwork
Prepare documents for composite and commercial printing
Enhance the workflow and
Integration of Illustrator with the rest of Creative Suite

Setting up Illustrator projects

Identify project requirements
Establish target audience and needs
Define media format and publishing requirements

User interface

Identify user interface elements
Create and select Workspaces
Navigate and zoom documents

Creating artwork

Understanding difference between vector and bitmap formats
Apply design principles to create artwork
Using pen and shape tools to create basic geometry
Selecting and Grouping objects
Transform and modify elements
Create and manipulate text
Organise artwork using layers
Create symbols

Colours

Selecting and applying colours
Creating colour swatches
Applying and modifying gradients
Working with spot colours

Effects and transparency

Apply transparency to objects
Blend elements using blend effects
Working with bitmaps
Placing raster images
Using the links panel to relink and update images
Tracing images using live trace presets

Publish artwork

Identifying common file formats
Choose appropriate settings to optimise graphics on the screen, print and video
Creating JPEG, PDF, PNG, SVG

Live Colour and Live Trace

Use Live Color to create colours
Generate a colour group
Recolour artwork
Live trace bitmap images
Improve the trace result

Effects and transparency techniques

Adjusting and applying effects such as drop shadow and 3D
Using Photoshop effects
Use the Appearance panel
Create transparency and opacity masks
3D shading with the gradient mesh tool

Type features

Create character and paragraph styles
Leading, Kerning and Tracking
Horizontal and vertical scaling
Add text to a vector path

Create custom brushes

Calligraphic brush
Scatter brush
Pattern brush
Art brush
Bristle brush

Drawing techniques

Use the Pen tool
Work with compound paths
Use the expand appearance command
Use the outline strokes command
Create, use and update graphic styles
Use envelope distort
Blend tool
Create clipping masks
Use the Width tool
Use the Pathfinder panel
Use the perspective grid tool
Create and manipulate patterns
Work with layers and sub layers

Artboards

Create and manage multiple artboards
Export artboards

Setup for Print

Print terminology explained
Optimise the effect quality by adjusting raster effect settings
Create trim marks and crop marks
Preview artwork using CMYK soft proof
Package option

ACA Exam Preparation

Using copyrighted material
Identify design project requirements and deliverable
Establish the purpose and needs for your target audience
Mock exam
Exams

Public Scheduled Classes

Come into one of our centrally located training facilities. Small class sizes, industry experienced instructors, and many classes lead towards certification.

Virtual Student

Attend a real-time class without leaving home.

Find out more

Private Training

We can organise training for you. We can do it for only one person or a group. Give us a call an we can make arrangements for your course.

Live Online Training

With our online toolbox let your global team learn together. Give us a call and we can make arrangements for your course.

Academy In A Case

If you can’t come to us we can come to you. Give us a call and we can make arrangements for your course.

Spreading the cost of your training

You know that in the long term it pays to be skilled up in the latest software. But you’ll also know that, in the short term, investing in yourself can feel painful on your pocket. So we’ve got a solution that will help you learn the skills you need, at a monthly price that you can afford.

Introducing Academy Class Payments.

Because we’re committed to your success, we’re offering you the opportunity to pay for your training monthly, rather than the whole cost upfront. We want to remove every barrier we can to your success, and if having the flexibility to spread the cost of your training helps you, as it helps thousands of others, then let’s do it.

Save With Academy Class Vouchers

Academy Class Vouchers are a flexible, cost-effective solution for training multiple individuals within a team or across an organisation and allow any member within your organisation to book a training course anytime over a 12 month period.

Multiple users can make dramatic savings, booking 10 to 30 day training blocks from the Academy Class schedule. It’s up to you how many Academy Class Vouchers you purchase.

All you need to remember is that, the more you buy, the more you save.

Rated 5 out of 5

Sarah – March 14, 2017

Illustrator Zero to Hero – Highly recommended!
I completed the Illustrator Zero to Hero with Ian Gilbert. Although I had never used the software before, Ian was able to teach me all that I needed to know in order to pass the ACA exam.
Having worked as a trainer myself, I can only recommend Ian, who was happy to answer all my questions, and trust me I had plenty. With his knowledge, passion for the subject, and support for all of us, Ian managed to teach us a huge amount of engaging material, in a short period of time. I am confident using the software now and I cannot wait to start creating work with my newly found skills. Highly recommended.
“
Rated 5 out of 5

Jon Hall – December 12, 2016

Excellent course
Rated 5 out of 5

STA Hounslow – July 12, 2016

I done the Adobe Illustrator zero to hero in February – the trainer Mark was fantastic. Small class sizes mean you can get 1-1 attention and go over things a few times. The venue is good, they provide luncheon vouchers and unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits
Rated 5 out of 5

Liam – June 30, 2016

Relaxed friendly environment, knowledgeable staff.
Rated 5 out of 5

Andy Ebdy, FMC Technologies Ltd – June 21, 2016

The training course was extremely beneficial, it covered a lot of objectives I was looking for and more, also, the presenter was well qualified and passionate about the subject matter, I would highly recommend the course to others.I would also recommend the use of academy class as there staff were very friendly as well as being exceedingly professional.