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Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts for Color and Repeating Patterns (with animated GIFs!)
When you’re working with color and repeating patterns in Adobe Illustrator, it’s frustrating to feel like everything takes FOREVER! Chances are, you just don’t know the right Illustrator shortcuts for fashion. Learning these simple tricks will help cut your design time in HALF. Which is why I put together my best and top 23 shortcuts […]
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts for Fashion Drawing (with animated GIFs!)
Drawing fashion flats and illustrations in Adobe Illustrator is an essential skill for working in the industry. But sometimes you want to scream at your computer because it feels like everything takes FOREVER! My guess? Is that you just don’t know the right AI shortcuts for fashion. Cut your design time in HALF with these […]
Adobe Illustrator Shortcuts for your Workspace (with animated GIFs!)
If you work in fashion, you spend a lot of time in Adobe Illustrator. And the worst feeling is to feel like everything takes FOREVER! My best is that you’re doing things the roundabout way and don’t know the right AI shortcuts for fashion. Learning these simple tricks will save you HOURS each week (and […]
Fashion Illustration Tutorial: Knit Repeating Pattern Textures
Creating realistic knit repeating pattern textures in Illustrator is a PAIN! This tutorial will show you how to make it easy in just a FEW steps! Here’s what you’ll learn: How to create a realistic chunky knit texture for your fashion illustrations using a photo How to apply the knit texture to your fashion flats […]
How to Draw A Metallic Zipper in Illustrator (with the pull and stop in ONE brush!)
Drawing zippers in Illustrator is TEDIOUS! And if you want to add a gradient to make it metallic? You CAN’T do that in brushes! In this tutorial, you’ll learn exactly how to: Create your ENTIRE zipper in one brush – including the pull, stop, stitching and more! The quick metallic “hack” effect for brushes (since […]
Illustrator Fashion Design Tutorial: How to Draw a Fashion Flat in 20 Mins
Illustrator for fashion is hard and it can feel like drawing your fashion flats takes FOREVER! Chances are, you just haven’t found the right Illustrator fashion design tutorials. (I know because there’s not a lot of good stuff out there!) In this 4-part Illustrator Fashion Design Tutorial series (which you’ll love), I’ll show you how […]
Illustrator Shading Tutorial: Make Your Fashion Drawings 3D with Folds and Shadows
Shading and shadows make your fashion drawings STAND OUT! But it can be a fight to do this in Illustrator and make your drawings look more 3D. Chances are? It’s because you don’t know the simple tricks to do this! In this tutorial, you will learn: How to draw organic shapes for shading and shadows […]
How to Spec Full Scale Artwork in Illustrator with Astute Graphics VectorScribe
Designers ask me all the time, “do I have to tell my factory how big the design is or where it should be printed?” And the answer is YES! It’s a requirement if you want to get your product made right. But speccing full scale art in AI is tedious. In this tutorial, I’ll show […]
Zoe Hong Illustrates Sew Heidi’s Illustrator Fashion Flat
What happens when two fashion nerds geek out at #youtubespaceLA? You get an awesome collab like this one. Sketching by hand is something I’m terrible at, which is why I brought you expert designer and illustrator Zoe Hong. Watch her (mesmerizingly) convert my “flat” sketch into a beautifully rendered illustration and learn some super cool […]
How to Charge for Project Based Freelance Fashion Design Work
Being a freelancer is tough. You don’t want to charge a crazy high hourly rate, but you want to make sure you get what you’re worth. If you work fast and are good at what you do, project based rates may be a good option for you. Let’s take a look at why you may […]
How to Spec Cut & Sew Panels on Your Garment
It’s critical to provide your factory with actual life size scale measurements for artwork, cut and sew panels, or seam lines on your fashion designs. Using both Illustrator and real life garments, learn how to mock this up and create specs to make sure your samples come in correctly – the first time. YOU WILL […]
What Size Should A Repeating Pattern Be for Printing?
Whether you’re a fashion designer, textile design, or surface pattern designer, you’ll need to spec your repeating patterns for manufacturing. This video will show you how to determine what size your repeat tile should be for printing based on print type (rotary screen, flat-bed screen, etc). You can also use this technique if you’re prepping artwork for Spoonflower.
How to Create a Mesh Repeating Pattern in Illustrator
It’s easy to create a mesh repeating pattern and add it to your fashion flat sketches – and I’ll show you exactly how in this video tutorial. You will learn: 00:33 Understanding the repeat of a mesh pattern 00:55 Building the repeat tile for your mesh 01:22 How to cut a hole out of your […]
How to Create Lace Trim in Illustrator
With a few simple tricks, you can mock up realistic lace trim in Illustrator (and a bit of Photoshop). Bonus trick? You can even change the color of your lace (even though it’s a photo) directly in Illustrator. Not what you wanted? Here’s how to create a lace repeating pattern swatch. In this tutorial, you […]
How to Draw A Shoe Fashion Flat in Illustrator
Since it’s asymmetrical, it can be hard to wrap your head around sketching a shoe in AI. In this video tutorial, I’ll show you the exact steps to draw a shoe using lesser known tools and features in Adobe Illustrator. You will learn: 02:25 How to create round corners using the Live Corners feature (Corner […]
How do I know What Pantone book to use?
If you work in fashion, you have to use Pantone colors. But how do you know what colors to use? And what’s the difference between TCX & TPX codes? Here’s what you need to know. (There’s also a video below if you prefer to learn that way! Pantone colors for printing (think catalogs, hangtags, screenprinting, […]
How to Calculate Your Hourly Freelance Rate for Fashion Designers
Freelancing can be a tricky endeavor – and while you don’t want to overcharge, you also don’t want to feel like you’re cutting yourself short. Use the freelance calculator to figure out the right hourly rate for you to make sure you meet your goals.
How to auto calculate grade rules in your tech pack using formulas in Excel
I see many designers doing tech packs in Illustrator and – gasp – MANUALLY calculating grade rules! Please, don’t do this! Use Excel and the simple formulas to make sure your spec sheet is accurate and that everything AUTOMATICALLY updates if you make any changes! You will learn: 00:38 Defining your sample size in your […]
How to Spec a Garment for Your Fashion Tech Pack
How do you know what POMs (points of measure) to include in your spec sheet? How do you figure out where to put them? Luckily, someone made a book for us! The Spec Manual by Michele Wesen Bryant and Diane DeMers is the best (and only one that I know of) reference book you can […]
How to Make a Lace Pattern in Illustrator (& Photoshop)
Using photoshop & Illustrator, we’ll create a see through / transparent lace repeating pattern swatch and apply it to our bra fashion flat sketch. You will learn: 00:37 How to crop one repeat of your lace pattern in Photoshop 01:20 How to make sure the edges of your repeat tile will seam up smoothly 02:11 […]
