30 Fresh new illustrator tutorials from 2014

• April 14th, 2014
• Illustrator

A collection of the very best illustrator design tutorial released throughout 2014. It’s essential as a designer that you’re always striving to grow your design skill set. This is a great roundup of the very best tutorials for beginners, and as well as for more advanced illustrator users.

1. Create a Delicious Ice Cream Bar in Adobe Illustrator

2. How to Create a Polygonal Vector Mosaic That Will Wow Any Crowd

3. Create Simple Flowers With Gradient Mesh in Adobe Illustrator

4. How to Create a Simple Clock Illustration in Adobe Illustrator

5. Create a Detailed, UFO Illustration in Adobe Illustrator

6. Create cartoon figures with ease

In this tutorial, Mercedes Crespo (aka YemaYema) shows how she creates her appealing cartoon characters. Though full of detail, rich in colour and complex in appearance, they are simple to draw, as she reveals here.

7. Create a Gorgeous Retro Badge in Adobe Illustrator

In this tutorial, Mercedes Crespo (aka YemaYema) shows how she creates her appealing cartoon characters. Though full of detail, rich in colour and complex in appearance, they are simple to draw, as she reveals here.

8. Create a Skating Girl With Basic Shapes in Adobe Illustrator

You don’t need to be a cool artist to vector characters. In Adobe Illustrator you can create them just with basic shapes.

9. Create a Simple Thermometer lllustration in Adobe Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to create a simple thermometer illustration in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to set up a simple grid, how to create the pixel perfect main shape and how to add subtle shading. Next using basic blending and vector shape building techniques and taking full advantage of the Appearance panel, you will learn how to create the thermometer tube. Finally, you will learn how to create a simple grid using two tiny paths and a bunch of Transform effects.

10. ABDZ Weave Pattern in Illustrator

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to create a simple thermometer illustration in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to set up a simple grid, how to create the pixel perfect main shape and how to add subtle shading. Next using basic blending and vector shape building techniques and taking full advantage of the Appearance panel, you will learn how to create the thermometer tube. Finally, you will learn how to create a simple grid using two tiny paths and a bunch of Transform effects.

11. Create a Green Web Badge Using Live Corners in Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create a pretty simple, green web badge in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to use the Star Tool and how to create your own star shape. Next, using the Live Corners feature you will learn how to easily add roundness for some of those sharp points. Moving on you will learn how to add subtle shading and highlights using the Appearance panel, simple effects plus some basic blending and masking techniques. Finally, you will learn how to add a textured background and a simple piece of text.

12. How to Draw a Bookshelf Illustration Using 3D Modeling Techniques

In this tutorial, we’ll use basic shape design and 3D modeling in Adobe Illustrator to draw a cool cloud bookshelf illustration. Then, we’ll add interest to our design by applying textures and shading to our shelf.

13. Create an Alphabetti Spaghetti Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create an alphabetti spaghetti text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to create a simple rectangle and a piece of text and how to easily place them in the center of your artboard. Next, using basic vector shape building techniques you will learn how to create the main compound paths. Moving on you will add subtle shading and highlights using the Appearance panel, basic blending techniques and a bunch of raster effects. Finally, using a radial gradient and a simple blending techniques you will learn how to increase the contrast for the overall illustration.

14. The secrets of cute character art revealed

Bubblefriends-creator Sascha Preuß teaches the art of designing colourful cartoon characters and reveals how to stay the right side of the line between cutely hip and childishly schmaltzy. Step by step, Sascha will take you through the development of a character from the first sketch to the final colouring.the principles of cuteness.

15. Create an Easy, Valentine’s Day Bunny in Adobe Illustrator

In this tutorial you will learn how to create a cute character, Valentine’s Bunny, in Adobe Illustrator. Using just the basic shapes you can create any cartoon animal you want. Also I will show you how to create a triangle and a heart shapes, which are not on the Tools panel.

16. How to Create a Gold Text Effect and Graphic Style in Illustrator

You’ll learn how to create a complex gold graphic style which includes a reflection, dropping shadows and highlights. These all can be created with the help of the most powerful tool available in Adobe Illustrator–the Appearance panel. You learn how to create this graphic style and then apply it to editable text objects. Have fun learning our new vector tutorial!

17. Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop tutorial: Create low-poly art portraits

You’ll see how to create this cool, grainy work with a low-poly (a polygon mesh of a small number of polygons) twist. First we’ll create some vector portraits, then get texturing in Photoshop with self-made brushes.

18. Create a Detailed Snake Pattern Brush in Adobe Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create a detailed snake pattern brush in Adobe Illustrator.

19. How to Create a Mac Icon in Adobe Illustrator

In the following tutorial you will learn how to create a simple Mac icon in Adobe Illustrator.

20. Create 3D Letters Without the Use of 3D Tools in Adobe Illustrator

Follow this new quick tip and learn how to create simple 3D letters without the use of the 3D effects. We will start from a simple font and after a few adjustments we are going to be ready to create the 3D look with the help of the Transform effect and a few shape manipulations. Once completed, you can color the 3D letters as you desire.

21. Creating a geometric star in Illustrator

Depending on the shape and outcome of the creation, these kind of objects can be ideal for a logo design, but in most cases they’re perfect if you are looking for a colorful background. My tutorial explains the creation of the object used in this background (see image above). Towards the end I also share some of my other experimentations to give you some ideas of what is possible. When creating these kind of objects, I hardly ever have the end result in my mind. They usually come to live after a lot of experimenting, trying out a lot of transparency effects, layers modes, rotation angles,… These creations can be very time consuming as they involve a lot of trial and error, but they’re usually worth the try as you might be surprised.

22. Typographic Logo in Illustrator and Photoshop

This tutorial I will show you how to use simple Illustrator tools to create a very trendy logo. The process is quite simple and can be applied to all sorts of logos and illustrations for your future projects.

23. Turn Drab Text Into an Amazing Design Using This Simple USB Vector Text Effect

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to create a wire pattern brush and how to use it to create a nice USB vector text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters, you will learn how to set up a simple grid and how to create a bunch of pixel perfect shapes using basic tools and effects. Using basic blending and vector shape building techniques along with some simple Transform effects, you will learn how to create the usb connector. Finally, you will learn how to turn all these shapes into a simple pattern brush and how to create the text.

24. Use Pattern Brushes to Create a Shoe Lace Text Effect in Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create a laces text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to create the main lace shapes using a simple rectangle, three Transform effects and some basic vector shape building techniques. Using similar effects and techniques along with the Warp and Distort effects you will learn how to create the laces tips. Moving on, you will learn how to save two simple pattern and how to use them to create your own pattern brush. Finally, using that pattern brush, some basic masking techniques and several Drop Shadow effects you will create the text.

25. how to create abstract pattern

Today’s Illustrator and Photoshop design tutorial is based on a suggestion from one of my readers. Ella got in touch with some examples of cool geometric gradient designs that she had seen a lot lately and wondered how they were made. I always love receiving tutorial suggestions, so I’ve been busy playing around to figure out how to replicate this cool effect. Follow this step by step guide to create your own abstract gradient pattern art using a mix of Photoshop and Illustrator techniques.

26. Create a Chemistry Tubes Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator

In the following steps you will learn how to create a chemistry tubes text effect in Adobe Illustrator. For starters you will learn how to setup a grid and how to create a simply piece of text. Using basic tools and effects along with the Snap to Grid feature you will learn how to create the main shape. Moving on you will learn how to add subtle shading and highlights using the Appearance panel, build-in patterns plus some basic blending and vector shape building techniques. Finally, you will learn how to create a nice, textured background.

27. Offset Path Effect

this tutorial I will show you how to create a simple wallpaper mixing vectors and photos. We will play with Offset Path, Live Corners and some other effects in Illustrator and Photoshop.

28. Add stylish ornaments to type

Whether you want to create a logo, a graphic for anything from video or animation to packaging, or a headline – this tutorial will show you the basics of adding ornament to type in conjunction with Illustrator techniques such as Live trace and the Pathfinder panel.

29. How to Create a Safety Pin Illustration in Adobe Illustrator

For starters you will learn how to create the main shapes using the grid and the Snap to Grid feature, simple circles and rectangles, Warp and Rounded Corners effects plus some basic vector shapes building techniques. Next, taking full advantage of the Appearance and the Pathfinder panel and using basic blending techniques you will learn how to add color, shading and highlights for your safety pin. Finally, you can learn how to easily recolor your entire work and how to add a bit of dynamism for the entire piece using a simple Transform effect.

30. Get started with type art

Type art is popular at the moment for all sorts of reasons – and it’s a highly versatile skill to have. You can use illustrated lettering in projects ranging from posters to brochures – making it a great technique to add to your creative toolset.