Illustrator

Those who have conquered their fear of vector to become proficient in Illustrator often praise it–even above Photoshop–as the single most expressive creative pro application ever built.

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All the latest (and greatest) Illustrator tutorials, tips, tricks, articles, news, and reviews collected from all the Unleashed Gurus' websites and blogs and assembled here for your easy access. Use the toolbar above to filter the tutorials, tips, tricks, articles, news, and reviews to a particular creative application, or to view all subjects simultaneously.

Create your own vector avatar with Illustrator
- Thursday, 29 Jul 2010, 13:29 PDT (9 hours ago)
- By: Mordy Golding, Real World Illustrator
I don’t consider myself an “artist” as I’ve never had any formal drawing training (for the record, my background is more in corporate identity and layout – you know, lots of Helvetica and lots of white space). However, I’ve had…
Tutorial: “Lady Luck” T-Shirt Illustration
- Thursday, 29 Jul 2010, 10:30 PDT (12 hours ago)
- By: William Beachy, GoMediaZine» Illustrator
Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: Hey Go Media faithful readers! Time for a sweet new tutorial! I always feel like it’s been WAY too long since I’ve written one of these tutorials. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t leave much room…
Quick Tip: Create a Damask Pattern Using the MadPattern Illustrator Template
- Thursday, 29 Jul 2010, 07:00 PDT (15 hours ago)
- By: Matt Handler, Vectortuts+
Damask is a style of pattern that is easy to recognize, but not so easy to replicate. In this tutorial you will learn that with the right tools, anybody can make their own damask pattern that looks just as…
Using Illustrator CS5 Tools to Create a Painted House – Vector Premium Tutorial
- Thursday, 29 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (17 hours ago)
- By: Getulino Pacheco, Vectortuts+
We have another great Vector Premium tutorial available exclusively for Premium members today. If you want to learn how to use a combination of the new Illustrator CS5 features – including the Perspective Grid and Natural Media Brushes –…
Core Art Skills: Part 5, Traditional Media Techniques
- Wednesday, 28 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (Yesterday)
- By: Ben Mounsey, Vectortuts+
If you’ve been following the course you’ve hopefully been using your sketchbooks more and have have tried your hand at clay. If so, you should now be happy to get your hands dirty and make some textures. In this…
Working with Various Types of Vector Line Art
- Tuesday, 27 Jul 2010, 07:30 PDT (2 days ago)
- By: Sharon Milne, Vectortuts+
Line art is the use of lines or stretched shapes to create an illustration or enhance its appearance. Within this technique there are a variety of styles that are often found within the vector art community. In this article,…
Quick Tip: How to Use the Opacity Mask to Make High Gloss Icons and Reflections
- Tuesday, 27 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (2 days ago)
- By: Cheryl Graham, Vectortuts+
The Opacity Mask is a somewhat hidden feature in Adobe Illustrator. Mask work like Photoshop’s alpha channels to obscure parts of your artwork. In this Quick Tip, you’ll learn how to use Opacity Masks to make reflections and highlights…
Awesome Resource: User Interface Design Framework
- Tuesday, 27 Jul 2010, 02:33 PDT (2 days ago)
- By: speckyboy, Design Reviver » Search Results » illustrator
Today’s news focuses on only one single design resource… and what a FREE resource it is! It is The User Interface Design Framework from webalys.com, which is basically a huge design framework that consists of a complete GUI library, a…
Create the Mini Logo in Illustrator
- Monday, 26 Jul 2010, 12:30 PDT (3 days ago)
- By: tdomf_32bb0, Colorburned » Search Results » illustrator
Hi there. In the next tutorial you can learn to create the Mini logo. You’ll start with some basic tools and simple shapes.
Quick Tip: Create a Metal Grille using the Transform Effect
- Monday, 26 Jul 2010, 05:15 PDT (3 days ago)
- By: Cheryl Graham, Vectortuts+
Illustrator’s Transform effect makes it quick and easy to create a pattern from any object. Add some careful highlighting and gradients, and you’ve got a metallic industrial background.
Make a Delicious Sandwich with Easy 3D Illustration Techniques
- Monday, 26 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (3 days ago)
- By: Simona Pfreundner, Vectortuts+
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a 3D sandwich using easy to understand steps and techniques. We will use the 3D Extrude & Revolve Tool with some simple shapes to make a tasty looking BLT sandwich.…
Create a Detailed Vector Emblem Badge in Illustrator
- Sunday, 25 Jul 2010, 23:00 PDT (4 days ago)
- By: Chris Spooner, Blog.SpoonGraphics
Use a range of vector shapes in Adobe Illustrator to create a detailed black and white emblem badge. We’ll use a mix of basic tools to align the various shapes together, then add some cool detail using the more advanced…
Interview with Russ Cook
- Saturday, 24 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (5 days ago)
- By: Sonali Vora, Vectortuts+
Russ Cook is a illustrator and caricature artist from Oxford, UK. He has a unique caricature style which can be seen on his portfolio site that has a number of celebrities and well known people’s caricatures. In this interview,…
Weekly Vector Inspiration #80
- Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 09:12 PDT (6 days ago)
- By: Rype, Vectips
This post is part of a weekly series showcasing inspirational vector art. Although the series showcases vector art, some work might just be vector inspired, not created completely with vector art. If you have any art suggestions, feel free…
Farmville Type Effect with Adobe Illustrator
- Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 07:07 PDT (6 days ago)
- By: Matt Kloskowski, Layers Magazine » Illustrator
Recreate the type effect from a popular online game. Matt chose to use Adobe Illustrator because of its options for outlining text.
Quick Tip: Paragraph Styles
- Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 05:15 PDT (6 days ago)
- By: Cheryl Graham, Vectortuts+
A lightweight version of the paragraph styles you would find in Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator’s Paragraph Styles help you set your type in many different ways. Learn more about how to save time styling your type in this Video…
Creating a Mysterious Cheshire Cat in Adobe Illustrator – Vector Premium Tutorial
- Friday, 23 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (6 days ago)
- By: Sharon Milne, Vectortuts+
We have another great Vector Premium tutorial available exclusively for Premium members today. Would you like to learn how to create a detailed vector illustration based on the Cheshire Cat? If so, we have an awesome tutorial for you.…
This Week’s Favourites – July 23rd 2010
- Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 22:00 PDT (1 week ago)
- By: Chris Spooner, Blog.SpoonGraphics
In this week’s roundup of creative goodness, we have a fantastic photo manipulation tutorial, a terror style movie poster tutorial, a bright cosmic illustration tutorial, an overview of modern day icon design and an inspiration roundup of Tron Legacy promo…
Quick Tip: How Create an Abstract Desktop Wallpaper
- Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 05:15 PDT (1 week ago)
- By: Iaroslav Lazunov, Vectortuts+
Looking for an abstract wallpaper but can’t find a color or shape that your like? In this tutorial you will learn how to create desktop wallpapers using simple geometric figures, the Blending Mode, and Gaussian Blur. Let’s get started!…
Create CS5 Width Profile Brushes in any Version of Adobe Illustrator CS!
- Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (1 week ago)
- By: Sharon Milne, Vectortuts+
Adobe Illustrator CS5 has a new option within the Stroke window known as "Width Profile". This tutorial shows how you can create brushes and use them in any version of Adobe Illustrator CS. You will also learn how to…
Exclusive Freebie Tons of Frames – Earth Collection- Circular Photoshop Brushes Set Low Res Versoion
- Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 00:37 PDT (1 week ago)
- By: Asmaa, AiVault - Vector Resources & Tuts
A very creative set of Photoshop Frames in circular shapes , These decorated frames and…
Visit the site to read the rest!
Simulating the CSS Box Model in Illustrator
- Wednesday, 21 Jul 2010, 09:09 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Mordy Golding, Real World Illustrator
Illustrator is a great tool for mocking up websites. In Illustrator CS5, Adobe added an Align to Pixel feature that ensures crisp antialiasing, and in a recent episode of Fridays with Mordy, we spoke about using Illustrator for various web…
Core Art Skills: Part 4, Working in Traditional 3D
- Wednesday, 21 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Ben Mounsey, Vectortuts+
By now you should be feeling supercharged with creativity and ready to unleash your ideas on a new project. In the fourth installment of Core Art Skills, Ben Mounsey will be showing you the benefits of getting your hands…
Fan Art Illustration
- Tuesday, 20 Jul 2010, 22:29 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: admin, IllustrationClass.com
Designing a character can apply to both personal and professional projects and the character can be a mascot that works in context of a multi-national brand or it can simply be inspired by a well-known character within pop culture.…
Logo Design On A Budget
- Tuesday, 20 Jul 2010, 10:30 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Drew Dunlap, GoMediaZine» Illustrator
Archived; click post to view. Excerpt: I am frequently asked to put together logos or promotional materials for independent bands, which is fantastic, except they don’t have the budget of a signed or sponsored band. Through the years I’ve found…
Profile: Alex Mathers
- Tuesday, 20 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Michelle Krasniak Oxman, Vectortuts+
"Believe me, there is plenty of time left over." Those are words spoken by Alex Mathers the UK-based Illustrator and author of "10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives" and the man behind not only the modern…
Update: Books, Videos, and Blogs
- Monday, 19 Jul 2010, 11:58 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Mordy Golding, Real World Illustrator
Hey there everyone! I know, it has been a while. And I wanted to bring you up to date to let you know what I’ve been busy with.
Books
Real World Illustrator CS5 is complete and off to the printer.…
Create an iPod Nano in Illustrator
- Monday, 19 Jul 2010, 06:25 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: tdomf_32bb0, Colorburned » Search Results » illustrator
Hi there. In the following tutorial I will shown how to make an iPod Nano. It’s a very simple one. For the overall shapes you will only have to use the Rectangle Tool and the Ellipse Tool.
Quick Tip: How to Draw a Stylized Motorcycle with Complex Brushes
- Monday, 19 Jul 2010, 05:15 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Iaroslav Lazunov, Vectortuts+
The application of brushes can be very different, from imitating smudges in painting up to the most unexpected effects. In this tutorial you will learn how to create complex brushes in Adobe Illustrator and how brushes work together to…
How to Create a Stylish Wireless Phone
- Monday, 19 Jul 2010, 05:00 PDT (2 weeks ago)
- By: Ali, Vectortuts+
In this tutorial you will learn how to make a great looking Wireless Phone. You will be using Offset Path and various gradients to create a three dimensional phone with realistic highlights and reflections.