Video of the Week: How to vectorise your Hand Lettering in Illustrator without a Scanner

Hey Creative Adventurers, it's Video of the Week again. Time to learn something new today!

Ever wondered how to get your hand lettering or your outline drawings as a vector? Then this video by lettering artist Sean McCabe is for you. Don't have a scanner? No problem! Sean will guide you at a healthy pace on how to utilise Photoshop and Illustrator so you can use your phone to digitise your pictures. Oh, yeah!

But hey, you might ask "Romica, why do you give me such a long video to watch?" Here is why I think this video is worth your time:

  • healthy pace, so you can pick up everything without re-watching
  • detailed explanaitions & little secrets you might not have known
  • free lesson by a successful hand lettering professional

Things I learned from this video:

  • Tracing in Illustrator in no time using Image Trace
  • Turning any shape/path into a guide - right click / "Make guides"
  • Modifying only parts of a letter/shape with the direct selection tool. Only select the parts that you want to drag/change, the rest of the shape will stay the same.
  • Changing the fill for a stroke: Shortcut: Shift X
  • Selecting everything with the same colour: Menu "Select" / "Same" / "Fill colour"

Hope you liked it & Keep on learning :)

Video of the Week: Aaron Draplin on Working Efficiently in Illustrator

well that's what design should be, it shouldn't be this damn thing when you're spending eight hours f*ing on a Laurel you should be like blast through this stuff

(Aaron Drapling min: 4:04-4:05)

Hey Creative Adventurers, it's Video of the Week again. Time to learn something new today!

If you are working in Illustrator and ever wondered how to become more efficient - check out this amazing video on Skillshare's YouTube channel by Aaron Draplin. My jaw dropped, thought it was brilliant how much time and money you can save with a few simple steps.

Things I learned from this video:

  • Using the warp tool to create curves with your shapes
  • Breaking the work process down to different segments to keep track of progress
  • Turning your work into a library/reference book for yourself WHILE you are working

My favourite part was when he used the warp tool, which was new to me and how easy it can be with a little thought and a good work ethic to make your own unique vector graphics and keep track of your process. I had a different work process where I just saved different versions of the piece I'm working on in separate files. Makes my PC (which I'm currently working on) quicker. However, I do like his way of breaking everything into steps and saving it. He basically creates a library of steps, that he can always come back to even way later. It's almost like a cookbook - for designers :)

Hope you liked it & Keep on learning :)

Video Of the Week: Career Advice For Young Graphic Designers

Today I have discovered a new Youtube Channel with a lot of Graphic Design content.In this video senior designer Roberto Blake gives valuable advice for young graphic designers like starting freelancing as early as you can or to develop a personal brand. You'll also find a book list with good reads for young designers. Check it out!