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 (from my Adobe Illustrator Masterclass for Fashion Design) divided into 3 parts: workspace, drawing, and color + patterns. (Because the internet doesn’t love 23 animated gifs on ONE single page…)

OH! And I also put together a cheatsheet for you to download (YASS!). Get the printable download here.

D to change any object to the default fill / stroke (white fill / black 1pt stroke)

X to switch whether the stroke or fill is active on the toolbar

Shift + X to swap the fill and stroke color of a selected object

Tilde (~) + Scale Tool to resize a pattern inside an object (Pro tip! If you have a German keyboard, use ^ + >)

Opt/Alt to overwrite an existing pattern with a new one when dragging it into the Swatches panel (works with brushes too!)

This is part 3 in the 3 part AI shortcuts series! Don’t miss out on the other shortcuts for drawing and managing your workspace.

You’ll save you HOURS each week (and wonder how you lived without these tricks before).

And if you’re looking for even more help in Illustrator, get the Ultimate Guide to Illustrator for Fashion Designer (complete with 37 step by step tutorials). It’s absolutely FREE.