Tutorials:
How to Recolor Artwork in Illustrator (pattern swatches too!)
It’s very easy to recolor artwork in Illustrator – including pattern swatches, brushes, or just solid blocks of color – if you know the right tricks. This tutorial will show you exactly how to do all of that. Learn how to quickly make multiple colorways of your fashion flat sketches, repeating pattern swatches, or even entire […]
Simple Hacks to Draw Pleats in Illustrator
Using the warp effect in Illustrator, it’s easy to draw a pleated fashion flat sketch from just one rectangle. First, get the free AI file to follow along: DOWNLOAD THE FREE TEMPLATE Next, watch the video and learn: 01:25 How to create one pleat in Illustrator with a simple rectangle 02:41 How to quickly duplicate your pleat shape with […]
Why Should I Use Brushes in Illustrator?
Before learning how to make pattern brushes, it’s good to understand exactly what they are and why/when to use them. Pattern brushes are a very powerful feature in Illustrator and offer many benefits: Improve file organization Speed up work flow Decrease time for editing/changing details Simply put, Pattern Brushes are repeating pattern tiles along a […]
5 Quick Tricks to Sketch Realistic Fashion Flats in Illustrator
In less than two minutes each, this Illustrator tutorial will show you 5 simple hacks to turn boring fashion flats into realistic sketches that have depth and movement.
4 Ways to Sketch Fashion Flats in Illustrator
Technique 1: Sketch Fashion Flats by Copying Path Segments This first sketching technique will show you how to copy a path segment in Illustrator to to create a fashion flat with seams that line up perfectly. While this Illustrator fashion sketching method creates very tidy flats with paths that abut perfectly, it’s not my favorite. It lacks flexibility to change curves […]
How to Work Faster in Illustrator By Creating Custom Workspaces
One of the simplest ways to work faster in Illustrator is by cleaning up your workspace. It’s not glamorous and it’s not brag worthy (you probably won’t be saying “oh, look what I can do!”). But it’s a super easy way to increase your efficiency, and the best part is that it’ll take you just 5 […]
How to Edit Edges of A Pattern Tile in Illustrator (plus other cool tricks)
Using a seamless repeating pattern design in Illustrator (with WAY too many anchor points), I’ll show you how to clean up the edges of the surface / textile pattern tile so the repeat edges aren’t so blunt. Here’s what you’ll learn in this video tutorial: Tricks to make Illustrator run faster and speedup your workflow […]
How to Recolor Artwork in Illustrator (the quick way)
I teamed up with Bombsheller to bring you this badass tutorial and share the quickest tricks to editing colors in Illustrator. In this video tutorial, here’s what you’ll learn: The best shortcuts to quickly edit colors in Illustrator using Live Color / Recolor Artwork (3:30) How to find where colors are (4:45) How to change one color position (5:02) How […]
How to Make Your Fashion Sketches in Illustrator More Beautiful
This tutorial covers 3 easy shortcuts (less than 1 minute each) to add more life, hand drawn aesthetic and beauty to your fashion flat sketches in Adobe Illustrator. You can easily add these details to your existing designs as well as start a new habit of doing this for all of your new ones. 1. Add A […]
How to Use and Load Custom Brushes in Illustrator
Brushes in Adobe Illustrator are a great option for anything that repeats linearly and this Illustrator tutorial will show you the basics of how to use brushes for beginners. Some simple examples of brushes for fashion design essentials are stitching and zippers, but they’re great for other fashion flat details such as studs along a belt, or to emulate ruching […]
How to Recolor Brushes in Illustrator
Brushes in Illustrator are a great way to emulate many different fashion related items including stitching, rhinestones and sequins. They’re easy to control and manipulate, and in this tutorial, we’ll go through how to change the color of brushes in Illustrator. The example below is shown with pattern brushes, but works with art and scatter […]
How to Draw Pleats in Illustrator
Adding pleats to fashion flats manually is tedious. This Illustrator tutorial will show you some easy shortcuts to create this design detail in just a few clicks. Video Outline: How to use a dashed stroke to create the vertical pleat lines (0:25) How to curve the pleat lines using the Anchor Point Tool (1:28) How to use a Clipping Mask to […]
How To Make a Thick Outline Around Your Fashion Sketch in Illustrator
This video tutorial will show you how to add a thick outline around the edge of your fashion flats in Adobe Illustrator in a few clicks. If this is something you’ve been doing manually by drawing a new shape around the edges (like I’ve seen many designers do), you’re wasting SO much time! So, stop that right […]
How to Merge & Divide Shapes in Illustrator (without using Pathfinder!)
A great alternative to the Pathfinder, the Shape Builder Tool in Adobe Illustrator allows you to merge, unite and divide overlapping shapes to create compound paths. This quick tutorial will show you how to draw a belt buckle (or other fashion flats) using this tool using a few simple shapes. You will learn: How to […]
Where to Save Custom Brush, Symbol, Swatch or Style Libraries in Illustrator (for Mac & PC)
If you use custom libraries for brushes or other assets in your Illustrator workspace (symbols, swatches, graphic styles, etc), it’s easy to make sure they appear right off the drop down menu as long as you know where to save them. By default, this is not where they are saved and you have to manually search […]
How to Curve Lines (Paths) in Illustrator
Illustrator always had a lesser known tool called the Reshape Path Tool. In theory, the concept was great but it was a bit fussy to use. In AI CC 17.1, Adobe updated the Convert Anchor Point Tool to the Anchor Point Tool and it offers some great sketching shortcuts (make sure your AI version is 17.1 or newer […]
My Top 10 Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts (for fashion designers)
With over 10 years of experience using Illustrator (mostly for fashion design but a lot for general graphic design as well), I have quite a few tricks and shortcuts that I’ve grown to rely very heavily on. Here, I divulge you in those tricks so you too can speed up your work flow. You’re welcome. […]
How to Recolor Tonal Patterns in Illustrator (the fastest trick)
There are a lot of tutorials about recoloring artwork in Illustrator, but I haven’t seen any that document working with tonal colors. This tutorial will show you how to recolor prints, heathers / melanges, and other textures or repeating surface / textile design swatches that you want to keep tonal. This specific example is demonstrated using a 3 […]
How to Draw Ruffles, Ruching & Gathers in Illustrator with a Brush
In Illustrator, it’s easy to emulate ruffles, ruching, elastic and gathering with brushes. This is by far one of the more underutilized brushes I see, finding that most fashion designers draw ruffles manually one by one. This tutorial will go through a few different techniques to easily create a basic ruffle brush to use […]
How to Use the Join Tool when Sketching Fashion Flats
I couldn’t be more excited about the release of Illustrator’s new Join Tool in the latest CC 2014 update (version 18.1.0)! This is an essential tool for drawing fashion flats since often we draw half of the garment, reflect and copy it, and then join the anchor points down the middle. This tool takes the work out […]
