Adobe Illustrator Techniques That Will Make Your Life Easier

Let's face it, we all want to be able to create something amazing, but not spend a bajillion hours in the process. Illustrator has some really cool features that aren't so noticeable to the newcomer. Here are some shortcuts and techniques that are sure to win you over.

1. CTRL + D

Confession time. Once I found out this amazing shortcut key, I have never stopped using it since. It is definitely my favorite!

Basically, CTRL + D repeats the last step that you took. So, for example, if you created a shape and then copied it to the right, CTRL + D would then repeat you copying and moving your shape. You'd have to copy and move the shape at the same time of course. Here's an example:

 

Still not convinced this is cool enough for you? Ever wondered how to make a complex shape fit around a perfect circle? CTRL + D is a really great method for this. In the future I will make a tutorial on how to do the perfect circle, but for now, here is a shape that has been put into a perfect circle using the CTRL + D shortcut.

2. The Arrow Keys and CTRL Key

If you are looking to make your own custom starburst shape or you need that perfect swirl, then what you need are the arrow keys and the good ol' CTRL key on your keyboard. (And sometimes some chocolates to munch on can give you a little boost.)

First, grab the star tool and begin drawing your star, but don't let go of the mouse button! While you are drawing the shape, hit either the up arrow or the down arrow on your keyboard. The up arrow will increase the amount of points your star has. The down arrow will decrease the amount of points your star has.

Once you have the amount of points you want, you can now hold down the CTRL key on the keyboard and move your mouse closer to the center of your shape or farther away from the center. Doing so will either make your points more pointy or less pointy.

NOW you can let go of your mouse button. You'll need to make sure you are holding it the entire time you are making these adjustments.

You can do this same thing with the Spiral Tool, except instead of creating points, you are creating more spirals.

3. New Pattern Brush

You are probably like....New Pattern Brush? How in the world is that going to help me? Well, if you know Illustrator well then you will know that a new brush can change the way your strokes look.

Let's visualize this. You've drawn out a complicated shape with the pencil tool.

Of course it's pretty boring as is and you want it to look like a chain or maybe a rope. How in the heck are you doing to do that without it taking a month to do? This is where the New Brush comes in handy. Listen carefully!

Draw out the pattern that you would like to use for your stroke. Here's mine:

Select your pattern and create a New Brush. The New Brush icon is under the Brushes window. Select "New Pattern Brush" and hit OK.

The Pattern Brush Options will open up. You don't need to touch anything other than the Fit area. Make sure "Approximate path" is selected so that your pattern doesn't look all weird after you have created it. You can test the others out if you'd like to see what happens.

Hit OK. You're almost done! You should notice your pattern is now in the Brushes window. Select your stroked shape and then click on the pattern you'd like to replace the stroke with. Here's mine!

4. MadPattern Templates

Okay, so this isn't so much of a technique as it is a huge help to those of you who want to create some amazing seamless patterns.

MadPattern Templates are templates made specifically for Illustrator to make it easy for you to create your own seamless patterns. Go to www.madpattern.com and download the templates. They're free!

There are instructions inside each template on what to do. If anyone would like me to write a visual tutorial on this, I'd be happy to. But I'm not feeling too much motivation right now unless it's really wanted or needed. (Yeah, we can all be a little lazy sometimes, right?)

I really hope these 4 techniques help make your Illustrator experience much easier.